Page 135 of Love Unspoken

"I have not dated Kath, not since we broke up five years ago." Lucas watched me as he spoke. "I'm not dating her now."

"Then what have you been doing with her?" Emily demanded.

Ace might be Team Lucas but Emily was all Team Amara.

"Hey, Emily." He walked to her, brushed his lips against her cheek, and shook hands with Ace. "I'm not doing anything with Kath except working with her."

He then went to Gemma and gave her a quick hug, which the traitor responded to with a grin.

"It sure looks like you're with her," Jax prodded.

The oven beeped then, loudly, as the timer went off. The room went silent except for the strains of jazz playing on my Bose speaker.

"God! All I wanted was a pleasant dinner with friends for the first time in forever, and we have this." I flung my arms up in the air and went to the oven. "Everyone, take a seat. Jax, fill glasses with wine, will you?"

Gemma came to me. "Can I help you plate?"

"No." I didn't want anyone near me right now because I was likely to start screaming and not stop. Who the hell did Lucas think he was coming here?

But he told you he hasn't slept with anyone since you. That means something, doesn't it?

Big fucking deal, I told myself. I hadn't had sex with anyone since Lucas either, so it wasn't like he'd made some big sacrifice.

Lucas obviously didn't listen to my instructions and leaned against the counter as I pulled out the duck to rest under foil. I turned the oven off and set the dinner plates in to warm up.

"You always do that. Warm the plates," Lucas mused.

"My mother used to do this."

"I know, you told me. How's your father doing?"

"He wants to knock your teeth out," I muttered angrily as I started to assemble everything I needed to plate the meal. I was serving the duck with parsnip puree, steamed broccolini, and a side watercress salad with orange sections.

"I'm sorry, Amara. Don't shut me out."

"Why?"

"Because," he dropped his voice so only I could hear him, "I love you."

His words hung in the air, heavy, and I felt my resolve waver. He was saying what I wanted to hear, everything I'd been afraid to hope for. But I couldn't just let myself fall into his arms and forget the pain he'd caused.

"You never said it before. I don't know if I can believe you now." My voice trembled despite my best efforts.

"Give me a chance to show you."

"You hurt me, Lucas. How do I know this time will be different?"

He moved closer to me and I could feel the heat of his body, and when he spoke, his voice was low and filled with a raw honesty that sent a shiver up my spine. "You don't, Tesoro. And I'm not asking you to believe me right away. But I'm asking you to give me a chance—one chance to prove to you that I'm not the same man who let you go."

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest, torn between the part of me that wanted to believe him and the part of me that wanted to protect myself from more hurt.

"I don't know if I can do that," I whispered, the vulnerability in my voice catching me off guard.

Lucas reached out, gently taking my hand in his. His touch was warm and grounding, and for a moment, I let myself just feel it—feel him.

"There's no rush. Just let's enjoy the wonderful meal you've cooked," he suggested. "And maybe Basil will add to the entertainment by beating the shit out of me."

I choked out a watery laugh.