When he handed me my black boots, I paused and looked at him. “Shouldn’t I be wearing heels?” I asked, checking myself in the full-length mirror. How I let him convince me to wear this top I had no idea. One wrong move and my boobs would be playing peek a boo.
“Normally, yes.”
“Then why did you give me my flat boots? The heeled ones are in there somewhere,” I told him, pointing to the bottom of the cupboard.
“Because, sweetheart, I’ve seen you in heels. And unless you want to look likeBambigot into Mum’s tequila, flats are your friend.”
“Oh.” I was already freaking out about going out tonight with Luca, this wasn’t helping.
“Don’t pout. You look hot. And next to that stud muffin, you’ll look tiny and fragile.”
“Tiny and fragile are not good things, Jax.”
“Ah, sweetheart. You have so much to learn about men. Especially men like Luca Conti.”
Speaking of men like Luca, my phone pinged, and my stomach ended up in my throat.
Luca: Just parked. Be up in a second
“Now before you freak out, just breathe and enjoy. You don’t have to marry the guy. All you need to do is go have fun. Flirt. Have a few drinks then come home and tell me all the dirty details.”
“I can do that.”
“Yeah, sweetheart, you can.”
As I sucked in a deep breath, a knock on the door interrupted my freak-out.
“I got it,” Jaxson promised as he sauntered to the door.
The door opened, and there was Luca looking like everything I ever wanted. Dressed in a pair of dark jeans, navy blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up showing off that arm porn that did all sorts of things to me. He wasn’t freshly shaved so he was sporting a very sexy scruff on his jaw.
“Hey, Elise. You’re looking gorgeous.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I replied, surprising myself. I don’t know who this chick was. I never flirted. I was terrible at it.
“Hey, Jaxson.”
“Hey, man. Take care of my girl, won’t you?”
“Absolutely.”
I felt like a piece of meat being traded. Before I could voice my objection, Luca pulled his hand out from behind his back and handed me a box wrapped with a silver ribbon.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Mum made them. She insisted I not show up empty-handed, not that I ever would, but she told me you’d appreciate these more than a bunch of flowers.”
Intrigued, I cracked open the box and moaned at the sight. “She didn’t!” I gasped. Suddenly I wished Jaxson and Luca weren’t standing there staring at me so I could start stuffing myself with cannoli’s. The scent of vanilla and sugar had my mouth watering.
“One day you’re going to tell me how this…” he pointed between me and the box I was cradling in my arms like it was a baby, “happened.”
“If you play your cards right, I just might.”
“Okay, you two lovebirds. Time to hand over the goodies and get out of here.” Jax reached for the box, and I handed it over unhappily. Replacing it with my bag, he turned me by the shoulders and gave me a shove towards the door. “Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Doesn’t rule out much,” I replied, meaning for only Jax to hear it, but when Luca chuckled, I realised it must’ve been louder than I’d intended.
Twenty minutes later we were turning down a darkened street. The drive hadn’t been uncomfortable. Maybe it was the dark that made me brave, or maybe it was the fact Luca had to watch the road and not me that had me asking a million questions. To his credit, he’d had really good answers for all of them. Except one.
