Page 35 of Vow to Me

Enzo drives a for a couple of blocks before pulling up outside a building which I’m guessing is about a block away from the bookstore. And gets out of the car.

“What are you doing?” I ask when he opens my door.

“We can’t just park outside of her store, what if she sees my car? Nope, we're walking the next block.”

Jesus fucking Christ, he’s thought of everything.

I shake my head at him, at a loss for words and we walk side by side towards our destination. Enzo tells me how Robyn bought the store with the inheritance she got from her parents’ deaths, as if I didn’t already know from the search that he had me do for her. I let him keep talking, he seems like a different person when he’stalking about her, his face brightens, his eyes light up and he gets all animated. It’s fucking adorable.

We enter the store and a bell chime’s, alerting any staff to our presence. Robyn rounds the corner, she’s short like me, but with dark brown hair and green eyes. She’s pretty, I can see why Enzo has taken a liking to her. She’s dressed in ripped jeans and a cream sweater, nothing like the women from our world would dress—other than me.

She gives us a big smile, welcoming us to her store and asks if there’s anything in particular we need. Enzo seems to be fucking stuck staring at the poor girl.

“Hey, I’m Izzy. This is my brother in-law Enzo, I recently moved to the city to move in with my husband and left a lot of my books back home in Chicago. Can you give me any recommendations?” I say with a smile to break the weird fucking silence that seemed like it would never end, and I elbow Enzo in his stomach to bring him out of his daze.

“Nice to meet you,” he says cooly with a nod, and I give him awhat the fucklook. He needs to get his shit together before he scares her.

Thankfully, he takes the hint and starts asking her questions about the types of books she sells. He makes a big production about how he wants to build me a library as a wedding gift, and I internally roll my eyes as I follow them both through the shelves while Robyn points out different genres that she thinks I might like.

I actually really like her, she’s the same age as me and we’d probably make good friends if I wasn’t helping the idiot in front of me stalk her.

I pull out my phone while Enzo and Robyn are deep in conversation about some new thriller that’s just been released.

You should see the state of your brother, he fucking clammed up like nothing I’ve ever seen before when we came into the store. He just stood and stared at her like he couldn’t believe she was real.

Luca

I still don’t understand why you had to spend the day with my idiot brother.

Why? Jealous?

Luca

When it comes to you? Always. You’re mine, I don’t like other men near you, especially when the fucker invited himself into our bedroom. If he wasn’t my baby brother, I’d fucking kill him.

I’m helping him stalk another girl, jealousy is the last feeling you should be feeling.

Luca

Just hurry the fuck up, I’ve got a meeting in Queens soon then I’m coming home. You better be there when I get back, I miss you.

I miss you.

I smile to myself feeling like a giddy teenager, how the hell he elicits these feelings from me I have no idea.

I miss you too x

I tuck my phone away and focus on what Robyn is saying to Enzo, he’d been picking up books as we’ve walked around the store, we make our way to the register so Enzo can pay for the stack of books he’s been carrying for my “new library” before we thank Robyn for all of her help and make our way back to the car.

“Feel better now that you’ve spoken to her?” I ask after we’ve walked for a couple of minutes in silence.

“Yes. No, I don’t fucking know. I just want to keep her away from the world. She’s too fucking light to be tainted by my darkness, but she’s also like a fragile little bird that needs caring for,” he says on a sigh and squeezes his eyes closed.

He’s so fucking conflicted about this and it makes me think about what my life would have been like if I grew up away from the Mafia. Don’t get me wrong, it can be a fucking dark life to live, but the Romano’s are also pure, they’re good men who put others above themselves and they genuinely fucking care about their Cosa Nostra family. I could have had it so much worse.

I used to dream about growing up in a different life, away from the danger, violence and death. But when I think about that lifenow? I think about how I wouldn’t have Luca—and that’s just not fucking worth it.

“I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but you’re getting it anyway. I grew up in this world, like so many other women. But I got fucking lucky to be a part of your family. You may see our way of life as darkness, but there’s light within it, Enzo. Think of how much safer Robyn would be at your side, you wouldn’t have to keep her safe from the shadows anymore, her being known as yours would offer her a layer of protection as it is, but if the wholefamigliawas behind her? She’d be untouchable.”

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