Page 19 of Sexting the Don

"It’s been one hell of a day, huh?" he says quietly, and I nod, still catching my breath.

"Yeah, surreal but amazing," I manage to say. With him here, everything else feels a million miles away.

With his arms snug around me and the warmth of his body lulling me to sleep, I feel safe and cared for. I replay the day’s wild ride in my head—a whirlwind of emotions and decisions and a whole lot of surprises about myself and what I really want.

As I drift off, my lips curve into a satisfied smile, grateful for the crazy, incredible turn my life just took.

Chapter 8

Mandy

There’s a big, stupid smile on my face when I wake up the next morning, my body deliciously sore. My eyes still closed, I roll over and let my arm fall, expecting it to land on Enzo’s hard, warm body.

But instead, it connects with a cold, empty bed.

He’s gone.

Before I have even a second to process what happened last night, my alarm goes off.

“All right, all right,” I say, shimmying over to the other side of my bed—the side where Enzo should be—and grab my phone, silencing the alarm.

To my surprise, there’s a text from Natalie.

Hey, girlie! Listen, had a late night last night; I don’t think I’m in the workout sort of mood. Mind if we push the appointment to tomorrow? I’ll pay double to make up for it.

Relief washes over me as I read the text. I love my job, but this morning, I feel like I’m going to need a little time to think thingsover and process the insanity that happened here last night.

I fire back a quick text, telling Nat that it’s no problem at all and that I’ll see her bright and early the next day.

I sit up, wide awake and ready for the day. It’s early as hell and still dark out. I have to admit, it doesn’t feel good that Enzo’s gone. I wasn’t expecting roses and a proposal by any means but I was hoping he might stick around, at least until I woke up.

I need to do something with all of this energy. Rolling out of bed, I spot my running shorts and shoes. I step over to put them on, along with a sleeveless shirt from my dresser. I stretch, putting one foot on the windowsill, getting ready for my run.

With Natalie canceling and no work tonight, I’ve got the whole day to myself.

I turn and stretch out some more, my body humming, and that’s when I spot it—a note sitting on my table with an envelope underneath. Curious, I pad over. I peek inside the envelope first and nearly choke—there's double the cash I'd asked him for.

“Holy—” I gasp, my eyes wide as saucers.

I grab the note, unfolding it quickly.

Mandy,

I hope this helps with whatever you need. But let’s be clear: I’m definitely looking forward to seeing you again soon.

The way he’s written it, there’s an implication there—he expects this won't be the last time our paths cross. I smirk a little, shaking my head.

Despite the surprise of his silent exit, the promise of another encounter sends a thrill through me.

As I hold the hefty envelope, a thought flickers through my mind—should I feel like some kind of call girl? But the feeling doesn’t stick. Nope, Enzo never made it feel like that. It was nothing but mutual, whateveritwas. As if he’s got timing down to an art, my phone buzzes with a text from him.

Take a hot bath. It’ll help with the soreness.

I can't help but smile.

A bath sounds divine, but I don’t have a tub in my apartment, and I’m not about to take one in my parents’ house.

I return to the money, picking it up and looking the fat stack over with wide eyes.

---