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A few things had, but there was something else he hadn’t quite grabbed on to yet.
“I don’t have any better advice,” Marco said. “But good luck. If you need to grab a beer and blow off steam, let me know.”
“Will do. Enjoy your lunch.”
Enzo went back behind the bar. He thought about all the time he and Cami had spent together. They were happy, at least he thought they were. Then suddenly, like a light being turned on at the end of a tunnel, it dawned on him. That first day at his house, when he mentioned their future, she had frozen up, and he thought something was wrong, but she blew him off, acting like it was nothing.
It wasn’t nothing. She was scared. How he hadn’t seen this sooner…? He’d pushed too hard and too fast. Cami, like him, was set in her ways whether she wanted to admit it or not. Of course she would freak out at the idea of leaving behind her townhouse, the place she’d bought with her own hard work and determination.
He was an idiot. He was so blinded by his own happiness and excitement for their future that he didn’t take into account how she felt.
He needed to fix this; he just had no idea how.
Chapter 26
It had been a day and a half since her fight with Enzo, and Cami was still furious, but more than that, she was broken hearted. Her insides felt empty without the touch of him, the feel of his lips on hers, and the calming sound of his voice. Waking up without him, she didn’t expect it to affect her so much since they’d only been sharing a bed together for a couple of weeks, but it had.
The morning hurt more than night. She woke, cold and alone, the desire to get out of bed and start her day was gone. She knew if she succumbed to the sadness, she’d never find her way out, so she forced herself to get up. Going through the motions, she changed into a pair of running shorts and a tank top. Maybe a run on the beach would help clear her mind and bring her the serenity she was desperately searching for.
Her brand new tire stared at her like a symbol for the demise of a relationship she never expected, never wanted, but couldn’t imagine life without.
She cried the entire drive to the beach, hating herself for allowing the tears to fall in the first place. She had always been a strong, independent woman who didn’t need a man to make her happy. She had been the only person who had controlled her happiness, and she foolishly handed over the reins to someone else.
Enzo had steered her off course and crashed her into a tree. This was why she avoided relationships; no good could ever come from them.
With that revelation, she pulled into the parking lot and threw her car into park. The sky was still dark but fading slowly into day. It would be a couple hours now before the sun was fully up, shining bright, and Cami wished she could climb on a ladder and take it down. She didn’t want sun today. She wanted black clouds and rain. She wanted Mother Nature to match her mood.
She walked along the boardwalk, stretching her arms as she went, and when she got to the sand she stared at the ocean. She never did get Enzo to skinny dip. Her eyes wandered across the beach, and she thought about the night where they marked beach sex off his bucket list. Her treacherous thighs quivered at the memory. Stupid thighs. Stupid memories.
Enzo was in her head, and she wanted him out. The only way she could do that was to run. She turned, her leg positioned to propel into a sprint, when Enzo stepped onto the beach. He walked toward her, sexy as ever, and she sucked in a jagged breath.
She didn’t know what to say to him, and seeing him right now with the anger and frustration still inside her was a bad idea.
She shook her head. “Please,” she said, but the rest of the sentence got stuck on a sob.
“I was hoping I’d find you here,” he said, and she tried so hard not to look into his blue eyes, but she was powerless against the pull he had on her.
She caught his gaze and found satisfaction in seeing the black bags under his eyes and the blood shot red marring the beautiful blue. “Couldn’t sleep again?” she asked.
“Not even for a minute. I had someone on my mind, and no matter how hard I tried to shake her, I couldn’t.”
She bit her lip, hoping the pain would divert from her hurt, and she’d be able to hold her tears at bay. She didn’t know what to say. She’d flipped out on him, and she still didn’t see anything wrong with it. She felt justified in her reaction, and part of her meant what she had said. They were too different.
He stepped toward her, his hand reaching out to her cheek, but her body froze, and he let his hand fall back to his side. She hated herself for missing out on the chance to feel his touch, but she wasn’t ready to act like nothing happened. They couldn’t go back to the way things were, and she wouldn’t.
“I messed up,” he said, and her ears opened, ready to hear him out.
“Go on.”
“I never should have got your tire fixed, even though it was driving me insane. It wasn’t my place to do that. But I don’t think it was just about the tire. I think it was more than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“That day at my house when I talked about you moving in, I saw the way you looked. The thought terrified you, and I should have realized that. I should have talked to you. This is all so new, for the both of us. It’s just… when I’m with you it feels so right. A future I never thought I’d have became something I could actually see. Because when I think of my life five years from now, ten, twenty, I see you. And I’m sorry if that scares you, but I’m not sorry for feeling it. The only thing I’m sorry for is not seeing what was right in front of me for so long.”
She couldn’t fight the pesky tears, and one slid down her cheek. Enzo swiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
