Dom laughed, "I can't wait to see that go down like a lead balloon."
I let out a roar of frustration. There was no way of winning. If Mia attended the wedding then plenty of people, not all of whom had a glowing record, would know who she was. If I told her not to attend, then she would look at me with the disdain I had worked so hard to change. When Mia was angry with me, my entire life dimmed.
"Luc!" Dom yelled. "We'll all be there. Nothing's going to happen to her."
"It better not, Dominic, because if it does, I am going to kill you."
Chapter Eighteen
Mia
Luc and I wandered around stores in awkward silence. I wanted to purchase a gift for Dom and Rodrigo so I couldn't take Dom with me and eventually I’d had plucked up the courage to ask Luc. Things had been more than strained between us since the incident in the entrance hall and I wasn’t sure if he would agree to take me out but one intense stare down between us and Luc eventually gave in.
He hovered nearby as I browsed through items. When I asked for his opinion Luc merely shrugged or grunted.
"Look, you don't have to follow me around," I told him, fed up with his attitude. "Go do whatever and I'll meet you afterwards." It wasn’t as if his input was useful and I could probably do the job quicker if he gave me some space.
"Nice try, princess. I'm not going anywhere."
I’d tried to ask him about the man in the entrance hall, but Luc had shut me down so aggressively that I hadn’t made another attempt. Quite clearly there were still parts of his life I wasn’t allowed access to. That thought soured my mood. He was still shutting me out and hadn’t given a decent reason why. In the quietest moments, I found myself wondering if Amber was also kept in the dark or whether Luc had been an open book for her. The jealousy I felt at those thoughts was enough to keep me up at night.
"If you aren't going anywhere then at least try and be helpful," I told him. Luc grumbled and I turned to look at him, "Honestly Luc, what is your problem?"
He looked down at me and I could almost see the internal fight he was having. "I don't want you at this wedding."
I hadn't expected such a blunt answer. I had heard Luc and Dom arguing but neither of them had brought it up, so I had assumed it was a work matter but to learn it was to do with the wedding made my excitement for the ceremony shrivel. "Oh."
What else could I say? At one point it felt like Luc was willing to let me into his life and now it felt like I was banished to the outskirts again. Several of the people Luc knew and worked with would be in attendance and he didn’t want me there. It was difficult to suppress the feeling of being a dirty little secret. I was good enough for him when we were alone at home but not in public. I turned away and began to walk through the store.
"Mia!" Luc called after me, but I refused to slow my pace.
I was upset but couldn't place why. There wasn’t anything between us. Not really. And yet there was. There were fleeting moments that made my heart skip. The temptation danced between us and made me wonder what would happen if I just kissed him again? I wanted so badly to feel that electricity that set every one of my nerves alight when we crossed the boundaries.
Rules were in place for a reason. Luc and I couldn’t be anything more than friends and apparently, I was not to the standard that Luc expected for the girl he did decide to be with.
It didn't matter what Luc wanted. It was Dom's wedding and he wanted me to be there. Luc did not have the final say on his guest list. Luc wouldn’t even need to speak to me or acknowledge me while we were there.
"Mia," Luc said as he caught my elbow, forcing me to stop. He attempted to stay quiet in a bid not to cause a scene. "I'm not trying to upset you."
"I'm not upset," I told him. I wasn’t sure I’d ever told a less convincing lie in my entire life.
"Mia, please. Be honest."
I sighed. "I'm going to be there whether you want me to be there or not."
"You didn't even let me explain."
"You don't want me around."
Luc looked shocked at my words but ever since that day in the hall he had been angry and distant. This was the first time we’d spent time alone together and the drive to the mall had been stiflingly silent. It was so difficult to understand where we stood that I almost wish we could go back to the start, so this had never become complicated. That it truly would be business, because then my heart wouldn’t ache trying to figure out what was happening between us.
"That's not true," Luc told me gently. He moved his hand from my elbow, down my arm and into my own. Luc laced our fingers together and I didn't stop him. Something about his hand in mine took the edge off the storm of emotions raging in my chest. He’d become the most unlikely source of comfort.
"We'll never find anything if we just stand here," I said eventually, tired of the war inside my head. As much as I wanted to stand strong against him, I couldn’t find it in myself to keep up the fury. Not when I could feel his thumb brushing my skin in small circles. Luc started to walk, and I followed beside him, footsteps in sync. He still hadn't let go of my hand as we started to browse through the china and tableware.
"I don't want you there because I'm worried it won't be safe," Luc explained, breaking the silence.
I looked up from a vase that had taken my interest and the concern that filled Luc's eyes hit me in the gut. My safety was not the reason I had assumed for his reluctance. I’d only thought the worst, and the fury I felt was washed away by a tsunami of guilt. I opened my mouth to speak but Luc kept going.
