Chapter 94 Choose Date

Chapter 94 Choose Date
Rose

"Great," he sighs, nibbling my lips. "We'll take it together."

A laugh escapes me as he carries me toward the bathroom. We spend at least an hour there, taking the time to get to know each other's bodies. When we return to his bed, I feel exhausted. Enzo calls his butler to bring us breakfast in bed.

He keeps his promise. We spend the rest of the day talking and fucking. He doesn't look at his phone once.

Late that evening, we lie next to each other on his bed. I draw circles on his chest, and my heart fills. I haven't been this happy in a long time.

"Why don't you have any tattoos?" I ask.

My brother has a chest full of them. Tony has a few, even Michael. It's a little strange that he doesn't have any.

"I've never felt the need to get them," Enzo tells me with a slight grin. "Plus, I don't like the feeling of a needle piercing my skin."

My lips curl into a smile. "Oh my God, you're afraid of needles."

His eyes narrow. "How did you come to that conclusion? I'm not scared, baby. Just... cautious," he mutters.

I snort. "You're definitely scared. It's adorable. I swear," I say, still laughing.

"Keep saying I'm scared, Rose. I assure you it won't end well," he says.

"You're scared," I reply boldly.

The air tenses for a second. He climbs on top of me, his eyes boiling with heat as they slide over my body. I expect him to kiss me, but instead a mischievous expression appears on his face, and he starts tickling my sides. My eyes widen as I burst into giggles.

"Enzo," I say between giggles, trying to shake him off. "Stop."

"Not until you take that back, baby," he says, his hands continuing their assault.

"Okay, okay," I say, still giggling. "I take that back."

Finally, he pauses, letting me catch my breath.

"You're the big bad wolf. You're not afraid," I tell him with a grin.

"It's nice to see we're on the same wavelength," he says, leaning down and capturing my lips in a sweet, breathless kiss.

When he pulls away, the crooked grin on his face makes my heart skip a beat. His genuine smiles are so rare that I want to hide each one and treasure them forever. I want every day to be like this for the rest of our lives.

The thought of the rest of our lives is sobering. We need to have an important conversation. Enzo falls back onto the bed, and I rest my head on his chest.

"And I was thinking," I begin, "that we should get married before the end of the year, right?"

Enzo makes a noise of agreement.

"Well, the first step is choosing a date. We don't have any more time."

"What day do you want us to get married, princess?"

I look at him. "You want me to choose?"

He nods. "I don't care what day it is. All that matters is making you my wife."

A warm feeling fills my chest, and a feeling of excitement overcomes me. I sit up and look at him. “Well, I was thinking about a Christmas wedding,” I announce. “Christmas has always been special to me. It’s kind of cliché, but I used to dream of a Christmas wedding. Snow everywhere and bright lights. It would have been amazing.”

Only after I finish speaking do I realize how still he is.

“Enzo?” I ask, confused.

A muscle twitches in his jaw, and his expression changes. In an instant, the warm, easygoing look he’d been giving me all day is gone. In its place is a coldness I thought I’d never see again.

“No.”

Just one word. I don't even know what he's saying "no" to, but I feel my heart breaking.

"No, what?" I ask as he gets out of bed and nervously runs his hand through his hair.

"No, we're not getting married on Christmas. Pick another date, Rose," he tells me.

It's more like a command; his tone leaves no room for argument. Something cold slides down my spine. "You just said you don't care what day it is."

"We can get married any day but today, Princess."

My jaw clenches, and I feel myself starting to get angry.

"Why not?"

When he doesn't answer, my emotions flare.

"I don't want to argue about this, Rose."

"Well, that's too bad," I say, standing up too. I pull on one of his shirts, discarded on the floor, and look down at him. "You can't just say something and expect me to obey without thinking. I'm not a robot, and I can't read your fucking mind! Tell me why, Enzo. Now."

He opens his mouth to speak, but hesitates. His lips press together, and he looks away. I smirk.

"Unbelievable," I mutter.

I'm about to yell at him, maybe call him an asshole, when there's a knock on the door. His eyes meet mine briefly before he approaches. I'm sitting on the bed, my chest still tense. All I can see is Jason's blond hair when Enzo stands in the doorway.

"What?" Enzo asks, a hint of anger in his tone.

"We have a problem. A real big one. Minzetti. They killed several of our people, burned down one of our warehouses in Russia. Things are pretty tense there."

I'm not surprised by how tense Enzo is. I stay on the bed. The Mincettis are a Mafia family, but no one really knows who they are. Jason says something else to Enzo, but his voice is too quiet for me to understand.

A few seconds later, he steps back, and Enzo closes the door. He looks at me with a tense jaw and eyes full of barely contained rage.

"Baby, I have to go," he says in a surprisingly gentle voice.

I raise an eyebrow. "What happened with the Mincettis? What's your relationship with them?"

His jaw ticks. "They made a deal with me, asking me to become a partner in their family, not yours. I refused."