The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Tᴡᴇɴᴛʏ﹣Fɪᴠᴇ ❊

At breakfast, I sat beside Enzo with my head down and my eyes directed at my plate and only my plate. I made sure to keep my hands in a place where everyone could see them, hoping and praying that Adrianna didn't tell anyone what she saw. She probably thought that we were like that normally.

He was so skilled with his mouth that the mere remembrance of it caused me to squirm uncomfortably in my seat. I wasn't hungry, but everyone was eating and I didn't want to look like I was caught doing something that I normally didn't do - even though that's exactly what happened.

I raised my eyes to see Adrianna still grinning. I narrowed my eyes at her, which only made her sputter a laugh and cover her mouth with her napkin.

"What's so funny," Anna asked, looking back and forth between her daughter and me.

Adrianna set her napkin back down onto her lap. "Let's just say that I caught Enzo and Eva doing some stuff on the floor this morning."

Nico seemed to choke on his eggs. He reached out and grabbed his water, his eyes meeting mine for the briefest of seconds before he turned his attention back down to his plate.

I covered my face with my hands and rested my elbows on the table. I didn't care that it was unsavory. I truly didn't care what his family thought about me, even though two out of the three seemed to like me just fine. As for Orlando, I couldn't get a good read on him. Even at the wedding, he only gave me a smile and received my congratulations for their marriage. He seemed strange, at least around Enzo and I. And I knew for a fact that Nico disliked both of us.

"We were just kissing," I murmured. "There's nothing scandalous about that."

"It wasn't just kissing, dear." Adrianna laughed and I looked up at her. "Don't look at me like that! I'm not judging! It's nice to see Enzo with a woman that he has kept for more than one night."

Enzo pinched the bridge of his nose. "A, shut up. Mom and dad don't need to know about it and neither does your husband."

"Come on." She stuck her tongue out at her brother. "You two have been together for quite some time. What's the problem with you doing things with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he said through gritted teeth. When the room silenced and he had everyone's attention, he looked at each person. "We haven't been dating for three months. We haven't been dating at all. She's my accountant and I took her to the wedding so that you wouldn't try to set me up with one of your friends. What you saw up there was the first time we've ever kissed. It was the first time we had even slept in the same bed."

Adrianna's mouth was gaping. "I walked in on your first kiss?"

Out of everything he just said, that's what she got out of it? He admitted to lying to them and all she got out of it was the fact that she walked in on us kissing for the first time. Well, technically it was the second time. But, still. If I were her, I would have been livid at the fact that he lied to me without even batting an eye.

Anna looked at me and I could see a hint of betrayal in her eyes. "So, does that mean you two are starting a relationship?"

"Enzo doesn't fucking do relationships, Anna," Nico spat. "He does that thing - what do they call it? Hit it and quit it? Hell, I even knew it was a farce. She's probably not even her accountant. She's probably just some whore he picked up on the street."

Enzo growled and turned narrowed eyes on his father. "Don't you dare talk about her like that, father. You are not allowed to come into my home and belittle me, my property, my employees, or Eva."

It seemed like lightning crackled throughout the room as father and son glared at each other.

"Do you even have feelings for her," Adrianna whispered, her eyes on her brother.

I cringed. I barely knew Enzo and he barely knew me. What did they think he was going to say? I liked the way he looked and the way he treated me, but that was about as far as that went. I was still getting used to my surroundings and getting used to the fact that I was in his home for a reason. The kiss that we shared was something I wasn't expecting at all. And although it felt right, I didn't want to get my hopes up for anything serious when I doubted he would want that anyway.

If what Nico said was right and he didn't do relationships, then obviously he didn't do relationships.

Enzo sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "I don't understand what you mean, A."

"I'm asking if you feel something for her." Adrianna looked at me for a split second before looking back at Enzo.

He pursed his lips. "I feel something, yes."

My body warmed under his admission, but I didn't allow him to see how happy it actually made me to hear that. He could have been lying for all I knew just to get them off of his back. But by the looks of it, he was telling the truth. The tone of his voice and his body language all said that it was true.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and saw that he was already looking at me.

He smiled slightly. "Sorry you had to find out this way."

My heart constricted and I forced myself to my feet before turning and walking out of the dining room. The last time someone said that they had feelings for me was when I was with my ex and he was trying to get me into bed with him. Ever since he left me, I tried my hardest to stay far away from all men who I was relatively attracted to. It was hard to see any man being attracted to anything about me except the obvious.

I was a smart-ass and spoke sarcasm like a second language. When I had something planned out in my head, no one could change it. I angered quickly and threatened people's lives like I was a trained killer, even though I would never take someone's life. My personality completely ruined the way I looked to people. At first glance, I was a cute strawberry blonde that reminded everyone of the "girl next door". But when they got to know me and got into my head, people left.

My parents sent me to a psychiatrist a few years back for my anger, which helped a bit unless they talked about my miscarriage. I don't get as angry as I used to. But when I did get angry, it was bad.

For Enzo to say that he felt something for me...it didn't register well in my mind. He hadn't seen the real me if he believed that he knew me well enough to feel something for me. In my mind, he'd leave me just like the rest of them when things got too difficult for him to handle.

I reached my room and stepped inside. Only to be stopped by arms wrapping around my shoulders. I stilled, thinking that Maverick had found a way into the home and was there to take me. But when the familiar scent hit my nose, I relaxed and turned to look back into Enzo's chocolate brown eyes.

"Are you okay," he whispered.

"You didn't have to lie to your family about your feelings for me." I huffed out a laugh.

His eyebrows drew together as he took a step away from me. His eyes roamed over me, warming me. When his eyes finally met mine again, I felt like I was about to break into a sweat.

He tilted his head, still looking confused. "What I told them wasn't a lie, Eva. I do feel something for you."

"Like a close friendship." I chuckled, running my fingers through my hair. "Or like a sister-type."

"I wouldn't kiss my sister like that." His right eyebrow cocked up. "I mean like a lover-type."

I blinked.

He stared.

"Excuse me?" It was my turn to tilt my head in confusion.

He laughed. "My father was right when he said that I don't do relationships. At least, I haven't tried in quite a long time. It's pretty difficult to remain in a relationship when one doesn't know the true life of the other. And when they do find out, it never turns out well. So, I do technically feel something, but acting on it is a whole other story."

He said that without blinking. He didn't even flinch, like I did. I felt a trickle of sweat run down the back of my neck as I stared at him, trying to watch for any signs of deceit. But there wasn't one.

The longer I stared at him, the more I became uncomfortable. He was being dead serious.