◆ Just Good Friends ◆

◇ KEL ◇

"They think we're dating."

"Why?" Enzo snickered and picked up his glass of wine. He sat next to me, watching the casually dressed guests chatting and enjoying the snacks and party favors.

It's the day of my niece's christening. Baby Meesha's much-awaited party.  After Mommy Tilda's request, Enzo had agreed to be one of the godfathers, even though he just met my family a few hours ago.

He'd met Mom several months ago the last time he was here in New York for a few days, but it was more like he dropped by just to make sure I was still alive and coping well with med school. That was shortly after Daddy Jim's death.  So far, the demands of my chosen career path hadn't killed me yet.

"I haven't even held your hand since I got here," Enzo murmured as he sat close to me.

We'd been getting curious gazes from my mom and Jill, my sister, who must be convinced that Enzo's the new man in my life.  Jill already found out that Miles and I were done.

No matter how many times I told her that Enzo's just someone I met through Miles, my sister still believed Enzo was the rebound guy...slash my number two.

"It's why Miles dumped you, huh? Don't lie." Jill cackled when I only scowled at her earlier.  She questioned me about the breakup, just this morning when I came clean.

It's almost hilarious that she thought I was two-timing.  But I wasn't laughing.  Not at all.  "I dunno. Jill thinks I cheated on Miles, with you."

"Just 'cause we slept in the same bed once?"  Enzo took another sip of the red wine, his smirk quirking his pinkish lips, his smooth and tan cheeks looking slightly flushed now.  "You told her about that?"

"No." I scoffed. "Why would I?"

"But you're close. Right?"

"Yeah." I giggled and sat back as my sister entertained Meesha with the colorful balloons.  "Jill's essentially just a less frantic version of Mommy."

"But they still don't know anything about Umbria?"

"No. Let's sit somewhere cooler." I got up and walked away from the outdoor table while Enzo held my arm.

He pulled me towards the tallest tree in my parents' backyard.  Party balloons and animal-shaped inflatables made the garden look much more animated and interesting. The food was good, too.  Enzo actually ate lunch twice.

"I just don't wanna make them worry." I held his plate of cookies while we sat on the bench under the thick tree branches.  I glanced down at my phone on my lap.

Still no new messages.  Ugh.  I would have to call Miles again, once these people I barely knew walked out of here with their cute kids and goodie bags.

"You mean, Maxim made you promise not to tell them."

"Yeah."

"Well, if you think it'll only make them worry about you..."

"How're you feeling?"

"Alright. Just a bit jet lagged." Enzo regarded me with a small grin. "Why?"

I smiled back at him and gave him another cookie. Excluding Meesha's enormous four-layer cake, I baked the desserts myself just this morning.  So far they all passed his taste test.  "You havin' fun?"

Enzo nodded and grinned wider.  He looked happier and healthier, like he was back to being himself—which was not the case when I last spent time with him in Italy.  "Your family's fun. They're genuinely nice. And you all cook like pros. A big plus." He chuckled.

"Mom knows a lot more dishes than Jill. Especially Asian cuisine."

"Is that why you like to cook, too?"

"Not always." I giggled.  "How's the mouth feel?"

"Ten out of ten. Firm outside. Soft and gooey inside," he muttered while munching on the chocolate chip cookie.

"Like me? Or you?"

He chuckled and stared at me with a knowing smirk that narrowed his blue eyes.  Their color looked paler under natural light, but they still looked stunning.  Picturesque.  They matched his baby blue button-down that partly hid his athletic physique. "Birds of the same feather." He ate the rest of the cookie while we stared at each other, grinning like idiots.

I looked away first.  Not that he was making me uncomfortable.  I just didn't know how to keep the conversation fun and exciting for him.

My thoughts kept reverting to my last conversation with Miles. No matter how often I tried not to dwell on what happened and the things he told me over the phone...

I just worried about him.  Especially his health and psychological state.  Was he still pill-popping and doing coke every day?

"I'm moving here soon. New Berkshire."

"Oh." I faced Enzo again. "Made up your mind?"

"Yeah." He sighed and drank more wine.  "Rafa can handle the stores. I need to focus on Zione so we can make real money soon."

"You really have no plans of joining the family business, huh?"

"Not in this lifetime." Enzo shook his head weakly. "I've told them years ago what I wanted to do with my life. Already made my choices. Already invested a lot of time and money in the company. No going back."

"Plus you have a lot of millionaires counting on you now. All eyes on you, Mr. CEO."

"Precisely. I can't jeopardize our investors' trust. Especially their hard-earned money," he said with a quick, breathy laugh that sounded more like another sigh. "They're still not fully convinced our team's got what it takes, but they do want the company to succeed."

"I do, too." I gave his gym-sculpted arm a gentle squeeze.  "I'm sure everything's gonna work out."

"Tsk. Let's hope so."

"When's the launch again? I need to shed a few before the photo shoot."

"What?" Enzo pulled a face and inspected my outfit from head to toe.  "You're still skinny. What're you talking about?"

"I gained fifteen pounds since I quit modeling." I tutted and regarded my white knee-length dress. Puff sleeves. Waist-hugging. Mostly form-flattering. But lately I just felt bloated as much as I felt tired.

"Oh shut it," Enzo murmured with creased brows and a loud scoff. "You know you look good."

I slapped his hairy forearm and grabbed his glass of wine for a sip.  "You're not a girl. You don't know the real struggles."

"First of all, you're not a girl, bellezza." He grinned at me again, his deep voice almost silky smooth, fairly seductive like his teasing words. "You're a grown woman, who looks stunning in any dress. Stop whining about your bloody fifteen pounds."

◇

"Maxim reply yet?"

"No." I scowled at my phone and waited some more.  It had been half an hour since I tried calling Miles for the third time today. I also texted him to see if he's still at his parents' house.

If Enzo hadn't told me, I wouldn't have found out that Miles had been staying with his mother at his parents'  home in Valle Astra.  Enzo also told me Miles asked him to check up on me.  To keep an eye on me.  Especially since Enzo's gonna be staying here in New York.

Paranoia? Or was it Miles just showing he's still a concerned friend?  I couldn't tell anymore.

Lately I felt like I hadn't seen him in forever.  An obvious exaggeration.  It's just my recent heartaches manifesting, making me imagine the worst.  "Did you hear any news? Did they find Stefano yet?"

"I don't think so," Enzo mumbled with a frown that wrinkled his broad forehead and dark brows. His crow's feet also showed.  "Maxim said Stefano ran off with his new mistress."

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes. "Typical."

"Why're you calling him? You think he's in trouble or somethin'?"

"Did Miles seem, um, not himself when you saw him?"

"How d'you mean?" Enzo shifted his sitting posture and squinted at me.

"Did he look totally normal or..." I sighed.  "Was he high last time you two met up?"

"No. Why? He didn't even drink wine."

"You sure?" I gripped my phone.  Although I had no real proof to convince him and myself that Miles was in serious trouble right now, a sharp and poignant gut feeling just filled my head with negative thoughts.

Why wouldn't Miles pick up?  Was he still staying with his mother?  Or was he alone with Niccolo again?  Did Niccolo tell him Ilya wanted him and the rest of the Falcos dead?

"Yeah. He's doing good." Enzo touched my hand now.  "You alright? Why's your hand cold and sweaty?"

"He needs to get cleaned up," I admitted with a prolonged sigh. "Did he tell you? That he needs help?"

"You mean, professional counseling?" Enzo put down his wine glass beside his thigh and stared at me again.

"I told him to go to rehab months ago."

"Ah." He nodded faintly.  "Yeah. He told me he's going to, after the investigation."

Huh?  Miles was being investigated?

I squeezed Enzo's warm hand and froze on the bench, just staring into his attentive eyes, my heart pounding inside my chest now.  "What investigation?"

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