Married To My Enemy: A Steamy Enemies To Lovers Romance

by Wood, Vivian

  I can see the street beside me, though. That’s all that counts. When I see Dorie’s Market coming up, I say so to the driver.

  “Do you mind stopping right here?” I ask. “Please, on the right. I can walk from here.”

  “Of course,” she says cheerfully. She pulls over, letting me out. “Have a great day.”

  I say nothing, my chin wobbling. It’s still hard to accept that other people don’t know that this monumental, world-changing thing happened.

  My mom and dad died and no one is the wiser. Everyone just carries on with their humdrum little lives as if nothing had ever happened.

  I take a deep breath, my feet carrying me toward the little market. I push open the door, cringing at the sound of the bell overhead. Dorie’s Market is just the same as it was five years ago. It’s still stocked high with canned goods and a small produce section. It still smells most strongly of lemon, like wood polish maybe.

  And most importantly to me, it still has fresh flowers. Right between the heads of lettuce and the berries are a few bouquets of flowers.

  I choose the one with the most color, selecting the bouquet that has pink ranunculus, yellow daisies, dark red roses, and baby’s breath. My mom would have loved this arrangement; she always preferred bright bursts of color over more muted flowers.

  My eyes well up at that. I rush to the counter and pay for them, then get out of the store as quickly as I can manage.

  I step out into the morning chill, my eyes settling on the cemetery. From here, I can just barely make out the big wrought-iron gates.

  Cavalry Catholic Cemetery lies just beyond, though the fog makes it impossible to see just now. Taking a deep breath, I step out into the road, crossing the cobblestone street toward the cemetery.

  It’s a little uphill walk. I reach the gates with minimal huffing, but then I stop. Looking up at the broad arch made of wrought iron, I swallow.

  “Just go in,” I tell myself. “You can do it…”

  I always have this trouble at this particular point. Knowing what lies beyond prevents me from entering the gates with any kind of ease. But sooner or later, guilt will win out. It just a matter of time.

  I hear a car door slam. As I am trying to psych myself up, or maybe just let my guilt overwhelm me, I hear a familiar voice.

  “Are you stuck?”

  I turn halfway. There is Luca, walking up the last few steps of the hill.

  “What on earth are you doing here?”

  Luca shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, looking at me with a careful expression on his face. “I followed you here.”

  My mouth twists. “Why?”

  He shrugs a shoulder. “Because. I want to know things about you.” He looks up at the cemetery gates. “I didn’t realize that you were coming here, obviously.”

  I look down at the flowers I’m holding. My fingers tremble. “You should leave. This is private.”

  I can’t bear the thought of Luca watching me grieve.

  Instead of listening to me, he moves closer and touches my arm. “Hey. Will you look at me?”

  Glancing up into his face, I feel so exposed. Tears gather in my eyes again. This whole day is always emotional for me and being vulnerable in front of him is only making me more sensitive.

  Somewhere nearby, church bells begin to ring out. I suck in a breath.

  I am so ashamed to be crying in front of him. It’s not the first time by any means, but that doesn’t make it less excruciating.

  Luca doesn’t waver though. He moves closer and runs his hand over my back. His dark eyes bore into me.

  “I’ll wait for you out here if that’s what you really want. But I’m also ready to go inside the cemetery.” He nods at the high gates. “If you were hoping to get through today alone though, you’re out of luck.”

  I sniffle, looking down at my flowers again. I’m just so sad right now about so many things. Too many things to even list. But Luca doesn’t make me sad.

  Angry at times, yes. And lord knows that he frustrates me. But he makes me giddy sometimes, and I laugh at his jokes when we’re not fighting. Then there’s the incredible, not to be missed sex we’ve been having…

  And he’s also showing remarkable kindness to me right this second. So I make a decision, right here and now.

  “You can come,” I say. My voice sounds miserable, but at least I said something. At least I made a decision.

  Luca nods, his expression somber. He takes my arm and guides me through the gate that I was stuck outside of. Graves rise up on either side of the cement path, some mausoleums and some more austere and small grave markers. I point to the left.

  “We’ll have to go that way.”

  We walk through the morning chill, passing through the oldest section of the cemetery. I can only make out the path a few hundred feet in front of us. Everything else just sinks back into the gray and foggy morass.

  We come to a fork in the path and I turn right, pulling Luca along with me.

  Soon I see a towering tree, its branches bare this time of year; my parents are buried just beneath it and I always look for it to navigate here.

  I cut down one of the aisles, being extremely respectful of the graves as I go. Soon we reach the tree, a colossal oak whose branches twist into the sky.

  I look down to find the graves of my parents right next to each other. The stones are a boring gray granite. His name and her name, with the dates of their births and deaths. The inscriptions just say beloved father and beloved mother because I couldn’t even come up with anything to say at the time.

  I couldn’t stop crying then and I can’t hold back my tears now.

  Luca stops a few paces behind me. I feel self-conscious as I lay the flowers between my parents’ graves and sniffle.

  “Hi Mom. Hi Dad.” I fight to keep my composure. Looking back behind me, I see Luca waiting, his expression patient.

  He’s too close for me to talk to them like I usually do. I scrunch up my face but before I can say anything to him about it, he raises his hand.

  “I’ll be over there,” he says, pointing to the path we left a few minutes ago. “Take your time.”

  I bite my lip and watch him walk away, nearly disappearing into the foggy morning light. He stops and stares off into the distance, hovering just on the edge of my vision.

  I turn back to the graves, my brow furrowing. A dead leaf blows onto my father’s grave and stays there. Stepping closer, I remove it, stuffing the leaf in my pocket.

  “So that was Luca,” I say, glancing back at him briefly. “You met him, actually. I think you did anyway. The Christmas before…” I stop, correcting myself. “The Christmas before I graduated high school, I mean. I was at the Leone’s party. You both went to a movie and swung by the Leone’s house to pick me up. Luca introduced himself, even though I think it was brief.” I sniff. “Anyway, he’s a good guy. I know, I sort of hated him for all the years that you were… you were here.”

  I bow my head, sadness overwhelming me for a moment. My tears roll down my face, dripping off freely. It takes a minute to master myself again.

  “Sorry,” I rasp. I produce the wad of tissues, wiping my face and blowing my nose. “I just… I miss you guys both so much. It’s hard…” My voice cracks. Tears blur my vision. I bow again, going through the entire process. Let the tears overwhelm me, tamp down on my emotions again, blow my nose.

  “It’s hard living without you guys. Dad, you’ll be glad to know that I kept volunteering at the women’s shelter. Just like we used to do when you were alive. Mom, you’ll…” I pause. “Well, you’ll be glad to hear that I am still going to mass every week. You would be less excited to know that I’ve been living with Luca… but not everything is about church.”

  I look back at Luca, blowing out a breath. “Actually, I’m married. Well, not like… married married. But I married Luca after I had too much to drink. Don’t worry, I think we’re going to annul it. That should make you feel incrementally better about m
e living with someone. He is my husband.”

  For now, at least…

  Sighing, I purse my lips. “Grandma is good. She’s doing well. Luna is good. She’s working at the University of Washington Medical Center, doing her medical school rotations and stuff. Oh! And Harper got a job with a big publishing house. She has a fancy office downtown.”

  I think about what else they would like to know. “I realize that you guys probably are already aware of all of this… being up in heaven and all. I just… I wanted you to hear it all from me, I guess. Isn’t that silly? Feels kind of stupid, to be talking to your graves like you are actually here.”

  The church bells ring out again briefly, drawing my attention for a split second. It’s cold out here; I hunch down into my coat. And spend a few minutes staring at the ground in silence.

  “I guess I should go,” I say at length. “Just know…” Tears well again. “That you are very missed here. And you are still very loved. And although I have plenty of time left on earth, a lifetime will be over when you blink. We’ll all be together again in the afterlife. Okay?”

  I blow my nose again. “I’ll try to come see you guys in a few months, when it’s warmer outside. Okay? I won’t wait a year this time.” I wipe at my eyes. “Bye, Mom and Dad.”

  Turning away from their graves, I steel myself as I walk back down the row toward the path.

  I find Luca sitting on a bench, staring out across the graveyard. The morning is starting to warm up and with the warmth goes the fog. When he sees me walking toward him, his lips thin.

  “Hey.”

  I sit down beside him on the cement bench, looking out across the graveyard. “Hey.”

  A moment of tension blooms between us as I try to find the right thing to say. Something nice, something to erase the frown on his lips.

  “I’m sorry about your parents,” he says.

  I’m surprised by that. “Oh. Well… it was a while ago.”

  He sighs. “Yeah, I know. But the time passed obviously doesn’t make it better.”

  I narrow my eyes. “No. The pain fades but it doesn’t disappear.”

  I look down at my hands, rubbing them together for warmth. I’m still at a loss for words, it seems.

  Luca looks up at the sky. “I imagine that planning things is harder. Like big life things.” He slides me a glance. “Getting married, for instance. How do you throw a wedding when you know that your parents won’t be there?”

  I suck in a long breath. “For me, it isn’t that, exactly. It’s more like…” I stop to think for a few seconds. “Why date someone? Why get married? Why have kids? When my parents died, their love just… vanished. One day, just poof.” I gesture with my hands. “I’m so afraid to… to love anything or anyone like that ever again. It just seems like a surefire way to open yourself up to heartbreak.”

  Luca looks at me for a long moment. I expect him to disagree, to roll his eyes. To dismiss my feelings.

  But he doesn’t. Instead he reaches his arm around me, drawing me close. And I burrow into his warmth, appreciating his silent presence more than I think he knows. Putting my head on his shoulder, I try to control the way my eyes well up again.

  He puts his arm around my shoulders, holding me close. “It’s okay to cry, Cate.”

  For some reason, his words make a sob rise in my chest. But he doesn’t shush me or pull away. He just brushes some hair back from my face and rubs my shoulder a little bit.

  I bury my face in his leather jacket, breathing in his warm scent and crying like a little kid. His touch never changes, although I do notice that he does start rocking me a little bit.

  Consoling me, as it were. And to my surprise, it works a little. That, or I just expend all my energy here on this bench, clutching his jacket and sobbing.

  When I’m done, I am beyond spent. And Luca seems to know it somehow.

  He helps me up off the bench and guides me out of the cemetery, putting me in the passenger seat of his car. Then he drives me back to his house and takes me to my bed.

  I curl into a ball on my bed, exhausted. And Luca stays with me, rubbing my back lightly until I fall asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Luca

  I am wondering, at this precise moment in time, what it would be like to keep Cate. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of days. But right now I’m looking at her while she makes coffee in my kitchen, wearing a set of snowflake-patterned pajamas and a forlorn expression on her face. She puts her arms on the counter and leans down, watching the coffee drip.

  She is sexy, yes. And pretty easy to be around when she finally runs out of smart remarks. But seeing how she handled my parents the other night… how they basically loved her and paid almost zero attention to me… that was such a relief that I am now wondering how I could keep her around.

  And seeing her break down at the cemetery… there was a sad sort of magic there in the air. She was vulnerable and raw, I was silent and supportive…

  It was kind of odd but also kind of impressive that we were both so fucking adult about everything. It gave me a glimpse into what we could be if we were actually a thing.

  So yeah, I want to explore that feeling. And I think it will take longer than the five days we have left before Madisyn’s wedding.

  I mean, what I assume is Madisyn’s wedding… I haven’t exactly checked up on her or anything. Frankly, I would pull out of going altogether, but I don’t want to upset the delicate balance Cate and I seem to have just now.

  I look at her, pouring steaming coffee into two mugs and adding a splash of cream to each.

  I don’t want to pay Cate for additional time…. I don’t want that sort of arrangement. Just… I don’t know. It would be nice if she were just to want to stick around. I would just have to convince her that we — me and her — are worth sticking around for.

  What would happen if I told my lawyer not to file the annulment paperwork? Or not yet, at least.

  She turns and slides one of the mugs of coffee to me. “Here.”

  I take the coffee, watching her as I take a sip. It’s burning hot but creamy and delicious. Smiling, I take another sip.

  “Thanks.”

  Cate looks at me, her gaze calculating. “I’d like to take you to a place.”

  Setting my mug down, I wrinkle my forehead. I tease her. “You’re going to have to be more specific before I’ll agree to it. You could be planning to take me to the industrial part of downtown where you’ll drug me and steal my kidneys.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Luca, seriously.”

  My lips lift. “I seriously like having both my kidneys, Cate.”

  She snorts. “You are impossible.”

  When she picks her coffee mug up like she’s going to leave the kitchen, I snake my hand around her waist. “Wait, wait. Tell me more about where you want us to go.”

  A mischievous look settles on her elfin face. “Nope. I’m not going to tell you anything. I want to give you the address and have you drive there first.”

  I pretend to think about it. “Hmm. What will you give me in exchange for this huge amount of trust you’re asking of me?”

  Her lips quirk. She sets down her mug and pushes up onto her tiptoes, brushing her lips across mine. “I don’t know. What did you have in mind?”

  I kiss her neck and she giggles. Cupping her breasts through their brightly-colored flannel covering, I whisper in her ear. “I bet I can make you beg me to fuck you.”

  She rolls her eyes and grins. “I don’t know about that.”

  Kissing her again, I release her. “We’ll just see about that. One mystery trip will cost you one hour with me, doing whatever I want.”

  She bites her lip, a salacious grin on her face. “That sounds fair. It’s a deal. Get dressed and meet me at the car in ten minutes.”

  I drink my coffee as I put on a clean white t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and my leather jacket. What sort of place is Cate taking me to? I honestly can’t imagine.

>   On the ride there, I try to guess.

  “Is it a motorcycle sales place?” I ask.

  Cate slides me a look. “It’s definitely not that.”

  “Hmm.” I purse my lips. “The other day, you showed me a video of a celebrity whose husband brought a sloth into her bedroom just because she loves sloths.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “So?”

  “So are you taking me to a secret sloth sanctuary or something?”

  She rolls her eyes. “No, definitely not. And by the way, her husband only got her the sloth experience because he knew how much she loved them. And because her crying at seeing the sloth was so adorable. Somehow, I don’t think you feel the same way about sloths.”

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”

  She sighs heavily. “I think you’re getting the wrong idea about this place anyway. It’s more of a… mmm… a thing that revolves around me. I’m just taking you with me because I want you to see what I’m going to spend your annulment money on.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “Wait, really?”

  She looks out the window, her expression unreadable. “Yep.”

  I turn that over in my head for a bit. We start to go through a neighborhood that I know for some reason. Large brick houses that have mostly seen better days. I squint and I try to remember why I know the address Cate gave me.

  Then we pull up outside the house she lived in with her parents. I turn off the engine, trying to understand why we’re here.

  She turns to me, excitement on her face. “It’s stayed the same, don’t you think?”

  I lean down and look at the house. It’s actually in worse repair than I remember it being in. The gutters are overflowing with leaves, the concrete path leading to the dingy front door has several breaks in it.

  “Do you not own this anymore?” I ask, slowly piecing things together.

  Cate shakes her head. “No. My grandmother had to sell it when my parents passed away.” She looks at the house longingly. “But look.” She takes a worn piece of paper out of her purse, unfolding it and smoothing it out. I look at it carefully and see that it’s a real estate listing for the house. “It’s for sale!”