Page 88 of King of War

He nods his agreement and without another word, I leave Micah’s office and head to the bakery across town before it closes. I also make a call to Angelo on my way.

I leave the cherry pie on the dining table and head to find Rayne. It’s no surprise to find her in the den, but the packed bag on the coffee table almost knocks the breath from my lungs.

She offers me a weak smile.

“Are you going somewhere?” I ask, my heart nearly in my damn mouth.

She twists her hands together awkwardly. “Actually, I thought why wait until tomorrow? I could leave now and be home a little after midnight.”

I glance between her and the bag, my heart splintering into a thousand fragments at her feet, but just like this morning, I can’t speak. Don’t know what to say to make her stay.

“I wanted to wait until you got home and not just disappear,” she adds.

I swallow down the sheer panic gripping my vocal cords and take a few steps toward her. “Rayne, I know I’ve said this before, and I know you said you believed me, but I am truly sorry. If there was any way I could take back what I did, or any of the pain I caused you, I would do it in a heartbeat. I would die to make you happy.”

“I believe that, Enzo, I really do.” She rests a hand on my cheek. Instinctively, I lean into her touch. “Now maybe we can both put this behind us and move on with our lives.”

I don’t want to fucking move on, Rayne. I want to go back in time and undo what I did. Undo what Ethan did. Can’t quite bring myself to admit that to her though, because this feels like the end. “I’ll never move on from you.”

She gives me a sad smile. “You will, and you should. You deserve to be happy. We were over a long time ago. Now you just need to let me go.”

How the fuck can she think I’d ever let her go? Even when I thought she betrayed me, I never really let her go. It’s why I kept tabs on her, why I traded my loyalty to Carmine for her safety. I could tell her that, but it would feel manipulative and hollow. So, instead I plead with her. “Just give me one more night, Rayne.”

Her eyes fill with tears. “It won’t make a difference, Enzo.”

It might not make a difference, but I want to do this anyway. Even if she still chooses to walk away from me, I owe her this. “I have a surprise planned for you, and I think you’ll enjoy it. So, please just stay one more night, and then if you still want to go tomorrow, I won’t stand in your way.” The final words slice me open, but I force them out because she deserves them.

Chapter

Forty-Three

RAYNE

God, I wish I could say no to him. I had my mind all made up, summoned up all of my courage to tell him I was leaving, and then he goes and looks at me like that. I should have left while he was out, disappeared from his life and never looked back. But that would have felt cowardly, and unfair to him.

What would one more night hurt, really? Even if I spend it in his bed, which I inevitably will, it won’t change anything. “Fine. I’ll stay for one more night. But only because I’m intrigued by whatever this surprise is. And if it’s just your dick tied up with a bow or something, I’m going to be super disappointed.” Not entirely, but still…

He laughs, and the sound is so free and genuine it’s unnerving. What the hell kind of surprise does he have planned that makes him light up like that. “Sit. Read your book. Watch some TV. Then meet me in the dining room at six. Not a minute before. Okay?”

I frown, suspicious as hell. “Okay.”

As promised, I wait until six o’clock to make my way to the dining room. Voices drift out into the hallway. And not just voices. Laughter. Familiar male laughter.

Are his brothers here too? What the hell is Enzo up to? I step into the room and freeze as I’m greeted by something that looks like it’s been pulled from a memory. The long wooden table still dominates the room, but in the center of it is a crowd of mismatched plates and bowls. Candles flicker softly between dishes overflowing with food. My favorite pink roses are arranged in random glass jars, and even in the empty wine bottle from last night. And around the table sit all five Medici brothers. They stop laughing when I walk into the room, all of their eyes on me. For a second, nobody speaks. Enzo is at the head of the table, his dark gaze holding mine captive.

“So glad you could join us, Rayne,” Micah says, breaking the silence

“Thank god,” Rafael mutters. “Enzo was becoming unbearable.”

But my eyes stay fixed on Enzo. He’s changed for dinner, out of the jeans and T-shirt he had on earlier and into a dark suit and a crisp white shirt—the top two buttons left undone. He looks intimidating, dangerous. Unfairly sexy. His eyes drag over me and a muscle flexes in his cheek. For a moment, the room disappears and there’s only me and him.

“Thank you for being here,” he says, voice sounding rough, almost strained. As though he’s been holding his breath, waiting for my arrival.

Luca clears his throat.

“Jesus Christ,” Rafael groans. “Can you two stop staring at each other like that so we can eat?”

I smile and Enzo does too, holding out a chair for me. Before I sit, I take a closer look at the table. The food isn’t catered. Not elegant or expensive despite the wealth sitting around the room. It all looks homemade. Comfort food. My comfort food. My favorite pasta dish. The olive sourdough bread I love. The rosé blush I adore. Cherry pie from the best bakery in the entire world. “What is all this?”