Page 46 of Unspoken Promises

“I don’t drink.”

Enzo and I answer at the same time.

My heart flutters. I’m sure he’s just the kind of man who’s so damn observant he might even remember the number of times a person blinks. But still. The drink. The nuts. The grocery store. He even offered to take my laptop bag back to his this afternoon so I didn’t have to carry it around the stables. He’s considerate for a grump.

Enzo heads off without another word to get me an energy drink. I need to stock up on caffeine before I get to work again later tonight.

Pen wobbles her head with sass. “Well, he likes you.”

My stomach flips at the thought. “No way. I don’t think Enzo likes anyone. His family maybe. Well, he seems to like you…”

“Trust me. He has his eye on you.”

“He’s my boss,” I say, as if I’d never return the sentiment. But then, I can’t help but want to hear it again. “Why would you even say that?”

“I swear he just stopped short of sniffing your hair when he caught you in his arms.”

I smack her arm gently. “Stop. He would never. He’s just a gentleman. A really grumpy but well-mannered guy.”

I’m sure he just sees me as an employee and maybe even as a problem child.

“And the way his jaw hit the floor at that bikini when you came back from changing at the office.Oooweee.He was cooked. Trust me, I’ve been to these parties many times, and he’s never stared at anyone like that before. And look around. Some of these girls are hot as fuck.” Just then, she glances behind me toward Callum who finishes mixing a pitcher of what must be the margaritas Penelope was talking about.

“Well, you’d be a whole lot more likely to get with your crush than I would with mine,” I tease.

“Puh-lease. If you’re talking about Callum, we’d never cross the line.” She averts her gaze by staring out over the sea of heads bobbing and dancing near us in the sunshine. “It would ruin the most meaningful thing in the world to me.”

I’m in awe of her using such words about another human being. I know Penelope’s in love, even if she won’t admit it. She talks about Callum all the time. They share their schedules with each other. I rarely see them apart.

I’ve never felt that way before. And damn do I want to. I won’t be ready to die until I know what it’s like to be in love. Until I feel it. I’m determined to earn that right. To earn someone’s heart.

As if on cue to mess with my head even more, Enzo arrives back with my energy drink poured into a frosty glass with ice. He put a straw and a miniature umbrella in it. Iwonder what it would take to earn his heart. He seems to be stealing mine with ease.

15

It’s beena long time since I wished there was more than flimsy swim trunks between me and a woman. I’m not a lech. I’m not the type to eye up a passing woman. My sex drive has always come from a word, not a look.

But Ava in that emerald-green bikini is using up every ounce of my willpower to keep my eyes above shoulder height. And when her skin melted against mine, something shifted even further, and like some ticking bomb, it seems to me there isn’t long left before I’m about to explode.

My brothers are right. She is my type. She was already my type without the curves and perfect milky skin and constellations of freckles. She was my typebefore I saw her hair cascade down over those perfect breasts and the nip of her feminine waist. She was my type when she hacked the system, when she challenged my resolve, when she befriended my father and offered her services at Town Hall. I’m desperate to know her better; each glimpse brings me closer to less of a want and more of a need. She’s magnetic.

Because she has an outside to match those inner qualities, I need to create some space for the attraction to die down. I should. And yet I can’t peel my eyes off her. I don’t trust any of these idiots to be respectful as they tumble into a drunken stupor.

I made her drink festive, despite it being non-alcoholic, and took myself off. She has Penelope and Callum, my dad, Santi… and now, by the looks of it, several stable hands and trainers to keep her company.

It’s getting late; the sun has fallen and the moon has risen. Twinkling ambient lights illuminate the pool area. I nurse a warm beer, leaning against the pool house, like I always do at these parties if I’m still around at this time. Only Rio notices I haven’t left early.

He sidles up next to me, and I sense him following my eyeline.

“So,” he pauses for effect. “You’re a fool after all?”

I take a swig of beer and instantly regret the taste of piss on my tongue. “I stayed to talk to some of the GhostEye staff. Ava thinks we could have an inside hack. We should gather intel.”

He takes a drink of what I know is tequila. It’s the only thing he’d ever have. Me, too, usually, but the last thing I want to be is buzzed, not even in the slightest right now. I have a feeling Bran might make a move. Or someone else. It’s torture to stick around to see it or think I have a right to do anything about it. Guess I’m a masochist.

I can’t help myself wanting to protect her. I still don’t know what she’s been through. If she’s holding it close to her chest, the story isn’t going to be pretty. But the hot-blooded coils simmering below the surface as I watch the guys flirt with her tell me I’m just as jealous as I am protective.

I have to keep reminding myself she works for me. She’s young. Now I know, she’s vulnerable. These all add up to off limits. Still, none of these reasons stop the wanting.

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