The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ ❊

Enzo was fixing his tie when I got out of the bathroom. I stood behind him, watching his back as his shoulders moved in his effort to straighten his tie. I could tell by his movements that he was stressed and annoyed, so I walked over and turned him to face me. I knew it wasn't about his tie, although the fact that it wasn't straightening was probably adding to it.

I didn't look at him, but I saw his body stiffen as I untied his tie and re-tied it. I stepped away from him, squinted my eyes, and tilted my head. He looked down, then back up at me with a questioning look in his eye.

"You look nice," I finally said, giving him a smile.

He didn't return it. "As do you."

I held my arm out. "Ready?"

That got a twitch of the lips. He pulled out a diamond necklace and walked behind me, hooking it around my neck without a word. It was simple - just a line of diamonds on a golden chain, but it made me grind my teeth together and my cheeks flush. It's just a ploy for his family, Eva. Chill.

He held his arm out and I linked my hand through it. We walked out of the hotel room and to the elevators in silence, but I could feel the tension in the air when the elevator doors closed and we were left alone as it descended. I forced myself to keep from feeling the delicate necklace around my neck and wondered when it was he bought everything. The entire week I was sure that he was in the house, even though I didn't see him all the time.

The ride to the rehearsal dinner was just as tense. It was like we were trying to keep our eyes away from each other. I couldn't help it. He hadn't seen me in anything except for lingerie, my maid's uniform, my pajamas, and what I wore to the hotel. I saw him dressed up all the time for "work", but something was different and I didn't want to stare too long to figure out what it was.

He stepped out first, offering his hand out to me. I grabbed it, feeling a bit like those women in the movies, then stepped out. His fingers linked with mine and the driver shut the door behind us as we made our way up the stairs to the lavish building.

"This is where she's getting married," Enzo said softly. "And I'm sorry in advance."

"For what," I asked.

He nodded to the door where his father stood watching us. He had a cigar in his hand, but it looked like he wasn't planning on smoking it. The way he was looking at his son made me step to Enzo's other side so that I was the one closer to his father when we got to him.

I held my hand out to him. "We never got properly introduced. We were in a bit of a rush earlier, as I'm sure you were as well. I'm Eva."

He looked at my hand like it was riddled with diseases before he took it in his own, squeezing so hard that my knuckles rubbed together. I kept a straight face, even though all I wanted to do was wince at the sudden burst of pain.

"Nico," He said simply before letting my hand go.

I rubbed my knuckles away from Enzo's line of sight. "It's nice to meet you."

He scoffed. Again. Apparently it was about as nice for him as it was for me.

I ground my teeth together and grabbed Enzo's hand before I said something that would get us thrown out. When I asked if it was a test, I didn't realize that he really meant it was a test. His father would be one person that I would avoid at all costs if I was going to pass it.

His mother was the next to greet us, a woman with dark brown hair following after her. She was glowing in her short white dress as she looked at me, her grin showing off her blindingly white teeth. She stepped forward and embraced me and my hands immediately went around her to hug her back. Hell if I knew who she was. I was just trying to make a good impression.

"So you're the girlfriend!" She pulled away. "Enzo is such an ass. Eva, right? I'm Adrianna, his sister."

The huge ass rock on her ring finger was enough to tell me that much. I fought the urge to comment on who the hell would buy something that gaudy for someone. It was like a freaking globe was on her finger.

I bit the inside of my cheek and smiled back at her. "Tying the knot, huh? I'm happy for you. That's a beautiful ring."

Enzo's eyebrow rose, but I kept my smile trained on his sister.

"Oh, thank you so much," She squealed. "If I would have known about you before, I would have asked for you to be in the wedding instead of Shawna. But unfortunately, Enzo keeps his secrets kept tight unless he needs to. But three months! You've been together for three months and he just now told us! I gave him a stern talking to about that."

"Good." I chuckled. "He kind of just sprung everything on me all at once. He just told me that I was coming with him to a wedding. I had no idea what I was supposed to do."

Anna laughed outright. "That sounds just like him."

I grinned at her while Enzo only scowled at all three of us. He was just mad that I made friends with his sister and mother without even trying. Well, other than the slight pain of keeping in my thoughts. But that was a totally different subject.

Enzo wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me to him. "Are you making fun of me, babe?"

My face heated at the way he said babe. I tried my hardest to keep the shock from my face when that word slipped effortlessly from his mouth, but I couldn't help the slight widening of my eyes. I hoped his mother and sister saw feigned shock instead of actual shock. Thankfully, they didn't seem to notice the expression, nor the sudden temperature change.

Enzo grinned and those damn dimples appeared. The temperature rose some more and I wanted to slap myself. I had to be as red as a tomato, and with the look on his face, it only got worse. If possible, his grin broadened and he laughed as he let my waist go. I had never heard that laugh before. It was usually just a deep chuckle. But his laugh...

"Bathrooms," I croaked.

He licked his lips. "I'll take you. We'll be in there in a few minutes, A. Don't wait up."

"Oh!" Adrianna held up a finger. "Don't sleep with each other until tomorrow at the wedding. It's good luck, you know."

I almost fainted. Enzo must have noticed, because his arm wrapped around my waist again as he waved dismissively to his sister. He pulled me along to the bathrooms and allowed me to lean against the wall as he stood in front of me.

"You must be so entertained," I stated dryly.

"I am." He laughed again. "Really, I am. We're supposed to be a couple and you're falling over at the thought of sleeping with me."

"Maybe you have a small-"

"I don't."

And once again I almost fainted.

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, getting the image out of my head. Since when did I look at him like that? Since when did the word "babe" cause heat to rush to every single inch of my body? Since when did the thought of sex with Enzo cause my knees to weaken?

Is it considered Stockholm syndrome if he didn't really kidnap me? I thought to myself.

What the absolute hell was I thinking? Maybe it was the mystery that surrounded him that made him attractive. Maybe it was the way he carried himself. And until I knew what kind of man he really was, I wouldn't allow myself to feel anything towards him except for the initial attraction I was sure all women had towards him. That was it.