Now, I know I’m an idiot for agreeing to be arm candy for a man I hardly know, but that doesn’t mean I’ll accept being made a fool. So, I excuse myself from the wives' table and glare at Enzo. He’s lighting a cigar when his gaze catches mine, and suddenly, his thumb can’t seem to flick the spark wheel. 

But I keep walking and leave the private room. 

There are over a hundred missed messages from my friends when I check my phone. Lord have mercy. Those girls can gab! A separate message is from Lydia, asking me to bring her a steak dinner, or she’ll tell Lucas what I’m doing. My nostrils flare at that threat. So I bang out a text telling her to go to hell. 

She immediately texts back with a laughing emoji, a winky face, and a heart.

Ugh! I hate her, but I love her, too.

I’m halfway across the restaurant, the exit in sight, when Enzo’s hand wraps my elbow.

“Wait a sec, Mara.” He swerves in front of me, his brows creased. “What’s going on?”

“They think I’m a joke.” I point in the wives’ general direction.

“What did they say?” 

“That you haven’t been in a relationship since you got divorced, and all you’ve had since then are flings. So, naturally, they look at me, our age difference, and view me as some flavor of the week.”

“Who cares what they think? We know what this is.” 

“Do we?” I rub my forehead, groaning. “What was I thinking? This is a step away from Only Fans.” 

“Hey…” He tilts my chin to look me in the eyes. “It’s just a couple of hours. Then we can leave, and you’ll get paid. We don’t have to do this ever again. I don’t want you doing something that makes you uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to do this. It’s that they laughed at me,” I whisper.

Enzo exhales a long breath while rubbing my arms. “I’m sorry. Jeannie and Audrey were good friends with my ex, Evelyn. So, they can be… territorial, but I didn’t think they would take jabs at you. That was my mistake.”

“It’s my age. I can tell they think we look ridiculous together. How is anyone supposed to believe this is real and not you paying me to be your date.”

“Let me handle that part. At the next event, you’ll understand why our age difference doesn’t matter. The women won’t be as vicious there. I promise, and I mean that this time.”

“Alright,” I sigh.

“Ready to go back in there?”

“Yes, but only if I can order a steak dinner for my sister, to-go.”

A laugh bubbles up from Enzo’s throat. “Don’t forget to throw in dessert.” He threads his fingers through mine and leads me back to the private room. “Any other demands?” 

“No,” I say, but only because having our hands laced together like this seems too intimate to be pretend, and I stare at his profile, wondering if he feels the electric current traveling between our fingers, too. 

When we re-enter the private room, there’s a hiccup in conversation from the wives as they turn our way. Their gazes go to our hands, and before Enzo drops me off with them, he pivots to rub my arms, which I’m beginning to like.

It's as if he's protective of me.

“Hold your chin high with them. Don’t let them shove you around.”

We approach the group, and Audrey, a.k.a Duck Lips, pipes up, “Enzo, did you hear Evelyn and Graham just bought a new boat?”

“I didn’t. Good for them.”

“Graham spoils our girl rotten. She deserves it.” 

“Well, I hope Graham had Evelyn sign a prenup so she doesn’t rake him over the coals in their divorce settlement one day,” Enzo says, and Audrey’s grin turns into a flat line.

“It takes two to tango, you know.” She arches a brow.

“Exactly. It takes two people to make a marriage work, but everyone conveniently forgets that Evelyn spent the last ten years of our marriage sleeping with the pool boy, her tennis instructor, and our married neighbor, Graham.”

My eyes widen. 

“Anyway, let's not spoil supper with this conversation.” Enzo winks at the wives then leans in and kisses my temple. “Have fun.”

He squeezes my hand but doesn’t let go right away. Instead, his grip gradually slips from mine until we’re down to the fingertips, and my arm drops to my side. 

The flutters are fluttering.

“Enzo seems smitten,” Jeannie says, and my attention darts to her. “And you are, too.”

“Maybe a little, but I can’t reveal all my cards to him yet.” I sit down. 

“Smart girl.” Jeannie nods. “Always keep them guessing.” She glances down at her giant diamond. “It’s how I’ve kept Carmine wrapped around my finger all these years. Sure, he’s had his mistresses, but I’m the one with the ring, the last name, and who he’ll never leave.”

“Cheers to that!” Audrey raises her glass. “Dominic is glued to my BBL for life.” 

The other wives giggle and raise their glasses with her, so I awkwardly do the same, and we clink them together.

What a strange world these women live in. 

◇◇◇

Although it was fun leaving my friends in suspense all night, I knew I’d have to answer them at some point. So, we’re sitting down for brunch, and I’m getting grilled like the panini sandwich I ordered. Delilah has hardly touched her pancakes as I spill my guts, and Keira keeps gasping with a mouthful of hash browns while Anika scoots around her eggs with pieces of toast like she’s furious.

“Ew, so they’re like, snobby rich housewives.” Keira scrunches her face.

“The nerve of them treating you like a child.” Delilah snaps a picture of her breakfast.

“It is what it is.” I shrug, and Anika releases a deep sigh. 

“I’m with Lydia. I don’t like the idea of some fifty-year-old man paying you for dates.” 

“Well… my sister doesn’t know Enzo is paying me, and I swear to god, you better not tell her or Lucas.” 

“Listen, I won’t, but I still don’t like it.”

“Don’t be such a bore, ‘Nik!” Keira rolls her eyes. “Mara is a grown woman.”

“All I’m saying is, what if, after a few dates, Enzo starts demanding more from her?” 

“Like what?” I ask, and Delilah makes an obscene gesture with her fingers to articulate what Anika means. Keira chuckles.

“Grow up, Del!” Anika exclaims. “I’m serious. What if he’s grooming her? Things are real crazy right now. Dead bodies are popping up across the city. There was a shootout at El Techo Del Lolinda the other night, where a woman was kidnapped, and another was shot trying to save her. The news said it could all be linked to human trafficking. We know nothing about this man. He could be a serial killer.”

“I mean, I’d fuck him.” Delilah turns her phone to us, and on the screen is Enzo!

“Holy shit.” Keira snatches it from her. “Mar, is this him?”

“Let me see.” Anika pulls the phone closer, and her eyes go wide. “Yeah, ok. So maybe I would go on a date with him, too…”

“See?” I laugh. “He’s hot for an older guy.”

“It still doesn’t change how I feel.”

“Noted. But wait.” I turn to Delilah. “How did you find his Instagram? I looked everywhere. Do you know how many Enzos there are?”

“Oh, please. You know how slick my sleuthing skills are.” She grins. “I did a deep Google.”

“When?” Keira laughs.

“Just now. I found an article in some men’s magazine from ten years ago about the next fortune five-hundred dudes to look out for. It had links for his socials at the bottom of some blurb thingy. So, I clicked on it, and ba-da-bing.”

“Oh, he’s rich, rich.” Keira’s brows raise, scrolling through the photos. 

“OMG,” Anika gasps.

“What?” we all say.

“Mar… do you know who this man is?” She turns Delilah’s phone to me and points at a picture of Enzo with his uncle Sammy. It looks like they’re on a yacht in the Mediterranean. 

“Yeah, his uncle.” I shrug.

“Not just his uncle,” Anika says. “It’s Sammy Blue Eyes Costello.” When I don’t catch on, she barks, “A mobster!”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh, yes. I remember when he was released from prison years ago. It was all over the news because of how big a deal it was.”

“Fuuuuuuck.” Keira’s mouth gapes, full of eggs, her eyes glued to the screen. “Anika is right. That’s Carmine Caruso and Dominic Moretti in another post. They were the only ones the FBI couldn't pin their Rico case against.”

I gulp back coffee. “I met them last night.”

“Oh, my god.” Anika covers her mouth, but Keira grins like the Cheshire Cat.

“Mara is dating a mobster.”

“We don’t know that,” I say, and Anika narrows her eyes at me.

“We are the company we keep. So if Enzo is hanging out with mobsters, he’s a mobster.” 

“Yeah, well, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Besides, I’m not dating dating him. It’s pretend, and he pays me, and I’m paying for our breakfast with that money.” 

“Hell yeah!” Keira whirls her finger in the air. “A round of mimosas on Mara.” 

“Guys…” Delilah leans in and whispers, “Is anyone else turned on by this? I swear Mara is living in a smutty romance book.”

“Everything turns you on,” Keira laughs. “Especially blondes.” 

“Whatever. I have a healthy sex drive. Very healthy.” She mischievously grins as she scrolls through her phone. “Oh, look! Enzo just posted a new picture.”

“Del, please don’t stalk him,” I say.

“I’m not. I followed him, that’s all.” 

Anika snorts, “That’s all, she says.”

“Yeah, well, I’m nosy. It’s why I still follow Josh.”

My jaw drops. “You still follow him?” 

“How else can I keep tabs on his tacky ass.” 

“Del, please unfollow him,” I beg, and she sighs.

“Fine, but only because I love you. Plus, Enzo is much more interesting.” 

She turns the phone to me, and his latest post is of him in a business suit, smiling with a Bloody Mary cocktail in hand. The caption says, Work never sleeps, and neither does NYC—redeye flight cure. 

I furrow my brows. Did he jet set to New York City last night? Why wasn’t I invited?

“What’s wrong?” Anika asks.

“Nothing.” I shake my head and drag a couple of fries through ketchup, but a deep voice snatches my attention. 

“Mara, I thought that was you!”

“Uh, hi, he-hey…” I stutter as Mr. Sexy Kyle Cameron stands there with a gorgeous smile. 

“You never texted. I’m hurt.”

My gaze sweeps across my friends, who stare back at me like they might burst from excitement. They’re reveling in this! All that’s missing is a bucket of popcorn. Delilah is right. I am living in some sort of smutty romance book. 

“I’m sorry. I got a new job, and—”

“I’m just teasing,” Kyle says. “So, have any plans tonight?” 

“Nope!” Anika blurts. “She has none. Free as can be.”

Keira circles her finger at me. “Single Pringle over here.” 

“Guys…” My cheeks turn warm, and the corners of Kyle’s mouth twitch.

“Perfect. Feel like grabbing dinner?”

“Yep, she absolutely does!” Anika says. So, I kick her under the table but smile at Kyle. My cheeks are now scalding. 

“I’d love to do dinner.”

As we make plans for him to pick me up later, I can’t help but study Kyle’s young, handsome face and compare it to Enzo’s. This guy is closer to my age and has been a gentleman, so I’d be a fool not to give him a chance. Yet I can’t stop thinking about Enzo across the country in NYC. Would he mind that I’m going on a date with someone else? What are the rules here? 

Or perhaps I’m thinking too deeply about our arrangement while Enzo isn’t thinking about me at all.

That makes my stomach sink.