Untangle Me

Chapter 23

Giada

I stay frozen in place until one of the guards behind me grunt annoyedly and pushes me forward. I nearly topple over the hem of my skirt but luckily, Melanie is there to hold me up. She's strong for such a short woman.

After a quick glare over my shoulder, I right myself and thank my friend. Then we're walking towards the two men near the pillar.

I have to force my feet to keep making steps as I focus on breathing evenly. Even so, the closer we get the more do I lose control over my body.

My eyes move against my will, scanning Enzo's sharp features, his trimmed beard, his thick eyebrows, and the long lashes surrounding his striking eyes. Then they drop to the collar of his black dress shirt, over the strong line of his shoulders, and down to his hands. One of them is resting at his side and I realize he's wearing rings for the first time.

A wide gold one with what looks like a seal on top is on his pointer finger. I can't tell what the symbol says but I don't need to in order to guess this must be an heirloom or something else of meaning. A plain one is on his middle finger and one with a red stone on top is on his ring finger.

Meanwhile, his other hand is casually holding his jacket over his shoulder.

When my mind attempt to go lower, I finally pull myself together. I force myself to look at the man's face only to see him smirking, dark amusement clear in his eyes.

Great, I've been caught ogling him.

With burning cheeks, I turn towards Leo who has politely closed his mouth by now.

"Hello, Leo," I greet him with a soft smile. After all, it's how we greet each other the three times a day he brings me my meals. We've settled on acting politely if not distant with each other.

It's a bit awkward at times but it works.

"Giada. You look lovely," he says, inclining his head.

"Thanks." My smile has only just begun to feel more natural when a low voice cuts through the air.

"If you two are done chatting, I'd like to be somewhat on time. We've already been delayed," Enzo says, shooting me a pointed look.

Oh yeah, blame me for being late after giving me all of a few hours to prepare.

I mentally roll my eyes and knee him in the balls. Then I can smile again.

"Good." Mr. Grump turns and walks away without another word. I'd like to stay where I am simply because he seems so sure I'll follow but then a gentle hand squeezes my upper arm.

Melanie is nodding towards the leaving man, silently telling me to get a move on. Resigned, I do as I'm told.

I have a feeling this will be a long night and I don't feel like making it any worse for myself than it needs to be. Besides, Leo only starts walking as I do and the two guards are still hovering behind us. Yeah, once again I have no say in what happens.

I push through the doors to exit the lobby and am instantly greeted by a gust of wind that has me shivering. Damn but this dress does not cover enough of my skin to protect me from the cold.

When I spot Vincenzo standing next to a black McLaren, I nearly stop in my tracks. First off, that's one hell of a picture I'm witnessing. Enzo dressed purely in black, his black jacket now on as well, radiating power just like the matte car at his side.

The surprising part is that he's holding open the door to the passenger seat. It's a good thing too, considering they open to the top and I most likely would've smashed the door in my face.

I move towards him as if in a trance, not a single thought of escaping in my mind as I settle into the comfortable leather seat. Only when he shuts my door and gets into the car himself do I realize it's a two-seater.

We're completely alone.

And the silence is deafening.

I nearly sigh in relief when the loud engine of the car roars to life and soft music starts playing from the stereo. My fingers absently drum along to the beat as Enzo pulls onto the road but my eyes are transfixed by the man beside me.

More precisely his hands as they grip the steering wheel tightly. But then one of them moves away from it and he pushes a button on the center console before settling on the stick next to my left arm.

Suddenly, the seat beneath me heats up comfortably and I realize that's what Enzo turned on.

"Thanks," I mutter. I might hate this man but I was raised to have manners.

Enzo wasn't, apparently, since stays as silent and expressionless as always. What a jerk.

As the ride goes on, I finally stop shaking and my goosebumps recede. But right when I've melted comfortably against my seat, we come to a halt. I glance out of the window to see we're in the driveway- if you can call the road surrounding the big fountain that- of an impressive mansion. There's a valet already rushing toward us and Enzo opens his car.

I panic slightly, trying to figure out how to get out of this vehicle before I lose him in the crowd but I shouldn't have worried.

The door opens for me, revealing a smug-looking Vincenzo that makes me wish I had more knowledge of fancy cars. Oh well, can't have it all, can you?

And who knows, perhaps I'm actually a secret mechanic but I've forgotten it like everything else. Yeah, suck on that, Enzo!

God, I'm pathetic sometimes.

My captor offers me a hand to get out of the car which I gracefully ignore. That leads to me almost faceplanting as I pull myself upright.

What's even more infuriating is that stupid twitch of Enzo's lips. I glare at him, only for him to play innocent.

"What?" he asks teasingly. This time, I ignore him, walking around the car and towards the mansion. It's too windy to have this conversation out here.

Hugging myself tightly, I burst through the front door only to freeze in the entry. Gowns upon gowns in every shade of color on every type of body, so beautifully vibrant beneath the chandeliers I can't help but gape. It's breathtaking.

Between the specks of bright colors are men dressed in darker shades. Mostly white dress shirts paired with black or dark blue suits.

No matter who you look at, you'll always see one certain thing though. Everyone is moving as gracefully as a panther sneaking up on its prey and even without knowing a single person, I know they're just as lethal.

I only notice I'm no longer standing alone when a warm hand settles on the bare skin of my back. I immediately recognize him, my body acting accordingly with a shiver that has nothing to do with the cold.

"Welcome back," he says, leaning down enough for his breath to tickle the side of my neck.

I close my eyes, taking a steadying breath as his words wash over me.

Welcome back.

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