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“You don’t have to do that.” I held out my hand for her to stop.
“Help you clean or read to him?” she asked, looking up at me questioningly.
I placed down the handful of dishes and said, “Both.”
Her shoulders dropped as she let out a slow breath. “Luca—”
“No, Scarlett. It will only confuse him,” I murmured. “I don’t want him to get too… attached to you.”
She dropped her gaze and went back to wiping the smears of chopped vegetables. “Of course.” Her voice was tight, and her movements seemed angry. “I guess you’re right. You can’t have all your women reading bedtime stories to your kid.”
“Excuse me?” I grabbed her wrist to make her stop. Her eyes blazed when she lifted them to mine. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Let go of me.” She tugged hard against my grip, but I tightened it and pulled her around the counter.
With her right up against me then, I searched her eyes for a sign of where her sudden anger came from. All the while, Scarlett still struggled against my hold.
“All my women?” I asked. “What do you think is happening here, Scarlett?”
“Forget I said anything, okay? Please, just let me go.” She gave one hard tug, and I released her.
Scarlett rubbed her wrist absently, studying the point just below my jaw. She was afraid to look at me, I could feel it.
“How many women do you think I let in here?” I asked, my annoyance bristling under my collar. “Tell me.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’m not stupid, Luca. I know all about—”
“You know nothing.” The firmness in my voice made her jump, and I immediately regretted it. I reached out to take her hand but gently. “That is my son, Scarlett. Boat trips and German lessons and… and home-cooked dinners… This isn’t something I do with just anyone.”
When she looked up at me, her forest green eyes were misted over. I lifted her hand and placed it on my cheek, closing my eyes to the sensation of her skin on mine for the first time in too long.
“Luca… we can’t,” she whispered.
I nodded. “I know.”
But when I opened my eyes, the desire I felt for her was mirrored right back to me in her own. It was impossible to deny, as always.
“I know,” I said again, tracing the soft line of her jaw with my thumb before cupping her face in my hand.
All the tension between us got sucked away, disappearing into the background with the rest of the kitchen. We stood on the edge of the Earth, she and I, gazing into each other’s eyes for something to hold on to. I leaned in, and Scarlett tilted her face to mine at the same time, our mouths a mere breath apart.
She snaked her arms around my waist and pulled me closer. “I want to kiss you so badly.”
“Oh, Scarlett…”
My lips brushed hers, and just as my tongue got a bit of her taste, Leo’s voice rang out from upstairs.
“Papa! Papa!”
By the time I blinked, we were wrenched apart, Scarlett breathing heavily on the other end of the kitchen, her hand over her heart. My own hammered in my chest, and I let out a soft chuckle.
“That was close,” I said, smiling at her.
Scarlett looked mortified. “Is he okay? You better go check.”
“Wait here,” I said, rolling down my shirt sleeves.
But she shook her head. “No, it’s late. I should go.”
