Chapter 5 A CONFUSED ELENA

~ELENA~

Nico stretches out on my reading nook like he owns it. One leg propped up, his shirt still half unbuttoned, and that smug devastating grin playing on his lips.

I lean against the doorframe, arms crossed.

"You always make yourself this comfortable in a girl's room?" I ask.

He shrugs, unbothered. "Only when the girl looks like she's dying to ask me to stay."

I scoff.

"In your dreams."

"Oh sweetheart..." he glances at me through those thick lashes. "You've already been in my dreams."

My cheeks burn. This man is impossible.

I walk past him, pretending not to care and sit at the edge of the bed.

"You're always this flirty with your stepsisters??" I ask.

"That's when she's beautiful and sexy as hell" he murmurs.

He clicks his tongue.

"You're not really my sister. Not by blood. Not by bond. And definitely not by heart."

He leans forward. "So I don't see you as my stepsister."

He stands, then begins prowling around the room like he's been here before.

He taps the edge of my dressing table and picks a book I had kept on it while unpacking.

"Romance novels?" He says with a smirk.

"Guilty."

"Seems you like books. We have a library with so many books in the house" he says.

"Really?" I squeal in delight.

I love books.

"Yes," he says.

"I can't wait to read them. I've read a lot of books and I want to read more" I say.

"Any of them involve falling for your stepbrother?" He teases me.

I throw a pillow at him. He catches it easily.

His eyes flick to mine, something unreadable in them.

Silence stretches between the both of us. Not awkward.... just charged.

"So" he says eventually. "Tell me something real."

"Like what??"

"Why did you move here??" He asks. "Heard you were living in America and studying there."

I hesitate.

"My mom got married after my father's death" I say finally. "And I didn't want her to feel guilty for dragging me into it. So I came along."

Nico stares at me.

"Ooh, alright."

"And I'm still getting to know my new stepfather" I say.

"Lorenzo??"

I stare at him in disbelief.

"You address your father by his name??" I ask.

He shrugs his shoulders. "It's not a big deal."

"Wow" I mouthed.

He walks over towards me, his presence suddenly too close, too warm.

"Can I ask you something??" he says.

I nod.

"Did you meet any of us recently before moving in here?"

My eyes widen.

"Why...why do you ask??" I say.

"You've got this look in your eyes since you got here. Like you're haunted. You looked like you recognized one of us." He replies.

I open my mouth, then close it.

"I don't think I've seen any of you before moving here" I lie.

He smirks.

"Are you sure, little dove??"

I gasp softly.

The one at the club called me "baby doll" and now he's calling me "little dove"

He's not the same person.

Or is he??

"Yes, I'm sure" I lie again, daring him to talk about the kiss if he's really the one.

"If you say so, little dove," he drawls.

His eyes hold a sinister look in them.

My ribs begin slamming against my ribs.

He leans down, brushing a lock of hair off my cheek.

"I really want to know what your lips taste like. I've imagined kissing you since I set my eyes on you today" he whispers in my ear.

Then he stands straight.

"But not tonight," he smiles. "Tonight I'm just here to keep you company."

He turns away, moves back to the reading nook like nothing happened.

I exhale shakily.

He's dangerous and straight forward.

In a different way from Vincenzo.

Vincenzo is cold, unreadable like a loaded weapon.

But Nico??

He's the fire you know is going to burn you-but you still reach out to him anyway.

We end up talking for hours.... nothing important. Just past relationships, which makes me realize that Nico is a playboy, books, music, and how he once dyed Riccardo's hair pink while he slept.

I laugh more than I should.

When he finally stands up to leave, he pauses at the door.

"You've got a secret, Elena," he says softly. "And I can't wait to figure it out."

He leaves, and I'm left staring at the closed door, heart still racing.

And one thought fills my mind.

He's not the one who kissed me.

But he's the one who might ruin me.

My phone suddenly rings and I check who is calling.

It is a WhatsApp group call and it's Valentina and Gianna calling.

"My girls!!" I squeal in delight, then answer the call.

"Hey baby!" They both chorus.

"My sweethearts" I exclaim. "I miss you guys already"

"We miss you too" they chorus.

"Hey Elena, switch to video call" Valentina says.

And I immediately switch to video call.

"How did moving into your new house go?" Gianna asks.

I can see their faces on my screen.

"Show us your new room" Valentina interrupts.

I do that.

I show them my room.

"Wow, it's beautiful" Gianna exclaims.

"And classy" Valentina supports.

"Seems your new stepfather is swimming in money" Gianna says.

"I guess" I shrug my shoulders.

"You haven't answered me. How did moving in go?" Gianna says.

"Cool. But guess what girls??"

"What??" They both exclaim.

"I have three hot, handsome, sexy and identical triplets as my new step brothers" I blurt out.

"Oh my!" Valentina exclaims.

"What the hell!" Gianna squeals. "How about I come over to spend the weekends??"

I laugh.

"You wanna seduce them, huh?" I tease.

"Yes yes!" She laughs.

Valentina narrows her eyes at me, leaning closer to the screen.

"Wait, wait, back up. Triplets? And they're hot?"

"Identical triplets," I repeat with a dramatic sigh, flopping back on my bed. "Like sinfully attractive. You wouldn't want to believe it unless you saw them."

Gianna lets out a squeal so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear.

"This is some stepbrother fantasy gone wild situation!" She says.

Valentina grins like a devil.

"Tell me everything. Names. Personalities. Every detail. Now."

I groan.

"Okay, there's Vincenzo...he's cold, silent, gives off major serial killer vibes, but in a hot broody way. Then Riccardo...cool, chill, charming and caring. And Nico..."

I trail off for a second, feeling my face flush.

Gianna immediately notices. "Oh, oh. Something happened with Nico...didn't it??"

"I mean...he was in my room earlier. Being all flirty. And gorgeous. And frustrating" I mutter.

Valentina wiggles her brows. "Was he shirtless?"

"Half" I grumble. "But that's not even the craziest part."

Gianna and Valentina lean closer in perfect unison, their eyes wide.

"What could possibly be crazier than living with three hot triplet step brothers??" Valentina asks.

I bite my lip.

"Okay, you remember the night before I moved? The night at the club? The handsome stranger I kissed?" I ask.

Gianna gasps. "No. No way! Don't tell me..."

"It's one of them" I close my eyes and groan. "It's one of the triplets."

The screen explodes in chaos.

Gianna lets out a scream that's half shock, half excitement.

"WHAT!? Are you serious?"

Valentina drops her phone for a second before scrambling to grab it again.

"Elena, what the hell??"

"I didn't know" I yell defensively. "How am I supposed to know that the handsome stranger you both dared me to kiss is my stepbrother??"

"Fuck!" Valentina exclaims.

"Tell, was it just the kiss??" Gianna asks.

"We made out" I say and blush hard.

"Oh my!" Valentina gasps.

Gianna is fanning herself with her hand, laughing like a maniac.

"This is better than a damn Netflix series. So who was it? Which of them?" She asks.

"That's the problem" I sit up, pulling a pillow to my chest. "I don't know. I can't figure it out. Nico called me "little dove" earlier, not a baby doll. So maybe it's not him. Vincenzo doesn't talk much and Riccardo? I honestly don't know. They're all too good looking and it's messing with my brain."

Valentina stares at me wide eyed.

"Elena. Babe. You accidentally made out with one of your step brothers before you knew he's your step brother."

"Yeah" I sigh, hiding my face in the pillow.

Gianna bursts out laughing again.

"Girl you've already failed the step-sibling challenge and you just moved in. This is insane. I love it!"

"I'm doomed" I groan.

"No," Valentina says with a wicked smirk. "You're not doomed. You're in the middle of a forbidden romance plot. And we need to know who the mystery kiss guy is. Operation baby doll is finally on."

"I'm scared," I whisper, half laughing.

"You should be," Gianna grins. "One of them has tasted your lips and has touched you. And the other two might want to, too."

My stomach flips. I don't say anything.

Because deep down, I know she might be right.

And that terrifies me.