Chapter 19

Enzo hovered for the next week. He was always just…there. She moped around, eating, sleeping, and then sleeping some more. Never before had she felt such sadness. But he didn’t leave her side. They hadn’t had one real conversation, but just the fact that he’d stayed made her feel better.

“Honey, you need to get your ass out of bed!” She recognized Francesca’s Brazilian accent immediately. She pulled the blanket over her head and felt the dip in her bed as someone sat down.

“Come on, JL. I know you’re grieving, but you have to get up. It’s been over a week and you haven’t left this house once. Enzo and Travis are worried, and so am I.” It was Violet.

“Come have a drink with us,” Jessica said. “Get dressed and unwind a little. You need to get out of the house.”

“I can’t drink,” JL mumbled from under the blanket.

Francesca pulled the covers off JL. “What?”

JL looked around at the four faces staring back at her: Violet, Francesca, Chrissy, and Jessica.

Chrissy winked at her, giving her the courage to finally say it out loud. “I’m pregnant.”

Jessica and Francesca’s eyes widened, and Violet’s filled with tears. “Don’t you dare cry, Vi,” JL warned.

But it was too late—her sentimental best friend’s chin quivered. “I’m so happy for you.” She hugged JL tightly. “You’re going to be the best mom, I just know it.”

“You’re happy about this, right?” Jessica, the practical one, asked.

“I don’t know if happy is the word I’d use. I’m more like nervous and scared. It’s unexpected.”

“But you’re keeping the baby?” Chrissy asked.

“Yes,” she said with absolute certainty, because there was no other option. Even scared, she’d love the baby and do everything for him that her mother never had.

“And how are you feeling?” Chrissy asked.

“Tired. Queasy.”

Francesca pointed to the Batman boy shorts that peeked out from the hem of JL’s matching Batman camisole. “And someone actually fucked you in those?”

“They’re cute,” Violet said.

“Listen, ladies, we are in our thirties. We aren’t eighteen-year-old frat boys. Batman doesn’t say sexy.”

“I think it does,” Violet replied defensively.

“Enzo didn’t seem to mind,” JL added.

“Aha!” Jessica pointed a finger. “It was Enzo who knocked you up.”

JL threw a pillow at Jessica. “Of course. Who the hell else did you think it was, Sherlock Holmes?”

“I don’t know. Guess that makes sense.”

“And what’s going with you two now? He okay with the baby situation?” Francesca asked.

“We haven’t really talked about it. He hasn’t left my side, though. He says he wants to be involved.”

“But are you guys together?” Violet asked.

“I don’t know, and honestly, I’m too tired and overwhelmed to have that conversation.”

“I’m ordering some food, and you’re going to get dressed and meet us in your living room,” Violet said.

“Fine,” JL huffed, but secretly she was grateful for her friends. “Is Enzo here?”

“No, he had to run some errands. He asked me to come watch you, so I brought reinforcements.” Violet pointed to the other women.

“I’m just going to say this one thing. If you wore a sexy red thong instead of that ridiculous Batman underwear, you’d have no problem knowing Enzo’s intentions. True story,” Frances said as she pulled JL up and shuffled her to the bathroom with a chuckle.

It was nice to spend the day vegging out by the television with good food from a local fish market while watching romantic comedies. The girls teased JL for reciting the words to the two movies she’d forced them to watch. Before they all left, Francesca took JL aside. “Just wanted to say that Enzo may be my cousin, but we didn’t grow up the same way. My father was very loving to me, but Enzo never had that. He hasn’t had it easy. His parents are assholes. My uncle, especially, is a dick. His parents’ marriage, a lot like his own marriage with that bitch Marianna, was more of a business transaction than a relationship. He wants to make everyone happy instead of himself, which is why he married that woman, why he went to business school, why he never seriously pursued MMA. I think this thing between you two may be the first time he’s seen what a real relationship is and what truly caring for another person is all about. All I’m saying is, be patient with him. He’s a good man, loyal to a fault. Trust him to do the right thing.”

“I know, Frances. It’s just been a lot to absorb in a very short time, but I do understand what you’re saying. Thanks for being on his side. He probably needs people on his team if his parents are such jerks.”

After all her friends had left, she called Jonah about going out to paint that day and then called Patsy and agreed to go into work the next day. It was time to start living again. Moping around all the time wouldn’t do her any good, and she needed to be strong for herself and for her baby.

Enzo had been in conference all morning, and finally—finally!—it seemed as though things would work out. Rommel had called a meeting with a separate group of moneymen who liked Enzo’s new urban proposal, and they were going to buy out his father’s original contract from right under his nose. It was an underhanded move on Enzo’s part, but his father had left him no other choice.

He looked at his phone, and there was a message from Jamie Lynn. Feeling better. Going to paint.

Once he was finished with work he ran to the nearest hardware store, bought a bunch of items, and drove to the Walls just as she was pulling up. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I want to tell you not to do this because you’re still too tired. But I haven’t liked seeing you in bed and I know you’re going to fight me anyway, so instead I brought supplies.”

She smiled brightly and looked inside the bag he handed her. “Gloves? A mask? No, let me rephrase it—a crazy Bane from Batman mask.”

“I’ve seen your PJs.”

“Enzo…,” she whined.

“It’s the best they had, and it’ll keep the baby safe from all those fumes. Please, just indulge me.”

She rolled her eyes, but he couldn’t help notice the big grin on her face. “Yes, of course I’ll wear it. Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” He kissed her cheek. “I also made sure that no cop will bother you all anymore.”

“Thanks, Enzo. That means a lot.”

“You sure you’re ready for this?”

“I am. I need to get out of my head, and this is the best way. I want to lose myself in this wall for the next few hours.”

“I’m going to the Academy for a bit. I’ll bring you food at your apartment.”

She kissed his cheek and turned toward the group of friends who were parking their cars.

Since arriving back at Tarpon Springs last week, Enzo had been working out daily, and an hour into his workout he still couldn’t believe how great the day had turned out. His girl was out of the house, the Walls would be saved, and he was at the gym in the middle of the day. “I can tell you trained while you were away,” Tony said as he ducked out of the way of Enzo’s kick.

“Yes. Every day. I’m serious this time. I want to fight. Not just to win, but because I enjoy the sport. I haven’t enjoyed much in the last thirty years, but now I’ve realized what’s important.”

“That’s good, man. Glad to hear it,” Tony said as they continued to spar. “You may just have a chance at that win if you keep it up.”

“Hope so,” Enzo said breathlessly.

“Let’s switch,” came a now familiar voice from the other side of the cage.

“Iggy, didn’t know you were in town!” Tony said.

“Yeah, had a few things to take care of.” He opened the cage and walked in. “Mind if we go a few rounds? Think you can take me?”

“Hell yeah. With all the metal you’re sporting, it’s like fighting with Iron Man,” Enzo teased.

Iggy put his gloves down, and his face changed from that of a happy-go-lucky jokester to the visage of a forlorn and offended man.

“Too soon, Enzo. You can’t insult a man who lost a leg defending your country. What kind of asshole are you? Not cool. Iron Man? Are you a bigot?”

Enzo’s face heated, and he wished the ground would swallow him up.

Iggy hooted loudly. “Oh my God, I wish you could see your face right now. You look mortified! I was just fucking with you!”

“You’re a dick,” Tony said to Iggy from behind them, but he was chuckling.

“You really are,” Enzo agreed.

“Come on, Pretty Boy. Take your best shot.” Iggy arrogantly held his arms out, and Enzo took the opportunity to land a punch right in Iggy’s gut.

By the time Enzo returned back to Jamie Lynn’s apartment it was almost six in the evening. “Don’t you work anymore?” She’d noticed his workout clothes as soon as he walked through the door.

He shrugged dismissively. “You look better.”

“Yeah. I bathed,” she said, looking inside the bags of food he’d brought with him.

“I was about to tell you something about the smell in the house,” he teased her. “I think getting out of the house did you good. Brought you some soup from EE’s Diner.”

“Yum,” she said as she served herself. “How’s the training coming along?”

“Great. You going to come watch me fight?”

“Of course.” She took a sip of soup. “I’m going to work tomorrow.”

He had been afraid of this. “Jam—”

“Don’t.” She put her hand up. “I appreciate you being here and helping, but I need to get dressed and get out of this house every day and start doing normal things. Painting today was a great start, but I need to work too. I can’t just sit around all day gestating and crying.”

Enzo snorted. “I don’t want you sitting around crying, either, although I do want you to feel better. You don’t have the energy to work at a bar yet.”

“Yes, I do,” she said. “I’m only going back for a few hours a day until I have more energy. Staying home is depressing me. All I do is think about my mother and all the things that I wish I had said. All the regrets. Then I get angry at all the things she made me go through and it’s just…well, it’s depressing. I miss my mom, then I don’t, then I do again. Plus, I’m all hormonal. It’s too many things floating around in my head. I just think that work is step one in feeling better.”

He exhaled loudly. “I’m in awe of you, sweetheart.” She opened her mouth to say something, but he held his hand out to quiet her. “Don’t. You don’t have to say anything. I know I screwed up. I don’t even know if you want the same things I do. I’m sorry I lied to you, but I fixed things. Today I got the news I’ve been waiting for, and everything is going to be okay with the Walls, but I can’t undo what I already did. I know it’s my fault you were arrested, and I know that the things Marianna said were unforgivable. But I’m going to do everything I can to show you that I’m not that guy—the guy who’ll steamroll your feelings, the guy who puts business over his heart.” He lifted a shoulder, then dropped it. “When you’re feeling better, when you’re up to it, I’d like to try again. I want to be those people who didn’t leave the house for four days because we were so happy together. I’ll wait as long as you need. I just wanted to tell you that. Been meaning to say it since I came back.”

“I think I want that too. I just need to get a handle on my emotions first. I don’t want this to be about the baby or my grief. I want to be with you because I want to be with you, not because of circumstances. Thank you for not leaving. I’m sure you’re dying to get back home and back to your life and out of this tiny apartment.”

He smiled sweetly and cupped her face with one of his hands, his thumb moving back and forth along her cheekbone. “I’m right where I’m meant to be. You and the baby are my life.” He kissed her nose, then left to do the dishes.