7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Enzo was sweating.

And not even for a good reason.

Not even because Will had been popping his head out of his front door all morning.

Nope, it was just hot. He was just hot.

After months of working on the relatively mild west coast, moving up and down from Seattle to Portland and then back to Seattle again, he wasn't used to this heat or the South's oven-like humidity. And that didn't even count for the fact that he'd been schlepping and assembling the scaffolding that went up the side of Will's building.

His supplier had been able to deliver quicker than he'd expected, dropping off what he'd ordered just past noon, but he hadn't been able to spare anyone to assemble it.

Enzo, who'd watched and helped enough times, had waved him off, saying he'd take care of it himself.

What he hadn't anticipated was the temperature climbing up even higher, leaving him damp and cranky.

He picked up an iron pipe and screwed it into the main assembly he was working on, creating a platform for him to work on. At least with a smaller wall, the scaffolding could be smaller.

Wiping his forehead with the hem of his shirt, he finally gave up and tugged it off, rubbing his face dry—at least for the next ten seconds.

"Hey."

Enzo turned and there was Will standing there, an uncertain expression on his face and two bottles of water in his hands.

"Oh, hey," Enzo said and took the water Will handed him gratefully. "This is much appreciated."

Will craned his head back, staring up at the sky. "It's a hot one today. Summer on the coast's always warm, but it feels like it hits a new gear in early June."

"Yeah. And I'm not used to it," Enzo admitted, drowning half the water. He was in the middle of wiping his face yet again when he realized what he was doing.

That he was shirtless, in front of Will, who, even fully dressed, looked like he made being naked a freaking art form.

"Glad I brought you some water, then," Will said. He glanced over at the wall. So far it didn't look like much, Enzo could admit that.

"I did bring my own," Enzo admitted. "Just didn't expect to go through it so quickly."

"Yeah, it's hot today." Will flushed when he said it, looking everywhere but at Enzo.

"You don't look even the tiniest bit bothered," Enzo complained. It was true; Will looked cool and gorgeous and perfect.

Enzo felt like a sweaty, desperate mess, still embarrassingly sucking in his stomach, even though after how much his mother had freaking intervened, there was very little chance Will was ever going to be interested.

Will shrugged. "I've lived in the South my whole life. It's hot here, sure, but Florida's worse."

"And I've been in the Pacific Northwest for six months," Enzo admitted.

"There is that." The corner of Will's mouth quirked up. "You want another bottle of water?"

"Uh, no, I should probably grab something to eat. This is taking me a bit longer to do than I thought it might. Guess it's easier to watch someone else do it than do it yourself." He was just trying to decide if he should ask if Will wanted anything when he walked down to deli, when he heard a sound that he'd probably be hearing in his nightmares.

"Enzo!" his mother called out. "Oh, and Will . Just who I was hoping to catch! What a coincidence!"

"Coincidence my ass," Enzo muttered under his breath. "Quick," he said, eyeing his mom as she walked around the corner, "you may want to run. Or else she's gonna find a way to shove us together."

Will gave half a shrug. Like he wouldn't mind it. "It's all good," he said. Then turned to his mother, giving her the exact same smile he'd bestowed on Enzo. "Hey, Giana."

Enzo tried not to be jealous. Mostly failed. Even as he reminded himself that he didn't want Will to be charmed by him, especially.

It was bad enough Giana was here, looking between them like she'd just won the lottery. It was bad enough they'd been flirting last night in front of Joy.

If she got enough encouragement, Enzo had a feeling she wouldn't be willing to drop the idea of him and Will together. She was a Moretti after all, and once they were convinced something might be true, they didn't ever want to let go of it. It was one of their best traits, and also one of their worst.

"It's like you were practically reading my mind. I'd hoped you'd be together and here you are," she said, positively glowing—and not from the heat, either—as she gestured to the basket on her arm. "I made some extra food, when I was putting together a little picnic for Enzo here. You could always share it with him." She shot him her most winning smile. Much tougher men had fallen victim to that particular smile.

Enzo, himself, for one.

"Uh." Will hesitated.

"You two can go off to the park. It's nice and cool on the grass, under the shade."

"Mom," Enzo said, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. "Will's too busy to go off and share a romantic picnic with me."

She did not look deterred. "Who said it was romantic, Enzo? You said it was romantic." She shot Will a conspiratorial look. "Will, I hate to break it to you, but I think my Enzo might have a little bit of a crush."

Enzo stifled a groan. "I'll take this," he said, pulling the basket off her arm. "If it'll make you stop."

"Stop what?" Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth but she looked so secretly thrilled Enzo was afraid that maybe he had been giving out too many vibes that he'd been actually open to dating Will. He was attracted to the guy—he wasn't dead, thank you, Rocco—but that didn't mean he was looking for his very own happily ever after.

"All of this," Enzo said, gesturing between him and Will.

"Enzo," she said, ignoring his entreaty and giving him a little friendly whack on the forearm, "do make sure you put your shirt back on. We don't want Will thinking you're not a perfect gentleman."

"Of course not," Enzo grumbled.

Will shot him a sympathetic smile. "Thanks for the food, Giana. We'll be happy to share it. Maybe not in the park. I've got work to do. And it's so hot. Enzo could use a break. Maybe Cherry's back room would be romantic enough?"

Enzo lost the war with himself and finally rolled his eyes. "If it's air-conditioned, that's all I care about," he bit off.

"Wonderful," Giana said. "I'll leave you two to it." She turned and left with only one additionally exaggerated wink.

"You don't have to do that. Uh, invite me into your back room," Enzo said after she'd cleared the corner. But he still kept his voice quiet. God only knew she might actually spy on them around the wall, thinking she was being subtle.

Except she was about as a subtle as a sledgehammer.

But Will waved his concern away. "You're hot. You could use a break. And I just bet that Giana made me her famous artichoke spread, because she knows I love it. Who am I to turn that down?"

"You think she planned this then?" Enzo was pretty damn sure, but he thought it might be worth asking. He grabbed his T-shirt and the empty water bottle, trailing Will as he led them to Cherry's entrance. The seating area was empty, probably because it was dinner time and the Indigo Bay residents had yet to become so obsessed with Will's ice cream that they started indulging in it instead of regular meals.

Will laughed as he skirted around the corner of the counter, Enzo following him past the swinging double doors to the back. "You know she did," he said. But he didn't seem as perturbed by it as Enzo was. Probably because he wasn't the guy who looked so desperate for a date his mother had decided to find him one.

A woman with red-streaked dark hair was standing in the large back room, sucking down an iced coffee like it was going to save her life. She looked familiar. Then, spotting him, she raised an eyebrow.

Enzo realized two things at the same time. One, he had yet to put his shirt back on, and two, this was Kate Stewart, who'd been a few years behind him in school.

"I think you picked up a gigolo, boss," she teased.

Enzo pulled his T-shirt back on, flushing with embarrassment and hoping that Will didn't notice.

"You know Enzo, I presume?" Will asked.

"Oh yeah, though not as well as you're probably going to get to know him. I didn't know Giana's schemes were working out so well."

"They're not," Enzo said flatly. "But it's hot outside and she brought food."

Will nodded. "Enzo needed a break and I thought we could get her off our backs at the same time."

"Is that going to work?" Kate questioned.

Enzo wished he knew the answer.

"Come on back. I've got a little office. We can chat," Will said. Clearly he wasn't sure either, considering the way he ignored the question.

Will had not been lying about the little part . His office was only big enough for one chair and a small desk, a laptop and a charger sitting on it.

"Take the chair," Will said, gesturing towards it. "You need the rest."

"God, do I look that bad?" Enzo joked, while secretly worrying that maybe it was actually true.

Of course it didn't actually matter if he did or not.

But he did set the basket on the desk. "I gotta wash my hands," he said. And make sure I'm not embarrassing myself even more.

Will popped his head out of the office and gestured down towards where Enzo could see shiny kitchen equipment. "There's a staff restroom down that way."

Enzo found it and took his time, grimacing in the mirror at the smear of dirt on his cheekbone, the way his hair had flattened out with sweat. He washed up carefully and fluffed out his curls out as best he could, deciding that at least he'd return to Will's office clean .

When he did, Will had opened the basket and set out the food.

Giana had not lied; she'd made enough for two of them, easily. Which begged the question of just how she'd intended to get the two of them to share it, if Will hadn't happened to come outside at just the right time.

When Enzo said this, more theorizing than wanting an actual answer, Will smiled. "You don't think she has video equipment set up everywhere?" he wondered. "Maybe she's got a spy relay system, up and down Main Street?"

"Oh, she might," Enzo said, flopping down onto the chair, then looking over the different takeout containers that he was opening. There was a nice selection of antipasti, along with fresh bread from Oliver's. "She did make her artichoke spread. She really must like you."

"Or," Will joked, "she really hopes I'll like you ."

God, that was probably true.

"She doesn't make it for just anyone," Enzo said, ignoring that .

"I know she won't give me the recipe. I tried replicating it, but I'm no cook."

"I don't know, those brownies from last night would beg to differ." Enzo picked up a slice of bread and spread tapenade on it, added a few slices of prosciutto and a nice wedge of what smelled like smoked mozzarella. Chewed and swallowed, making happy humming noises in the back of his throat as he did so. Now that he'd finally cooled off some, he realized he'd been even hungrier than he'd imagined.

Will leaned over the desk and grabbed them two more bottles of water from the mini fridge underneath.

"Thanks," Enzo said.

"That's just simple baking," Will argued.

"Oliver would probably disagree with that assessment."

"True." Will dipped a crostini in the artichoke spread and made his own set of happy noises as it disappeared into his mouth. "Maybe if I date you, Giana would be willing to give me this recipe."

"Wanted only for my mom's artichoke spread," Enzo said mournfully.

Will laughed. Nudged him with an elbow. "Might actually be a solution," he said.

"What do you mean?" Enzo ignored the way his voice went high and surprised. Hoped that Will would, too.

"She's gonna be doing this all summer, isn't she? As long as you're here, working on the mural?"

Enzo wanted to tell Will that no, she wouldn't, because he'd be taking care of it, he'd be convincing her to stop it, but he knew what his mother was like when she got her teeth into an idea. And frankly, Enzo had a feeling he and Will didn't look all that averse to each other. Which was not going to help the situation.

"Probably, yeah. I can talk to her but well . . ." Enzo winced. Picked up a chunk of salami, sandwiching it between two pieces of provolone.

"That was what I thought," Will confided. His blond hair shone under the lights, and he looked so clean and new and shiny, so gorgeous , Enzo ached with it.

Like this guy would ever need help getting a date.

"Yeah, well, I can still talk to her," Enzo said, pushing down his humiliation.

"That's what I'm trying to say. We don't try to convince her to stop. Instead, we tell her we're dating. And then maybe she'll leave us alone. It's what she wants. So we'll just give it to her."

"Uh," Enzo stammered.

Will nudged him again. "Not like for real," he joked. "Unless there's something you want to tell me."

Um, yeah. You're gorgeous and if things weren't so weird with my mother and the fact I've got no intention of staying here, I'd totally date you. For real .

But their situation was weird and complicated, and he had every intention of seeing Indigo Bay in his rearview five or six weeks from now.

"It's a thought," he said. "Would it really make her leave us alone?"

Will shrugged. "She's your mother. What do you think?"

"I think it would take more than just a declaration. We'd uh . . .have to prove it to her. Go on a few dates."

"And?" Will grinned. "You're not so bad, Enzo Moretti. Especially once you've cleaned off your face."

"Ugh," Enzo complained. Of course Will had noticed the dirt.

"I mean, it's just a few evenings. We're both going to be busy. You with the mural. Me with Cherry's. Easy enough to pawn her off with that excuse, too."

"True." Enzo couldn't believe he was considering this. But then, his mother was abominably persistent. "I can't believe you suggested this."

"I've spent the last two months trying to convince her I don't want your phone number." Will took a bite of focaccia and chewed, swallowing. "And that hasn't worked, obviously."

"Obviously," Enzo echoed.

"So I thought, well, we could try something else," Will said. "But if you're not interested . . ."

Oh, I'm interested.

"I just think I'd like to try to convince her first, before we uh . . .do anything drastic."

"Going on a fake date with me is drastic? You Morettis are overdramatic." Will's grin was so broad Enzo discovered he had dimples too. Honest to fucking God dimples .

"I want to believe she isn't completely unreasonable." It was hard to admit this. "That she can see the truth when I ask her to." That she can see I'm not sticking around .

"I get it," Will said sympathetically.

"Somehow, I actually think you do." Maybe Will had a story too. After all, why was he here in Indigo Bay.

But instead of Will confiding about any of his own troubles, he said in a lighter tone, "Well, I'm not just here for the artichoke spread."

"It's damn good though," Enzo agreed, dipping a crostini into the container and popping it into his mouth.

"I don't suppose she's ever given you the recipe?" Will asked hopefully.

"She probably has, but I'm not sure I ever bothered to keep it. I'm really not a cook. I'm a good eater. That's all."

Enzo told himself that Will's shocked expression was fine . He was used to it, by now.

"But you're—"

"A Moretti? I know," Enzo said wryly. The cheese was curdling in his stomach, but he didn't want Will to know so he took a long sip of water and then wrapped some prosciutto around another chunk of provolone.

"You know, you're not required to be good at everything." Will shot him a sweet look. "You're already a nationally renowned mural artist, so famous you're in constant demand. Would you really want to trade that to be able to cook like your mom and Luca?"

"No." Though he'd asked himself that question enough back before he'd left Indigo Bay. He forced himself to smile. Reminded himself that before this moment, he'd actually been having a pretty good time—and that his Moretti deficiencies were not Will's fault. "So, that's what you'd get out of fake dating me? My mom's artichoke spread recipe?"

"Enzo Moretti, did I damage your ego?" Will teased.

"That was actually my own mother. Over and over again," Enzo grumbled.

Will laughed, and that somehow did more to soothe his bruised ego than anything else. "The answer is no, that isn't all I'd get out of it. You're a cool guy. Could be a friend, even. I wouldn't mind spending more time with you. Of course if I did, your mom would probably be lurking around every corner, waiting for one of us to drop to one knee."

Enzo didn't have to hold back his shudder. "She probably would, wouldn't she?"

Will nodded as he finished off the rest of the artichoke spread, Enzo deciding as he scraped the rest of the spread out of the container that this probably made him a good boyfriend, already.

"Just let me talk to her first," Enzo said. "Maybe I can make her see the facts of the situation. That I'm not sticking around."

"No matter how much you like me?" Will's voice was teasing again, but Enzo couldn't deny the little thrill that wound its way through him at the idea of it.

But they didn't like each other that much. They'd just managed to make it past I think you might be vandalizing my building and you're accusing my painting of being illegal graffiti .

"Right," Enzo agreed. He snagged the last piece of salami. Popped it into his mouth. "Thanks for the water and the break. I'd better get back out there and finish up my scaffolding before it gets dark. And I assume in a little bit that you're gonna get busy."

"Hope so," Will said, smiling, helping Enzo fill the basket with the empty containers. He gestured towards the basket as Enzo closed it up. "You want me to keep this in here, 'cause you know she'll be back for it?"

"No. I'll take it. And talk to her," Enzo said firmly.

He was already dreading it, but he knew he needed to try.

He was desperate enough that he'd even considered enlisting Luca and Oliver, but he didn't want to. He wanted to prove he was an adult; that he could take care of difficult situations himself. Luca might've saved his future by insisting he attend art school, in spite of his mother's protests, but Enzo wasn't about to rely on him for Giana interventions forever.

"Sure," Will said. "But the offer's open."