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By the time Quin took me home, I was ready for a nap. As I rounded the corner of the bakery though, those thoughts disappeared. Mrs. Potts, my landlord, was standing with two men who were fiddling with something above my door.
“Good afternoon, dear.” She smiled and waved.
“Um, hello. What’s going on?”
“I heard about your little incident yesterday—”
“How?” I interrupted. My eyes widened with alarm.
“It’s a small town,” she shrugged. “Gossip flows faster here than a rushing river.”
“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain what they’re doing.” I pointed at the men who hadn’t stopped working.
“I’m extending my security system so it covers your apartment as well. I probably should have done it the second I rented the place, but I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“I appreciate your concern, Mrs. Potts, but it’s really not necessary.”
“Of course it is. You’re a beautiful young woman, Emory, living all alone. Besides…” She looked over her shoulder and the men nodded. “It’s done.”
I sighed, knowing better than to try to argue with her. The men quickly packed up their tools and the three of them left without another word.
The door had barely closed behind me when a text came through.
Luc: I’m pulling in with your car. I’ll be up with the keys in a minute. We need to talk.
My stomach knotted as nerves raced through my body. I knew what he wanted to talk about, but my emotions were too raw after Joel’s cruelty to deal with his rejection. Even though his offer to accompany me to the rally was made in the heat of the moment, I was almost relieved to know I wouldn’t have to face my parents alone.
Luc affected me, more than I was ready to admit to anyone. He was gorgeous, yes, but it wasn’t just his looks which had goosebumps popping up all over my body at the mere mention of his name. It wasn’t even his loyalty and dedication to his family, which astounded me. No, it was the shadows I saw behind his incredible blue-gray eyes; shadows he tried to hide from the world, but I recognized it.Pain.
I stepped out into the cool mountain air, watching as he approached the bottom step.
“Hey.” His deep voice echoed through the small alleyway. Taking the stairs two at a time, I barely had the chance to inhale before he was standing directly in front of me. “Can we go inside where it’s a little less…arctic?”
He flashed a brilliant smile as I turned to hold the door open for him to enter.
“Listen, Luc.” I scurried past and sat on the far end of the sofa. “I get it, so there’s no need to have this conversation. We can just forget about the whole thing and go on with our lives.”
The smile I attempted fell short when I looked up and saw he was staring at me. His normally soft features had turned to stone, and the expression on his face reminded me of a raging storm.
“You get it?”
Something in the back of my mind told me to shut up, but as I twisted my fingers around each other in my lap, the words started spewing from my mouth at an unbelievable rate.
“Um. Yes. Totally. I mean who would believe someone like you would date someone like me?” A nervous laugh slipped out, and my mouth kept moving. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, because I do, I really do. Lord knows I don’t want to deal with my parents on a good day, let alone during one of my father’s bullshit campaigns.”
I should have been paying attention. If I had, then I would’ve realized Luc had moved. Not just moved. He crossed the room, dropped to his haunches in front of me, and covered my mouth with his.
Holy. Hell.
Chapter 5
Luciano
IWAS SO screwed. Having her warm, luscious lips on mine wasnotpart of the plan. But when she started spewing that bullshit about people not believing I’d date her, I had to make her stop talking before I blew my top. Jesus. How could she not see how outrageously attractive she was? Every single curve on her body was a bonus, not a deterrent.
Focus, del Toro.
Pulling away from her took considerable effort when what I really wanted was to slide my tongue inside her mouth and taste her sweetness.There was time,I told myself. Plenty of time.
