Page 14 of Irreplaceable

CHAPTERFOUR

“Why do you have such a big house anyway?” I asked from my perch on the guest bed.

The staff had delivered my luggage and unpacked it, leaving Enzo to help me to my room. It was getting ridiculous, really. The way he insisted on carrying me. Not that I minded being cradled to his chest, his scent infiltrating my nose. For such an imposing man, he was surprisingly gentle.

This house, though…Mizuki House…it was truly ridiculous. Even in the short time I’d been here, the staff had been incredible. And the house itself—the guest bedroom alone was larger than my apartment back in LA. And it was one of six. Six beautiful, luxurious bedrooms with pristine bedding and, I assumed, ocean views. It was too dark now to see anything beyond the pool. But my room had a private balcony with a little wading pool at the ledge.

Insane! It seemed like something from one of the movies I worked on, not a place I’d actually get to stay. Me! Stay here.

I admired a batik painting on the wall across the room. The design was vibrant and intricate. And the more I saw of the place, the more in awe I was. I couldn’t even imagine the cost of something like this. Yes, Bali was relatively inexpensive to visit. But still, this was a six-bedroom villa overlooking the ocean with staff, with…

“My friend Val was supposed to come with me,” Enzo said, interrupting my mental calculations. “But she had to stay home.”

I nodded, considering, trying to push down the flare of jealousy that sparked in my blood. Was Val more than a friend? And why did I care?

I told myself it was because I was about to spend the week at this man’s house and he was a stranger. But I knew it was more than that. I was attracted to Enzo. Okay, more than attracted. How could I not be? He was a freaking god.

Dark hair. Big brown eyes. Full lips.

Then there was his body, which was like a work of art. Hard angles and smooth planes. A masterpiece. I wondered what he did for a living. Where he lived. I had so many questions.

“Friend?” I asked, my mind coming back to that word.

“Yes. Just a friend,” he said with a smug grin.

“Yet you’d bring her with you on vacation?”

“You told me you enjoy traveling with your girlfriends. Juliana, Alex—”

“Alexis.” I nodded, thinking back on our conversation on the drive over. “And Lauren.”

“Same for me with Val.” He lifted a shoulder. “She’s like a sister.”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Strong. Tall. Lean. Graceful.

When I met Enzo’s gaze, he was scanning me. His eyes hooded. Lips parted as if in anticipation. He felt it too—this pull.

“Besides, I just got out of a relationship. I’m not looking for anything serious,” he said.

Wasn’t that the story of my life? The hottest men were either taken or players. If I had to guess, Enzo was a player. A man that gorgeous had to have women falling all over him.

I wasn’t looking for anything serious either. Or anything at all, really. Though the idea of sex with this man was undeniably tempting. Even so… I didn’t know him.

It was one thing to stay at his home. In the past, I’d met up with other travelers and shared lodgings, meals, whatever. Though, I typically paid my fair share. But it was another thing entirely to sleep with a stranger. A man I’d only met earlier today when his driver had nearly run me off the road.

“Were you together a long time?” I asked.

He rubbed a hand over his chin, the scruff rustling against his palm. “Too long, yes. I should’ve ended it sooner.”

“Why didn’t you?” I kept waiting for him to tell me he was done. To stop answering my questions. But to my surprise, he didn’t. He kept talking. He seemed to want to talk, even if his answers were a bit cryptic.

“It was easier than the alternative.”

I smoothed my hand over the duvet cover. “Which was?”

“Disappointing my mamma.”

I grinned. “Aw. You’re a mama’s boy.”