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“What are you doing, hiding in here?” he asked with a small grin teasing at his lips.
“Feeding my face, actually,” I told him with a shrug. “My stomach started making angry noises, so I figured I needed to feed the beast.” Wiping my mouth again, I tilted my head at him. “You’re awfully late to the party this year. Normally, you’re one of the first to arrive, usually right behind Mia.”
“I stopped by your apartment, thinking we would ride together, but I stood outside your door for a good ten minutes before your neighbor told me she hadn’t seen you in at least a week.” His jaw clenched as if that angered him, and I nearly rolled my eyes.
“You didn’t think to maybe call and ask if I wanted to ride with you?” I dropped my plate on the counter beside the sink and grabbed a soft drink from one of the ice chests set out for the guests. There was everything anyone could possibly want, except alcohol. Out of respect for my dad’s sobriety, Aunt Emmie never served booze at any of her parties.
As I uncapped the diet cola, I saw him rub a hand over the back of his neck. “I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t even get back to town until this evening, and I went to your place straight from the airport. Work has been kicking my ass lately.”
Yeah, I thought. Work, sure. It couldn’t have possibly been Letizia or the Danish princess or any number of other redheads who warmed your bed.
Reminding myself it was none of my business and that I’d moved on from this guy and the future I’d envisioned us having, I decided to skip the main course and eat dessert. Turning away from him, I grabbed a new plate and dished up a huge slice of chocolate cake.
Not caring if he saw me stuffing my face, I picked up a fork and crammed a huge bite into my mouth.
“Damn, that looks good,” he said with a groan. When he picked up a fork for himself, I thought he was going to get his own, but instead, he stuck it in mine.
“Hey,” I whined when he lifted a bite of my cake to his mouth. “That’s mine.”
His grin was wicked and made my heart do a crazy little flip, while lower, I had a different kind of uncomfortable going on. Without thinking, I pressed my thighs together to try to relieve the sudden ache and watched as his eyes darkened.
“And it’s fucking delicious,” he growled as he started to lower his head. “But I need another taste.”
I held my breath, wondering if he was going to kiss me—secretly hoping he would.
Then the kitchen door opened, and Mia walked in. “Jordan!” she squealed, and Jordan’s head snapped up so fast, you would have thought he’d been caught murdering someone. “I thought I saw you come in a little while ago.”
My heart sank, and I became pissed at myself for daring to hope for something I knew was never going to happen. I dropped my cake in the trash and muttered an “Excuse me” as I left the kitchen.
It suddenly felt way too hot in the house. Needing some fresh air, I kept my head down as I made my way to the front door so no one would try to speak to me. When I was out on the porch, the urge to cry faded, and it was only then that I realized I’d been fighting it.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I chastised myself as I stomped off the porch.
“That’s not a nice thing to say about my favorite cousin,” a deep voice said to my left.
I swallowed the scream that had bubbled up and then threw myself into Luca’s arms when I saw him standing there with Violet’s bodyguard, Jenner. The brief shot of fear straight on the heels of what had happened in the kitchen made me tremble, but that quickly passed as Luca hugged me back.
“Hey, hey,” he murmured, leaning back to look down at me. He was huge, just as tall as the bodyguard and with at least ten more pounds of muscle on him. “What’s wrong?”
I forced a grin and shook my head. “Nothing. Everything. A million things I can’t control.” I breathed in deeply, taking the chilly December air into my lungs, and lifted a shoulder. “You know how it is.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, keeping one arm around my shoulders. “I know exactly how it is.”
I glanced between Luca and Jenner. There wasn’t a strained tension between them like I would have expected. If anything, they appeared to be friendly. That just seemed weird as hell to me. Jenner, Violet’s personal muscle paid for by her billionaire husband, being friends with her ex? I just couldn’t wrap my head around that, but I didn’t question eit
her of them about it.
“I think I’m going to head home,” I said as I pulled away from Luca, suddenly feeling so tired, I didn’t think I could keep my eyes open for much longer. How I was going to drive all the way back to my hotel, I wasn’t sure, but I’d figure it out. Even if I had to stop for a nap.
“Don’t rush off,” Luca stopped me. His gaze went to the house, and I felt him begin to tense. “I don’t know if I can go back in there, Arella. I was going to go to my parents’ house and just crash in my room. Could you…keep me company?”
Seeing the loneliness in his brown eyes, I didn’t even hesitate. “Sure. Let’s raid the pantry and eat all of Aunt Layla’s junk food like we used to do when we were kids.”
“Perfect.” He glanced at Jenner. “Thanks for the talk, man. I’ll be seeing you.”
Jenner inclined his head. “Possibly sooner than either of us realizes, Mr. Thornton.”
Luca stiffened. “For her sake, I really hope not.”
