My lips part involuntarily, my body remembering what my mind has tried to forget.
"Luca…" His name escapes as a plea, though I'm not sure what I'm asking for.
Mercy? Distance? Or something I can't allow myself to want?
He doesn't move closer, but he doesn't step away, either.
I see the question in his eyes, the silent request for permission.
One kiss.
One moment to remember what we were.
What we could have been.
“Say it.” His voice is a whisper, but firm, demanding.
“I believe you.”
His lips crush down on mine.
Rockets fire, just like they had the first time he kissed me.
For a moment, I go with it.
How can I not?
I’ve missed him. Longed for him. Needed to feel wanted by him.
But reality quickly follows. It kills me, but I break the kiss and step back. I keep my head down, unable to look him in the eyes. “I have to go. The kids…”
It's a lie.
I have another hour before school is out, but I need to escape before I do something I'll regret.
Before I tell him everything.
"Of course." His voice is rough, his eyes never leaving mine as I back away. "Your children come first."
I nod, gathering my purse and hurrying out of the room toward the front door.
"Elena."
My name on his lips stops me at the doorway.
I turn to see him standing beneath the mistletoe, tall and proud and heartbreakingly familiar.
"This conversation isn't over. Not by a long shot."
I don't respond.
I can't.
But as I hurry to my car, I know with bone-deep certainty that he's right.
LUCA
I stand alone in Dominic's foyer, running my thumb across my lips where Elena's taste still lingers.
