Page 32 of The Bonventi Secret

"She did," I say, and reach for the newly filled glass.

"Good," Enzo says and takes his seat next to me, reaching for his wine.

“Hopefully you didn’t miss me too much today,” he says from behind his glass.

I'm a bit taken aback by his words. I turn to look at him, and for a brief moment, I see something in his gaze.

“I...I just appreciated the time to focus on my work."

Enzo smiles, and the first course arrives. We eat in silence for a few moments. I find my mind drifting back to the library, tothe photograph I'd discovered earlier. Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, "I found a picture in the library. On the writing desk."

Enzo's right eyebrow raises slightly. "Oh?"

"It looked like you," I continue, unsure why I'm even bringing this up. "You and two others. Brothers, maybe?"

"Ah, yes, I know the photo you're talking about. That would be Gio and Marco. My brothers."

"I didn't know you had brothers," I say, curiosity getting the better of me.

Enzo takes a sip of his wine before answering. "Gio, the middle, and Marco, the youngest."

"And what do they do? Actually," I pause for a moment, "what exactly do you do?"

Enzo smiles. "Gio helps me with the family business. And Marco, you didn't recognize him?"

"No, I didn't think so."

"Don't tell him that," Enzo says, laughing. "He's the Vice Mayor of Chicago."

"Sounds impressive," I say, and take a bite of food. "And you?"

Enzo sighs. "I run the family enterprises. All boring stuff, I promise. Not as exciting as your research."

I scoff. "Well, I don't know how exciting any of my research would be to anyone but me."

"Sometimes, all that matters is what you think," Enzo says, taking a bite of food.

I can't help but ask, "Do you see them often?"

"As often as business needs or allows," Enzo replies, his tone guarded.

I nod, sensing I've pushed as far as I can on this topic. We lapse into silence again, the only sounds are the clink of cutlery against fine china.

As we finish the main course, I find myself stealing glances at Enzo. I hate how aware I am of him, how my body seems to hum with energy just being near him.

"Tell me about your research," Enzo says suddenly, breaking me from my thoughts. "What progress have you made today?"

I blink, surprised by his interest. "Well, today was some research around Oscar Wilde's whole art for art's sake vibe."

Enzo leans forward, his blue eyes intense. "Wilde? An interesting choice. 'To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.'"

I can't hide my surprise at his quote. "You've read Wilde?"

He smirks. "I'm not just a pretty face, Livia. I appreciate good literature. All those first editions in there I've read. Most of those books in there I've read, actually."

I feel a blush creeping up my neck. "I'm impressed," I admit reluctantly.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Enzo says intensely. "As Wilde said, 'The truth is rarely pure and never simple,' Much like my feelings for you, cara mia."