Page 72 of Enzo DeLuca

This was officially his first real day off in years. When he awoke, he and Eve ate breakfast. Though Stefan had wanted to drive him around, Enzo insisted he didn’t. That didn’t stop Stefano from trailing them everywhere they went. Enzo spotted two more cars following them. One was driven by Giorgio. The other, by his guard, Alvino. Such was the life of the don. Even when he wanted to be alone, he could never truly be alone.

Under the watchful eyes of his soldiers, he and Eve spent the day doing tourist stuff. Eve’s idea, not his. Enzo didn’t mind. As long as he was with Eve, nothing else mattered. During their outing, Enzo only had to reach for his gun six times. Each time had been a false alarm. What bothered him the most was the amount of attention Eve had gotten. She was dressed in black skinny jeans, black thigh-high boots, with a checkered white and black shirt.

Over that, she was wearing Enzo’s black leather jacket. None of her curves were exposed. Yet, men were gaping at her as she walked past them. The bastards didn’t know that Enzo didn’t mind killing motherfuckers in broad daylight. Since Eve didn’t pay them any attention, Enzo resisted the urge to put a bullet in them. He only glared at them until they looked away. Plus, Eve was holdinghishand. Those fuckers knew who she belonged to.

Likewise, the women who looked his way knew who he belonged to. That didn’t stop him from glaring at them also. How dare they disrespect his woman by ogling him? This was Enzo’s first time walking hand in hand with anyone. He liked it. They shopped at small boutiques that piqued Eve’s interest. They ate at restaurants with names that caught her attention.

They visited florists and purchased flowers to fill their house with. Following from the sideline, Stefan had shaken his head when Enzo bent down to sniff a flower Eve presented to him. It smelled just like all the other flowers she’d had him sniff. But he nodded and agreed with her that it smelled the best. By the end of the day, he’d been happy Stefan had followed them because they’d needed two cars to carry all of Eve’s purchases.

As he’d loaded items into Stefano’s car, Stefan teased him by saying, “So this is how the brutal DeLuca don spends his off day.”

“So, this is how the brutal don’s ruthless right-hand man spends his off day,” Enzo countered.

“Unfortunately, it is,” Stefan told him. “I thought it would never end. I feel like we’ve walked for miles.”

“It doesn’t feel like that when you’re with the one you love.”

“Love?” Stefan raised an eyebrow.

“Did I stutter?” Enzo asked.

“No,” Stefan told him. “Have you been stuttering lately? You may want to get that checked out.”

Of course, Stefan didn’t get it. He didn’t have an Eve in his life.

“Meet me at the house to drop off these items,” Enzo told him before returning to his car, where Eve was waiting for him.

As he drove off, he saw Stefan in his car, shaking his head. Enzo knew his new attitude was confusing to most. During the day, he was ruthless and short-tempered. When he was with Eve, he was calm and patient. He was showing her a side of himself he hadn’t known existed. It was that, or either Eve was changing him for the better. He was starting to think this work-life balance wouldn’t be so hard after all.

Because of her, he left his stress and worries at the door when he came home. His need for revenge and his desire to bring down the betrayer hadn’t diminished. That shit was still a priority. The bodies dropping all over the city could attest to that. However, Enzo wasn’t allowing that desire for revenge to enter his home. It no longer haunted his dreams nor tormented his every waking hour. Especially not when he was alone with Eve.

That night, after they’d settled in, Eve lay sprawled across the bed, clad in one of Enzo’s white T-shirts and some black panties. She was reading a book while Enzo relaxed in the recliner, watching the news to ensure the cleaners had done what they were supposed to do. So far, none of the bodies he’d dropped had been found. The cleaners were doing what they were paid to do. They were making bodies disappear. His attention was pulled away from the screen when Eve called his name.

“Enzo?”

“Yeah.”

She closed her book and laid it on the bed. “How well do you think we know each other?”

Shit. Where was this conversation going?

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