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I confronted him that night. He told me things were tight, and it was the only way he could pay the bills. I refused to accept that, so I started working more hours at the restaurant, bartending at night, and lifeguarding in the morning. I gave my dad almost everything I made and asked him to promise that he would stop. He agreed, and I foolishly believed him.
“For a month, I thought everything was going great until I came home one day and got the mail. It was nothing but bills and final notices from the electric company, the water company, and the cable company. I was pissed, and I had to stop lying to myself and realize that my father just said what he thought I wanted to hear. He never stopped dealing, and when I caught another deal go down in the house where my brother and sister lived, I couldn’t sit back anymore. I had to do something. I had to protect my family.”
“That’s why you never go with Ella to see him.”
“I have nothing to say to that man. I tried to help him out. I was twenty-three, and instead of going out with my friends and living life, I was busting my ass for him, and he didn’t even care. Maybe what I did was out of revenge.”
“No.” Cami stopped him before he could let the words out into the universe. Enzo had no right to blame himself for his father’s bad choices. Enzo did more than enough to try and help his dad out. Enzo wasn’t the bad guy here; he was the unsung hero. “You did what you had to do.”
“I could’ve tried to talk to him again.”
“It would’ve been a waste of breath, and deep down, you know that.”
“Would it have, though? And maybe he would’ve kept dealing, but he wouldn’t have got caught. Ella and Tony wouldn’t have lost their father. They had already lost their mother.”
“So did you, and your father never should have put you in that position. He wasn’t a good influence, Enzo. You were more of a father to them than he ever was.” Enzo pressed his lips together and shook his head as if he didn’t believe her. She grabbed his face and turned him to look at her. “Who taught Ella how to drive?”
“Not that it did her any good. She still chooses to ride her bike everywhere.”
“Regardless, you taught her. Who bought Tony his first paint set? Who bailed Marco out of jail?”
“I only did what any brother would do for their siblings.”
“Maybe, but those are three lousy examples for all that you have done for them. Whether you want to believe it or not, you were a better father to them, and because of you, they all survived to adulthood. Ella is going off to California with a man she’s madly in love with and starting her own interior design business. Marco is getting married, and his furniture business is growing by the day. Tony is…well Tony is doing whatever Tony does in his studio. A studio you helped build.”
“I helped him become a recluse.”
“He’s not a recluse. He’s an artist.”
“Maybe if I actually saw some of his work, I’d believe it, but he keeps it under lock and key.”
“Give him time. I’m sure once he emerges, you’ll be in awe of his masterpiece.”
“I guess only time will tell.” He cleared his throat and he shifted. “I think it’s my turn for a question now,” Enzo said and Cami glanced at him. His eyes turned that sexy cobalt that made her thighs quiver. “Have you ever had sex on the beach?”
“Once, and it was terrible. But I’m willing to give it another shot.”
“Good, because I haven’t and it’s on my bucket list.”
“You have a bucket list?” Cami asked, surprised by this revelation.
Enzo’s finger rested beneath her chin and urged her up. “Only since you,” he said, his voice gruff with desire. “And they’re all the places I want you naked.”
“An entire list, huh?”
He responded with a chaste kiss to her lips.
“Like where else?” she asked.
His tongue teased the corner of her mouth. “Under the stars in my backyard.” He kissed her cheek. “My bedroom. My kitchen table.” He sucked on her lip, and she moaned at the intense craving that devoured her. “On the hood of your car. On the washing machine.” He dragged his lips down her neck, licking a path along her collarbone. “On the pier.” A need so desperate clawed its way to the surface, and when Enzo brought his mouth back to hers, she kissed him with a ferocity that she didn’t even know she contained.
His hands thrust into her hair, her body ripe and ready. She didn’t care that they were on a public beach and that the sun hadn’t fully set yet. The world around them didn’t exist; in this moment it was only the two of them.
Enzo kissed her back, matching her fervor. His hand slipped inside her pants, and she cried out when his thumb brushed against her swollen bud. Her body bucked back, head lolling to the side while Enzo took that as his opportunity to kiss the length of her neck. Her body gave itself over to pleasure, absorbing every ounce of it, focusing on the now and helping Enzo earn a check on his bucket list.
Chapter 22
The smell of coffee was a welcoming scent that greeted Cami like an old friend when she walked into her shop. She was amazed to see it hadn’t fallen apart while she was gone, though if she were honest with herself, she was also a little disappointed. She wanted to believe that the Local Bean’s success had everything to do with her. It was a little disheartening to see everything just as it was the day she had hurt herself.
