Page 31 of Cherry on Top

“Not many queer guys in the town, back then. Different than now.” Enzo looked at him pointedly. Okay, he’d probably heard—or guessed, anyway—about Will. He wasn’t being exactly subtle, with the way he couldn’t help but check out Enzo every time they ran into each other.

Plus, Oliver and Luca had known early on; they’d been the first people he’d told in this town, before he’d even officially moved here.

“I guess it didn’t go well.”

Enzo made a face. “An understatement. It was all wrong. A catastrophe. First off, we were the wrong people for each other. And I was a whiny little punk of a kid who wouldn’t have known how to treat the right guy if he’d drawn out a map for me. I fucked it up by being an arrogant ass and then complained about it incessantly after.”

He’d heard this story, of course. But not Enzo’s version. “That’s hard. For Oliver, and for you, too,” Will said. He was having a hard time reconciling that guy he’d heard about with the Enzo sitting in front of him now. A nationally known and renowned mural artist. Unbelievably gorgeous and charming. The kind of guy anyone would want to go on a date with.

“I grew up,” Enzo said, shrugging. “But some people haven’t forgotten.”

Will got the feeling it wasn’t really the town that hadn’t forgotten but Enzo himself. Because other than the fact that everyone clearly remembered, he hadn’t seen anyone resenting Enzo now.

“That sucks,” Will said. He understood a little about that. Sometimes he thought when his parents and his family looked at him, they still saw that little-too-eager-to-please kid. The one who’d drop anything and everything just to bring a smile to their faces.

But that kid was gone, now. Will had moved on, because he’d had to.

“Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I stay away,” Enzo admitted.

Will wanted to tell him he shouldn’t—because he didn’t think anyone genuinely held his bad behavior against him any longer—but he wasn’t sure it was his place. Were they friends? Just no longer fighting about the mural? He didn’t know.

He only knew that whenever their eyes met, something inside him lit up.

“So, what’s the process here?”

“You’re good with this sketch?” Enzo asked, gesturing to what he’d drawn out.

Will nodded. Probably a little more emphatically than he should’ve. But hey, Enzo had loved his ice cream. He was allowed to love Enzo’s art, too.

“Good.” Enzo folded the sketchbook closed. “Sometimes, if it’s a bigger piece, I’ll do a full color render, just much smaller, but for this, I don’t think it’s necessary. I’ll finalize this sketch, make sure it’s properly laid out on the wall, and then transfer the basic idea to the wall. Tomorrow. Or the day after. Depending on a few things. I’ve got to order some scaffolding, from Charleston, probably. We’ll see how fast they can get it here. And paint, I’ll need that.”

“You’d think so,” Will teased.

Enzo grinned at him, and there it was again. That electricity arcing through him in a dazzling wave.

This would be a lot easier if Enzo Moretti was a lot less appealing.

Or that he’d be spending less time outside Will’s building.

Maybe Giana had been onto something, after all.

“Well,” Enzo said, standing and stretching, flashing a strip of tanned bare stomach as he leaned back. “I’ll let you know when I’m starting, for sure. I promise, no more unexpected paint surprises.”

“It’s . . .uh . . .” Will stammered. He did not want to be turned on by Enzo. Enzo was definitely not someone he could touch. He was way too complicated. “It’s fine.” He swallowed. “Give me your number,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “And you can text me updates.”

He told himself he was only asking for that reason.

“Just don’t tell my mom,” Enzo said with a wild grin after he’d recited his number and Will finished typing it into his phone.

Will fake shuddered. “No way,” he agreed. “It’s our secret.”

Chapter Seven

Enzo was sweating.

And not even for a good reason.

Not even because Will had been popping his head out of his front door all morning.

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