AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You did all this for me?”
“Yes.” He said it so simply, as if I was an idiot for thinking anything else. I saw a small smile form on his lips, and he looked over to me, as if he was trying to read my emotions – trying to read my soul.
“Henri was right. I haven’t been someone worth dating.”
“Luca-” I began.
“No, Amore, it’s true. Your brother was right to warn me away from you. I know he told you that he told me to stay away. His cold shoulder in the paddock all weekend basically confirmed it. But then I read that article, and I realized that I wanted to be like the Luca from the GQ photoshoot. That Luca is worth dating.” His brutal truth and honesty took me aback for a moment as I stared into his beautiful brown eyes.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, and I don’t expect anything from this date. I just wanted you to have that date you deserved all those years ago. I wanted you to know I was sorry.”
I took the hand that wasn’t interlaced with his and reached out for his cheek, stroking it gently. His face was a little scruffy because he hadn’t shaved in a while, and I could see the stubble growing in. After a few more moments, I leaned in a little closer and pressed my lips against his. Luca released my other hand and placed his hands on the back of my neck and my lower back, pushing us closer together as he deepened the kiss. We both heard a clearing of the throat from the hallway, Yusif standing there, trying not to interrupt our moment.
“Sorry to interrupt, but the appetizer is ready.” In his hand was a delightful cheeseboard filled up with all my favorite cheeses and meats.
Lauren must have helped with this,I thought to myself. The server set the cheeseboard down and then refilled our glasses, quickly disappearing down the hallway of the boat.
“Surprised this cheese isn’t in mac and cheese form.”
“Lauren insisted that no first date should involve mac and cheese.” I felt more butterflies returning to my stomach as I contemplated how thisactuallywas our first date.
“Who says this is a first date?” I quipped at him, smiling with a mouthful of cheese.
“Do you kiss your friends like that,” he teased back.
“Only if they’re incredibly sexy,” I said with what I hoped was a sultry voice, at least as sultry as I could get with a mouth full of cheese and crackers.
“Ooh, Cara, come on, you can do better than that pickup line.” At that, we both laughed. Maybe Lizzie was right, my flirting probably did need work.
“Well, if you want better pickup lines, you’re just going to have to earn them.” Luca chuckled as he picked up his glass.
“Challenge accepted.”
ChapterSixteen
COME HELL OR HIGH WATER
Luca
The date Friday evening with Georgia had been undecidedly one of the best moments of my dating life. It could not have gone more perfect in my head, and it almost scared me how good it felt. After the kiss, we spent the rest of the date chatting away about anything and everything – movies, books she loved, her relationship with her brothers. It’s as if I was finally getting Georgia to open up about herself, and when she did, I began to see the part of her that everyone adored. She put her rocky exterior away, and her personality started to shine through.
I was a man trapped and suffocating, and she was the breath of fresh air I needed.
When we got back to the hotel, we immediately went into our separate bedrooms. While the date had been amazing, I meant what I said. I didn’t expect anything from her. I needed to show her that I was different. Even though I wanted to do nothing more than pull her into my bed and make her moan my name all night, I had made significant progress, and I felt like that would take us a step back. When I said goodnight to her from my own suite door, I noticed a slight look of disappointment on her face, which secretly brought me joy, although I tried not to show it.
* * *
As I opened my eyes the next morning, I looked at the clock; it was 7 a.m., andI knew what that meant – the social media posts officially announcing our relationship had dropped.
While the entire world already knew that we weredating, we had never announced it on social media, something Lizzie and Matteo insisted was incredibly important. I had no idea why; I barely used any of my social channels, but the social media coordinators decided that it was an important tool for our relationship.
Georgia had tried to push back and insist that if this relationship wasactuallyreal, we wouldn’t beposting on Instagram or Twitter because we would want our privacy, but that argument fell on deaf ears. Lizzie wanted to keep the momentum going, so after careful consideration between her and Matteo, the two posts were chosen.
As I looked at Georgia’s Instagram post, I let out a laugh. Classic Georgia – always cracking a joke. Looks like she won the battle with Lizzie –somewhat, at least. She’d told Lizzie if she was to make a post, she controlled the caption. The caption was undoubtedly the most real part of the Instagram post.
As I scrolled to my own post, I took a good look at the photo. I had told Matteo to just pick one from the vacation in a huff of annoyance, but I was surprised he picked this one. It was one of my favorites of the two of us from Majorca. Georgia looked so incredibly relaxed. This was taken the day before Henri, Edward, and Lauren had arrived. Georgia and I had joined a day early with my family, and we had spent some time on the beach relaxing before jumping back onto the yacht. She had barely worn any makeup that day, and instead, we opted for a quiet walk along the beach.
