I huff.“The night you recused me—the night before—” I let my words trail.The night before you had to move your father against your will.“I noticed Colette kept calling you, and I thought maybe she was your girlfriend or something.Then she showed up the next morning after you left, and I was afraid to answer the door.She’s intense.I was kind of scared of her.”
I get a chuckle out of him.“You know you could have just asked me, right?”
“I didn’t want to overstep.It was none of my business,” I admit.
“Did you still think I had a girlfriend the day we”—he makes little air quotes again—“made cookies.”
“No.”I shrug my shoulders.“I don’t know.I was pretty sure you didn’t,” I admit.“But then when I saw Colette coming in hot tonight, I wasn’t so sure anymore.I was sure she was coming for me.”
Luca shakes his head.“There’s never a dull moment with you, is there?”
“Nope.I like to keep things interesting.”I squish up my features.“Should we go back to the market?”
“I have a better idea,” he says with a sexy wink.
ChapterTwenty-Six
JEMMA
“How big of a tree are we searching for?”I ask, navigating my way through Marché aux Fleurs, a floral shop that doubles as a Christmas tree store, nestled between the gorgeous Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame.
This area is quickly climbing my list of favorite areas in the city.Just last night, we visited the Le Marché de Noël de Notre-Dame, another spectacular Christmas market, to make up for the night Colette ruined.Well, maybe not totally ruined.Let’s just say it ended on a high note, if you catch my drift.
“I think we should get this one.”Luca gestures toward a small tabletop tree.
I scrunch up my nose.“That’s not a tree.It’s a shrub.”
“I take it that’s a no,” he replies, his gaze lingering on mine.
I bite my lip, feeling a familiar flutter in my stomach at the sight of him.Even in the most casual outfit—slim-cut dark blue jeans and a baby blue button-up poking out from under his dark jacket—he’s perfect.Especially now that I know he’s single and where he sneaks off to every morning.
For the first time, I notice a parade of longing glances directed at him, but he’s completely oblivious; his eyes are glued to mine.
When I finally manage to peel my gaze away from him, I spy it—the tallest, most magnificent tree in the shop.
“This is the one!”I squeal as the earthy scent of fresh pine fills my senses.“This is the first tree I’ve bought in three years.It has to be absolutely perfect.”
“Do you really think I can haul that giant thing all the way back to my apartment?”he asks, tapping his foot, brows raised.
“I guess I didn’t think of how we’d get it home.”I giggle, imagining us hauling my chosen tree back to Luca’s apartment.“I do really love this tree, though.”I pout, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.
“Oh, mon petit lapin,” he says with a mischievous smirk, pulling me behind the towering evergreen, away from prying eyes.His lips crash into mine, igniting a burst of fireworks in my chest, my knees turning to jelly.
“But this tree ...”I pull back, batting my eyelashes as I run my finger along the branches.
“I can’t say no to you, can I?”
I shake my head dramatically, trying to hold back a smile, but failing miserably.
“Well, then you definitely can’t say no to me when I ask you to be my date to my boss’s Christmas party on Saturday.”
“I would absolutely love to be your date.Well, as long as this tree is really coming home with us.”I dig into my bag and pull out a small wrapped package.I carefully remove the paper and delicately weave a branch through the loop.“It’s ours now!”I declare, stepping back to admire the small oval-shaped glass ornament with a hand-painted elf on the front that I snagged at the Christmas market.“Now it’s perfect.”
* * *
The metro is packed, and it’s not even rush hour.
Oops.
