If he'd admitted who he was at some point when he was being Alex, I'd have forgiven him, especially after a taste.
No wonder I wanted both of them.
But his power is dangerous.
And he used it in a different way. To protect me, yes, but to keep the game going in the wrong ways.
I'm holding back on telling him I'm pregnant—something that definitely has a finite shelf life in the secrets department—because I'm still deeply hurt by his lies.
And I don't think I'm...not able to completely forgive him.
I will.
That whispers in my bones.
But right now, I have to let that trust that's tangled with forgiveness work itself out.
And if he wants to see where this goes, we need to have actual time together, time to be us, to see.
If I tell him...he might not be mafia, but he has mafia blood. He's Italian.
He's the kind of man who'd just decide this was it.
Which isn't fair on either of us.
We either work or we don't.
Adding a baby?
He'll make the decision for us, force this relationship into being. And if we're not meant to be, we'll both be miserable.
Enzo and I haven't even gone on a date, we've had sex, but amazing as it was, that was it. That is not a relationship.
He won't think that way, he'll make it happen. Like he took responsibility for me since I was a kid, whether I liked it or not.
And as much as I don't want to admit it, he did save me.
This, a baby, it's life-changing.
It's not something to drop on a man.
With time, I'll tell him. As I said, finite shelf life.
So, I have time.
And as I answer a silly question from him with a laugh, a small voice inside won't shut up about how me keeping the baby secret for now won't sit well with him.
And I can't help but wonder if, after everything, it might be my secret that kills this fledgling relationship.
I shake my head. "How the hell do you know a Michelin star chef?"
He shrugs with that casual, easy grace. "How do I know most of the people I know? Charm and genius."
"Uh huh."
"I helped him out with something a few years back. Cade, too. And François is a great guy."
"Well, he can cook."
