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I rolled my eyes. “Again with the foregone conclusions.”
“I don’t waste time pretending, Saoirse.”
He had me there. If it weren’t for us having this outrageous conversation, I might’ve liked to climb into his lap and pick up where we’d stopped.
“I’ll have to think about this.”
Something in him deflated. “I thought you said yes to experiences.”
“I did, but you’re asking me to do something I don’t believe in.”
“All the more reason to do it. If you don’t believe in marriage, what’s the harm in entering a fake one with me?”
I folded my arms over my chest, refusing to be convinced by this very convincing man. “We’ll have to lie to our friends and family. That’s the harm.”
“That’s the downside, I agree. But when we divorce, it’ll be amicable. We won’t force anyone to choose sides since there won’t be a rift.”
He was so calm and slick with his answers I wanted to shout and ruffle him up a little. This man was asking for a lot while behaving like it was nothing.
“I can’t say yes right now. I’m sorry if that’s disappointing, but I need to really consider this.”
There was a tense moment where it seemed he was poised to argue with me but then released a long exhale.
“Of course you can have time. Send the contract to your lawyer—”
“I don’t have a lawyer, Luca.”
“Right.” He slid his phone from his pocket, tapping something on the screen. “I’m sending you the name of another firm I trust. I’ll let them know to expect a call from you. Obviously, I’ll be paying all legal fees.”
“Obviously.”
Luca walked me to the door. Before he opened it, I spun around to face him.
“You realize this is nuts, right?”
He paused, staring at his hand on the knob, then lifted his gaze to mine. “I do, which should tell you how fucking desperate I am to be out from under some of the weight pressing down on me.”
It only lasted a few seconds, but in that time, Luca’s charm fell away, letting me see his fatigue and turmoil. It was almost enough for me to agree right then and there, but I was smarter than that.
Saving Luca couldn’t be the only reason I said yes.
Charlie was hanging around my cubicle when I hustled into the office. Though I’d shown up to Rossi at the ass crack of dawn, somehow I was running late.
Well, not somehow. I knew how. After Luca’s sneak attack of insanity, I’d gone to my favorite nearby coffee shop. Over a latte and croissant, I’d gotten lost in my thoughts and time had slipped away from me.
“Hey,” I chirped. “Good morning.”
Since I’d started at Rossi three weeks ago, Charlie had been nothing but friendly. There was an underlying interest there, but he hadn’t acted on it or made me feel uncomfortable. Even at the weekly office happy hours. He made it a point to sit beside me, and maybe after a drink or two, he got a little flirtier, but not so much I had to turn him down.
That was a relief since I’d be working here for at least another month. The last thing I wanted was an awkward workplace situation.
“Good morning.” He grinned, sweeping me with his gaze. “Running late?”
I smoothed a hand over my hair and smiled back. “Wild morning. I hope it’s not a sign of what’s to come for the rest of the day.”
He tucked his hands in his trouser pockets and rocked back on his heels. “It seems like maybe you had a wild day yesterday too.”
I paused with my hand on the back of my chair. “Really? What do you mean?”
