Page 21 of Kiss Away Your Pain (Wounded Hearts 2)

“As the evening went on, he kept trying to get me to go out on a second date with him. He asked what kind of food I like to eat. I told him nothing spicy. He proceeded to tell me about a great Mexican place he knew of and an Indian place. Clearly, he hadn’t bothered to listen to the fact that I don’t like spicy food. Needless to say, there was no second date.”

“I’ve improved my matchmaking since then,” I chime in.

“You have.” She cocks her head to the side with a sweet smile then kisses Nicco on the cheek.

“On our ride home, it was just the three of us and she confessed that she’d told her boyfriend the story, therealstory, that it washerwho flashed her boobs at everyone in the club. So, the entire time he knew the truth when I thought he didn’t. The whole thing was so stinking funny. This one.” She waggles her finger at me and I shrug.

We order desserts and the DJ announces that Karaoke is about to begin. As we eat, we’re thoroughly entertained by some awful singers who are bravely singing their hearts out and enjoying every minute of it. There are also some who are surprisingly good.

As we finish our desserts, the DJ grabs the microphone and scans the room, “I believe I saw Mr. Enzo Cipriani in the house tonight.” There’s a small cheer from the crowd at the stage. “Where are you Enzo?” Claps and whistles fill the air.

“I guess you come here a bit?” I ask, intrigued and interested to see if he can sing or if he’s so terrible, yet gorgeous, that they love him.

He hangs his head then lifts it and shrugs with a humble grin.

The crowd starts with a chant, “Enzo, Enzo,” that grows increasingly louder, coupled with more claps and whistles.

“Your fans await,” I say, looking over at Destiny and Nicco who shake their heads and raise their shoulders, looking as stunned as I am.

He rises from our booth. “I apologize. I’ll be right back.” He winks at me and heads toward the stage.

As he makes his way up onto the stage, the cheers heighten to a clamor. Nicco pays our bill, we grab our drinks, and find a spot in the middle of the crowd to watch Enzo. The DJ moves a keyboard to the front of the stage along with a stool. Curiosity eats at me.

“Thank you, Brian,” Enzo says into the microphone as he sits on the stool. Rows of vertical string lights serve as his backdrop. “Good evening, everyone. I see a lot of familiar faces here tonight.”

Cheers, whistles, and howls erupt.

“This one’s for someone special.” His gaze searches the room as the crowd hushes.

Adrenaline rushes me.Someone special?

Destiny and Nicco look at me, presumption gleaming in their eyes. Could he meanme?

Enzo starts playing the keyboard and the lyrics to “Heartbeats” float out of his mouth, caressing the air. Piercing through the sea of bodies, his Kryptonite-green gaze findsme, possesses me. The audience is hypnotized, paralyzed. Slow and seductive, his words penetrate my soul. The crowd fades in a haze, only we exist.

Moments we shared flash through my head as his song envelopes me. Our hot kiss, dancing in his arms, the first touch of his hand on my skin. The images vanish as his eyes hold mine captive and he sings…to me.

With the last note sung, the crowd explodes with more cheers and howls. Every hair on my body stands on end as I’m shaken by the noise from my reverie. I clap and whistle. Destiny puts her arm around me and squeezes me.

“Thank you guys so much,” he says, then bows his head and simpers.

As he jumps off the stage and weaves through the crowd toward us, people pat him on the back and shower him with compliments.

“Bro, what the fuck was that? You were incredible,” Nicco says, extending his arms and hands in a what-the-fuck gesture, then throwing an arm around Enzo’s shoulder and tugging him in.

Enzo, chuckles humbly. “Yeah, it’s just, something I do for fun.”

“For fun?” Destiny emphasizes. “Enzo, I mean, that was amazing. I had no idea you could sing like that, let alone play the keyboard. I, I have no words. That was awesome.”

“Heh. Thank you, really, thank you so much.”

He looks at me, intensity suspended in the air.

I’m still entranced and so overcome with emotions, I can’t find the words to say. “That was beautiful,” is all that comes out.

He moves, standing directly in front of me, and cups the side of my face in his hand then places his lips close to my opposite ear. I inhale a shallow breath. “That was for you,” he whispers.

Tingles swarm my heating skin.

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