Won’t he?
“I’m glad it’s back on track,” Tris says. “When do you leave?”
Enzo stares straight at me. I know what he’s thinking. But this is not the way to do it.
“Thursday.”
“Must be cold over there now, huh?”
Enzo takes a swig of his beer and avoids eye contact. This is clearly hard for him too. So what was he thinking, showing up tonight? He knew I planned on telling Devon this week.
I pull my phone back out to ask him.
Unlike me, he doesn’t pause. His answer buzzes in my hand a few seconds later.
Wasn’t thinking.
Needed to see you.
Now I feel all warm and fuzzy—he hopped in his car for a two-hour drive just because he needed to see me. No guy’s ever done that for me before. And in return, I’m pretending we aren’t three seconds away from throwing ourselves at each other.
I make a decision.
I’ll tell him tonight, I text.
Which is when I notice Devon peering over my shoulder.
“Chari, what the hell?” he says.
“Why are you looking at my phone?” I shoot back.
Everyone stares at us. Most of our friends look confused, but Lisa has an oh shit look. She, at least, knows what’s about to go down.
“Because you’ve been acting super weird. And now I know why.”
The room stays painfully silent, Devon’s eyes boring holes into me.
“Excuse us,” I say, pulling him away from the bar and out onto the covered patio.
Devon crosses his arms, beer and all. “Care to explain?”
Part of me wants to continue to bemoan his breach of privacy. An old argument with us. But it would be childish to deflect the blame—I know this is my fault for not being honest.
“We were going to tell you.”
He doesn’t make it easy. “Uh-huh? And what, exactly, were you going to tell me? Why is Enzo texting you from three feet away?”
Like tearing off a Band-Aid, I say, “We’re dating.”
Oh my God. Are we dating?
Enzo comes out of nowhere, like an archangel swooping in out of the dark to rescue me.
“Seriously?” Devon says, his eyes bugging out. I can’t tell if he’s pissed or not.
“It hasn’t been for long,” I rush to add. “Just since he was here last time.”
Devon shifts his attention to Enzo.
“You’re here for Chari?” he asks, deadpan.
Enzo doesn’t hesitate. “Yes. And your birthday.”
“Details?”
It’s like they’re speaking their own guy language now, and I’m just a bystander to the conversation.
“We started talking after that weekend. And then she came out to New York for a night.”
Devon turns back to me. “How did I not notice you were gone?”
I shrug. “I just went for dinner and came back early. You’re not my keeper,” I say, starting to get defensive.
Enzo continues in a much calmer tone. “We’ve been talking since then. And Chari agreed to accompany me to Switzerland next week.”
Geez, when he tells the truth, he goes all in. No sugarcoating. I would have tried easing Devon in a little first, but what the hell. Now he knows everything.
“I see,” Devon says. He doesn’t really sound upset. But you never can tell with him.
“When did you plan on telling me?”
I jump in. “On Monday.”
Devon makes a face.
“After your birthday. Just in case you were pissed.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re so much like Mom it’s scary.”
He says it like it’s a bad thing, or at least an annoying thing.
“I wish you’d told me sooner,” he says. “But you don’t have to look at me like that, Char. I only care that you’re happy. You should know that. I know I can be an overprotective asshole, but Enzo isn’t just any guy.”
I let out a deep breath and give Enzo an I told you so look.
“I know but . . . I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Devon wraps his arms around me, and I feel like I can finally breathe normally again. He knows, and it’s okay. I haven’t ruined anything, and now Enzo and I don’t have to keep things secret anymore.
“It’s fine. Let’s get back to the party,” he says, and I could not be more relieved.
“Sounds good to me.” I glance at Enzo, but he’s not moving. Instead, he and my brother are looking at each other. Which makes me think there’s several layers of subtext I’m missing here. Maybe things aren’t so okay after all.
“I’ll catch up with you in a sec,” Enzo says.
Without any other choice, I walk back to the bar wishing I could stay to . . . what? Protect Enzo? I was just caught lying to my brother, and yet I’m worried about him. Which is silly. He’s a big boy and can take care of himself.
What could possibly go wrong?
17
Enzo
“What the hell, Enz?”
Devon is extremely pissed. Rightly so.
“I’m sorry.”
The words seem so inadequate, but I don’t know what else to say. Keeping this from him was a shitty thing to do, and I especially shouldn’t have come here tonight knowing Chari didn’t want to tell him yet. But I wasn’t lying to Chari: I really didn’t put much thought into it. I couldn’t concentrate. Pacing my apartment did no good. Looking at my couch only made me think of Chari spread across it. So I acted on impulse. Uncharacteristically, as so many people have commented on tonight.
“So? What are your intentions?”
This is the question I’ve been waiting for.
“I’d never hurt her,” I say honestly. Devon knows that. I think. But it still bears saying.
“Not intentionally. But come on, Enzo. I know you better than anyone.”
A round of laughter reaches us from the bar, which only seems to underscore the serious mood between us.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Although I’m pretty sure I already know.
“If you don’t have time for a Yankees game . . .”
My family got Devon and I to root for them at a young age, and we both became lifelong fans. So when I got Dev tickets to a playoff game and told him to take a friend, that I was too busy with work, he blasted me. Told me point-blank that he respected everything I’d done but my money was no good to me if I couldn’t enjoy life.
Of course, my mother has been saying the same for years. But they just don’t understand. I’m building something, and that requires sacrifice.
“We’re just dating,” I say in a futile attempt to pacify him. “Listen, Dev, no one is more surprised by this than me. We talked a bit when I came here for the opening. And things just progressed from there.”
“An awful quick progression,” he huffed. “Switzerland?”
I wince. “Yeah, I know.”
And I do. It’s not like me at all. But that’s the point.
“I’d never fuck around with Chari. You know that.”
Devon still has his arms crossed, closed-down body language if I’ve ever seen it. He’s always been this protective of Chari, only now it’s directed at me. I hate being at odds with him. It’s like fighting with one of my siblings. But worse. They have no choice but to stay related to me.