Page 46 of Tailored for You

When I opened my eyes, he was still staring at me. He winked and went back to his food. Was it me or was he always a step ahead of what I wanted? Did I have a tell that clued him in?

It was a question that I didn’t care to answer. I was okay with accepting life as it came, making workarounds when needed, and knowing when to appreciate things as they were.

This was one of those moments.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” he said, stepping away and putting on his suit jacket. “We need to hit the road in the next few minutes to be on time.”

Harper jumped off the seat and ran to the front. I followed.

There were two pairs of shoes at the front. One was clearly for Harper, new, and part of her uniform. The other was a platform sandal in warm brown leather with a designer emblem.

They weren’t mine. I opened the small closet to find jackets, but no shoes. There weren’t any shoes that came with the delivery of clothes from Enzo’s guys.

“Put the shoes on, Serena. We’re going to be late,” Enzo said, holding the door open.

“I don’t have shoes,” I said, making a show of looking around for my beat-up Converse.

“You do.” He pointed to the pretty sandals. “Put them on. I know you like them.”

I did. They were pretty, with amazing stitching and craftsmanship. They also cost thousands of dollars and would be the most expensive things I’d ever worn.

Enzo walked over, crouched, grabbed the sandals, and gestured for me to step into them.

Seeing Enzo on his knees, staring up at me, fried my brain. I couldn’t process it.

In a daze, I stepped into the shoes, and Enzo carefully buckled me in. I pressed my nails into my palms, the bit of pain grounding me in reality.

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the ground to avoid looking at Enzo, for fear that he’d keep me in a daze, and headed outside. Enzo’s low laugh followed me out the door.

There were two SUVs out front, one with Donovan behind the wheel, and the other had three men loading it up with clothes I needed to send back to clients.

I headed over, “Wait. What are you doing?”

All three men froze in place, one stopping as he was hanging up a garment, his face paled.

“Bambina, no.” Enzo tugged my hand back, whipping me toward him. “They’re doing deliveries for you today.”

“What?” I heard him, but it was like my brain refused to process the information.

“Stay with me, bambina.” He hit me with that damn smirk that flipped my stomach. “They know where every piece goes. You keep great records. They’ll take payment and bring it back for you to deposit.”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Gently, Enzo put a hand on my shoulder and guided me to the car, where Harper waited.

Her feet swung in her booster seat, strapped in and ready to go. I climbed in and slid to the middle seat; the SUV was spacious enough for it. Enzo came in after. As I buckled up, an arm reached behind me, flicked Harper’s hair, then curved around my shoulders.

A breakfast sandwich appeared in my periphery. I grabbed it, unable to contain my excitement.

I loved breakfast. It was my favorite meal of the day. Skipping meant that I was hungry, got a headache, and hated the world.

I narrowed my eyes at Enzo as I brought the sandwich, a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel, to my mouth. Catching the moan in my throat, I chewed and sighed at how good it was.

We drove, with Donovan navigating the morning Manhattan traffic with ease. Normally, Harper and I walked and took the train, so being in a car was a change from our usual commute.

Harper showed no nerves as we got closer to her school, like she normally would, jumping out of the car and bouncing on her toes as she held my hand and walked up the steps.

Enzo walked in with me as I headed to the office to get the paperwork to add him to the school’s authorized pickup list. Sending Harper to the school Charles wanted had left me uneasy, even though he paid for it and never missed a deadline, because the families that went there were in his circle.

I hated knowing there was a chance he reported my comings and goings to him. With Enzo accompanying me, there was no doubt the mothers and nannies were already typing away about the man I’d brought to drop-off.