Page 94 of Cherry on Top

When he walked into Cherry’s, a tall man with the look of Will’s build and a woman with Will’s blue eyes turned to him.

Will didn’t look particularly happy to see him, but he also didn’t look particularly surprised either.

More resigned to the inevitable, if Enzo had to guess.

“Hi, I’m Enzo Moretti,” Enzo said brightly, plastering on his best I’m a good guy and I’m gonna be a good guy for your son smile. It wasn’t one he’d had much occasion to use, but he’d witnessed Luca utilizing it enough over the years with Oliver’s mom.

He held out his hand and shook both their hands briskly. Wishing he’d had at least time to wash the paint off, but at least it wasn’t wet anymore.

Probably.

“Patrick Johnson. And this is my wife, Carla. We’re Will’s parents. Thought we’d stop by on our way to Tybee, see him in person,” the man said. He had a firm handshake, firm enough that even Luca probably approved.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You must be the mural painter,” Carla said, eyeing him speculatively.

“What gave it away?” Enzo winked, shifting from the good guy smile to the I’m a handsome rogue smile.

That one was a smile he was intimately familiar with and he knew he wore it well.

Carla melted as quickly as he’d expected.

“Oh, Will, is he just the mural painter?” she whispered, loudly enough that he could hear every single word.

Will met his eyes over her head. Yep. He was definitely resigned, but there was more too, now. He looked relieved that he wasn’t in this alone anymore.

If Enzo had any say in it, he wasn’t going to be alone, again.

Will had bailed him out with his mom, and now it was Enzo’s turn.

“I hear we’re all going to lunch,” Enzo said casually, walking behind the counter and pressing a quick kiss against Will’s mouth.

“I’d guess he’s not just the mural painter,” Patrick said dryly.

“I . . .it’s still very new,” Will said, by way of explanation. But he didn’t move away. Instead, he slung an arm around Enzo’s waist, like Enzo wasn’t damp and sweaty.

Like they were a team now. A united front.

“Is it?” Patrick looked amused, not upset.

“Yes,” Enzo said, “but serious.”

Enzo wasn’t surprised at all that Will hadn’t told his parents about him. After all, it was new, and from everything Will had said, he wasn’t necessarily going to tell them everything.

He was trying to set boundaries. Enzo understood all about that.

“Yeah,” Will agreed, meeting Enzo’s eyes. There were a bunch of questions lurking there, but also a lot of answers, too.

Yes, I’m glad you’re here.

Sorry I tried to keep you away.

We’re in this together, now.

“Well, let’s go to lunch,” Carla declared happily. “I would love to learn more about you, Enzo.”

“And we’ll talk more about you coming with us to Tybee,” Patrick added.

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