The drive through town took much longer than necessary with a mix of people leaving the beaches and others returning to the boardwalk to grab dinner. By the time she got to Ella’s she was mentally exhausted. She threw her car in park and rested her head against the head rest, giving herself a second to get a grip.
With a deep breath, she opened the door and walked the pathway to the house. Ella answered before Cami’s hand came into contact with the knob.
Her long brown hair hung in beach waves over her shoulders, and she was in a pair of cutoff shorts and a green tank top that complimented her sun darkened skin. She had minimal makeup with just a touch of gloss on her lips. “I was wondering when you would get here,” she said.
“Sorry, I got held up at the shop. You ready?”
“Just have to grab my bag out of my room.” Ella moved out of the doorway, and Cami stepped inside. Her eyes immediately landed on the framed photos on the small table in the foyer. She’d been in this house a million times and never really stopped to glance at the pictures, but now all she could focus on was a picture of Enzo at his high school graduation.
He was handsome even then, and she remembered thinking so, but he had been older and wouldn’t even give her a second glance. It was amazing how time changed things.
“Camille!” Mr. Moretti came into the foyer. “I thought I heard that beautiful voice of yours.” His words were tinged by his thick Italian accent.
Ella laughed and shook her head. “I’ll be right back.” She held her finger up at her grandfather. “Behave yourself.”
He swatted at the air. “Oh hush.”
Cami draped her arm over Mr. Moretti’s shoulders. “He is always the perfect gentleman.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He patted her hand that hung over his shoulder, and they walked together into the dining room where the table had been transformed for poker night with a deck of cards and poker chips. Bags of chips and empty bowls sat to the left while rock glasses and bottles of liquor sat to the right.
“You still know how to party, I see,” Cami said.
“The minute I forget, throw dirt on me because I’ll be six feet under.”
Cami laughed.
“So did you get that tire fixed?”
What in the heck was going on here? People were acting like she was driving around with no doors. It was just a tire.
“Not yet, but your grandson is nice enough to remind me almost every day.”
“I’m happy he found you. No girl should be stranded on the side of the road.”
“You don’t think I can take care of myself?” Cami flexed her arm and pointed at her muscle. “Look at these guns.”
“Oh, I know you can.” He chuckled. “I’d feel sorry for the fella who ever tries to cross you.”
“That’s right. He’d be sorry.” She sat down on one of the dining room chairs, and Vinny followed. “What time are the boys coming over?”
Vinny adjusted his watch on his wrist. “Half hour or so, but Dominick’s always late.”
“There’s one in every group,” Cami said and flashed her gaze to Ella.
“I’m sorry,” Ella blurted. “I know. It’s just Lucas called. I’m ready though. Let’s go.”
“I don’t know. I’m rather enjoying the company of your grandfather.” Cami gave Vinny a wink, and he blushed.
“You girls go on and have fun.”
Cami didn’t know how much fun they’d have looking at coffee tables, but she was sure she and Ella would manage to find a way to make it so. She rested a hand on Vinny’s shoulder, and he took it in his own giving it a loving squeeze.
“Now you behave yourselves.”
“Never,” Cami said.
Vinny waved a finger at her, but the smile on his face proved he found her amusing. “Fabriella,” Vinny said, using Ella’s full name.
Ella turned to him. “We’ll behave. I’m worried about you and the boys.”
A childish grin formed on Vinny’s face. “Enzo will be here to ruin our fun.”
An unexpected rush of heat coursed through Cami’s body. She tried to suppress it as Ella gave Vinny a kiss on the cheek.
“Take my car,” Vinny said. “I’m in for the night.”
“I was going to drive,” Cami said.
“With only three good tires.” He shook his head. “Take my car. Four good tires that were just rotated.”
Cami sighed as Ella took his keys.
“Ready?” Ella asked.
“Yup.” Cami wanted to get out of there before Enzo showed up.
Two hours later Ella had dragged Cami through four stores and had taken many pictures as the ideas for the space formed in her mind. The particular care to detail made it obvious that Ella didn’t only want to get it right, she wanted to impress her older brother. She valued his opinion, and Cami had a feeling impressing Enzo would be the confidence boost Ella needed to go all in with her business.
That didn’t mean they couldn’t play a trick on Enzo in the meantime. “I have an idea,” Cami said to Ella as they walked out of the last store.
“Oh no.”
“What?” Cami asked.
“You have that look on your face like you’re about to get us in trouble.”
“Not trouble… just a little fun.”
“That’s what you said in tenth grade when you convinced me to put bubble bath in the washer.”
“It was funny.”
“It was humiliating. The entire laundry room was filled, and Enzo nearly cracked his head open when he caught us and slipped face first into the wall.”
“Okay, but this is nothing like that.”
“That’s what you said in middle school when you said you could fit five campfire marshmallows in your mouth and nearly choked to death.”
“Fine, my ideas haven’t always been the best, but this one will be funny. I promise.”
“I’m listening.”
“Enzo is playing poker tonight, right?”
“Yes.”
“So that means he’s not at home.”
“Uh huh.”
“He thinks you’re out looking for a coffee table, but what if you make him believe that you’ve been at his place, completely transforming it?”
“And that’s funny because…?”
“It took him forever to step back and let you do your thing, so why don’t we play a little trick on him?”
“What do you have in mind?” Ella came to a stop when they got to the car and leaned against the passenger door.
“You have pictures of his place, right?”
“On my phone.”
“Send them to me, and I’ll send them to Bastien. I’ll have Bastien do a little Photoshopping, then we can send the picture off to Enzo.”
“He will flip his lid.”
“And it’ll be hilarious.”
An amused smirk spread across Ella’s face. “Okay, let’s do it.” She slipped her phone out of her bag, and a few seconds later Cami’s phone vibrated with the incoming images.
Cami typed a quick text to her brother, knowing he would be home, and sent it off.
“Done,” she said, and with a laugh both she and Ella got in the car. Just as she put her seatbelt on, her phone vibrated with a message from Bastien.
Give me twenty minutes.
Cami smiled. Enzo was going to flip out, and she had never been more excited.
***
Twenty-five minutes later, Cami received a text from her brother. “Here it is,” she said as Ella pulled to the side of the road, and Cami opened the image.
Ella leaned in and they both stared in amused silence for a moment before belting out in laughter.
“He is going to freak out.” Ella grabbed the phone out of Cami’s hand. “It looks so real.”
Cami made a mental note to pick her brother up a six pack of his favorite beer. It was well deserved.
“Oh my God,” Ella said. “Look.” She pointed to the picture, and Cami followed her finger to
a white fur throw on the couch.
That just earned Bastien an apple crumb cake from his favorite bakery. “I’m going to text these to you,” Cami said. “Send them to Enzo. Let him stew, and then you have to tell me how Enzo reacts.”
“What?” Ella said, eyebrows furrowed. “This was your idea. You’re coming in with me.”
“I’d rather not.”
“You thrive on this stuff.”
Cami did love to ruffle feathers, especially if those feathers were Enzo’s, but how could she walk in there after he’d almost kissed her? After she wished he had? And how after disappointment had been clinging to her since the moment he hadn’t.
“I should get home.”
Ella pinned her with an unconvinced look. “I’ve known you almost my whole life. What aren’t you telling me?”
Cami blew out a breath, her hair blowing up around her. “Enzo kissed me.”
Ella’s eyes widened to saucers, mouth dropping in a shocked O. “What?”
“Well…not really. He went to kiss my cheek, but he got a little too close to my mouth, but still…He kissed my cheek, and he never does that, and I don’t know, but I guess…I liked it.”
Ella closed her eyes for a moment and then popped them open, holding her hand in front of her. “When did this happen?”
Cami bit her lip. “A couple hours ago.”
“Did he have a reason to kiss you on the cheek?”
“He stopped by to get coffee, and I was literally walking out the door, but I couldn’t turn him away, so I told him to come in. We talked a little; it was nice.”
Realization passed through Ella’s features. “Oh my God…You like my brother.”
Like? That was a strong word. She respected him, admired him at times even, genuinely thought he was an amazing person who would do anything for his family and friends. He was also insanely good looking, always willing to lend her an ear, and made the stress in her life momentarily vanish with a simple glance at his blue eyes. Those eyes were familiar, comforting, and lately had made her think about a future she never saw for herself. They set her mind on fire, penetrated her thoughts and lingered there far into the night.
Oh God.
“I do.” Cami buried her face in her hands. How did she allow this to happen? “What am I going to do? I don’t do relationships. They’re messy and complicated. I’d rather just meet someone, have sex a few times, and go our separate ways, happy and satisfied.”
“I just want to state that it is my brother that we’re talking about here, and it is very weird for me, so please spare any and all details that would relate to you two eventually doing it.”
“Sorry, but I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this.”
“You could talk to Krissy. Or literally anyone but me.”
“I could, but he’s your brother, and before I even let anything else happen, I want to make sure you’re cool with this.” Until the words were out of her mouth, she hadn’t realized how much she really wanted to pursue something with Enzo. They may have wanted different things out of life, but she couldn’t deny how he made her feel, at least not anymore.
“Why wouldn’t I be cool? My best friend and my brother together? I honestly couldn’t think of something that would make me happier. You both are such good, kind-hearted people. Rough around the edges a little, but you mean well.”
“But…?” Cami could sense it coming.
“You’re both also strong willed and determined to be right. You’ll either fall madly in love with each other or commit murder. I’m crossing my fingers for madly in love, but I’m not so sure.”
Cami laughed. “He does get on my last nerve.”
“Who knew all the banter between you two in the last couple of years was really pent up sexual frustration? It all makes sense now.”
“No,” Cami said. “Maybe.” Confusion sucked her in, spinning her head and making her question everything. “I never looked at him like that before…recently.”
“Subconsciously you probably did. And now you have to come in with me.”
The last thing she needed was Ella playing matchmaker. If anything was going to happen with Enzo, Cami wanted it to happen without any outside influence.
“Please, do me a favor and not say anything to him.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“The look on your face says otherwise.”
Ella pressed her lips together, but it was a losing battle against the smile emerging.
“El, please. This isn’t some guy I’m never going to see again. This is your brother, and I don’t want to mess this up and make it awkward. Let’s just go with the flow for once.”
“Fine,” Ella said. “But if you two get married, I’m calling dibs on maid of honor.”
“Marriage? We haven’t even actually kissed yet.”
“Let’s just say I have a good feeling about this.”
Cami was happy Ella did, because she wasn’t sharing the same sentiment. She wasn’t the relationship type, never had been. She was always more in it for the fun, and as soon as the fun died down, she was gone. She never thought long term, never looked beyond the moment. With Enzo, she could envision a future, and that terrified her more than anything ever had before.
Chapter 11
Enzo went straight to poker night after work, not bothering to stop home first. Ella was out looking at coffee tables for his place with Cami, and he didn’t want to accidentally stumble upon them. Not after he’d almost kissed Cami earlier. He had gotten her cheek, but if he was honest with himself, he really wanted to capture her lips and feel her mouth move against his, run his fingers through her red strands of hair, pull her close, and inhale her vanilla coffee scent.
He forced the thought out of his mind and walked into the house, carrying two to-go bags from the restaurant. He made his way to the dining room and cheers erupted as he stepped inside. “Finally,” Dominick said. “We thought you might have gotten lost.”
“Nope, just got stuck chatting with a customer.”
“Was it a pretty lady?” Dominick asked, his already red cheeks brightening.
Enzo laughed. “It was a woman who is on vacation with her husband, celebrating fifty years of wedded bliss.”
“God bless them,” Joe Prescott, Lucas’ grandfather said. His gray hair was combed back like usual, showcasing his prominent forehead.
Dominick rolled his eyes. “If I was married to the same woman for fifty years, I’d rip out every last bit of hair on my head.”
“That’s not saying much, since there’s not much left for the picking,” Vinny said.
Stan thudded his arm on the table. “Are we playing or not?” Enzo had never met a man more serious about poker night than Stan, and Stan hated when the rest of the men got distracted from the game.
Alfonso, the quiet one of the poker crew, sat back observing like he usually did. He never really had much to say. Then again, with this group it was hard to get a word in edgewise.
“Let’s break to eat,” Vinny said, and Stan threw his hands up in the air.
“What are you moaning about?” Dominick asked. “You keep losing anyway.”
“Because you keep cheating!”
“Oh please. More like you and your lousy poker skills.”
“I’ll give you lousy poker skills.” Stan threw his cards down on the table and stood up. One of these days Enzo was going to let them throw punches. Then again, both being in their seventies, he was afraid they’d break a hip trying.
“Settle down, gentleman,” Enzo said. “Where is Wilson?”
The energy in the room changed instantly. All the men suddenly quiet.
“Wife’s not having a good day,” Vinny said. “She started a more aggressive treatment, and it did a number on her.”
Enzo nodded. He didn’t need Grandpa to go into any more detail. Wilson’s wife had been diagnosed with cancer, and she’d been fighting like hell. They had all been hopeful she’d beat it, but there were moments
like this when no one wanted to express their deepest thoughts.
“You should have told me sooner,” Enzo said. “I would have brought them over dinner.”
“I asked. He didn’t want anything,” Vinny said.
“I’ll stop by tomorrow and see if there’s anything I can do.”
Vinny pulled Enzo’s head down, kissing his forehead. “Sono fiero di te.”
Enzo didn’t know why his grandfather would be proud of him for doing what he had taught him, but it was still nice to hear. Enzo patted Vinny on the shoulder. “Let’s eat.”
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he fished it out. A text from Ella flashed on his screen. He opened it.
Surprise. What do you think?
His eyes widened as he did a double and triple take. That was definitely his living room. Why in the hell were the walls purple? Purple! He was going to kill her. And was that a white fur blanket? What about him made her think, yup he definitely needs a white fur blanket?
She had to be kidding. Had to be.
Very funny.
You don’t like it?
Stop playing around.
I’m not. You told me to take charge, so I thought that meant I could do what I thought would look best.
And you thought it was purple walls and a fucking white fur blanket!?
He took a deep breath before the pressure he applied to the screen snapped the phone into pieces. His phone vibrated, and he prayed for strength to get through this conversation.
Yes. I thought it was time for a change.
He typed a dozen responses and deleted every single one, attempting to control his raging emotions.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dominick asked.
“My sister,” Enzo said through clenched teeth and handed the phone to Dominick.
Dominick didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. Enzo got his feelings based on the robust sound of his laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Stan demanded, and Dominick passed over Enzo’s phone. Stan barked out a laugh and felt the need to show everyone else.
Enzo finally snatched his phone back and typed three words.
Change it back.
His Complete Polar Opposite Page 7