“We’re engaged,” he said again, and this time he noticed her hands twitch in her lap, as if she struggled not to get up and slap him.
What are you doing?she mouthed at him, her dark-brown eyes flashing, and Joel couldn’t help it.
He smiled. God, he’d missed her.
He shoved off the doorframe and entered the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. As comical as walking into a ladies’ bathroom full of Italian women dressed to the nines in every color of the rainbow was, heonly had tunnel vision for one—and there was nothing funny about the way his heart raced as he approached Luciana Barone.
He knew she likely chose the neutral-toned dress because she wanted to blend in, be inconspicuous. Muted. He’d seen her do this a lot when it wasn’t just the two of them. But in this case, it had backfired, because the creamy tones shone like gold against her tanned skin, the silk fabric sliding tantalizingly over her legs as she squirmed on her seat. She made the understated outfit look so exquisite she’d taken his breath away. And he was fairly certain she didn’t even realize it.
“I wanted to announce it tonight, but Lucy didn’t want to steal Mariana’s thunder.” His eye contact never wavered as the lie slid from his lips. “I agreed to keep it quiet, but when I saw her dancing with another man, I lost control and my jealousy took over.”Not entirely a fabrication. When he’d seen her with Nico, something snapped inside him, and the curtain fell on the four-year charade he’d been playing. “I’m not sorry, Lucy,” he said as the sea of relatives parted to let him stand in front of her. “I’m tired of the secrets. You’re mine, and I want the world to know.”
A loud sigh rose from somewhere in the room.
He knew his words would ignite her rage. He watched, resigned, as her face transformed into a mask of anger, color infusing her cheeks and darkening her iris’. Four years clearly hadn’t been long enough to stem the flow of raw and volatile emotion in her. Why would it be? It hadn’t been enough for him either. Years couldn’t cool his tension, but there was only minimal satisfaction in knowing she’d suffered the same.
No, she’s suffered more. Much more,he reminded himself.And because he understood that, he made no attempt to stop her when she surged to her feet.
“MaybeIdidn’t want the world to know, Joel. Did you ever think of that?” she demanded, raising her voice.
“Luciana…” her aunt, Graziella Barone, hissed from beside her.
Furious blinking, gaping mouths, and indistinct whispering surrounded Lucy like a hive.
Joel didn’t blame her family’s reaction. Lucy didn’t often have outbursts, preferring to assume a more reserved demeanor in public. She’d told him that every member of the Barone family had inherited so much of the drama gene there’d been none left for her. She said she was an afterthought in her family, overlooked or ignored.
That had never been true for him.
He’d noticed Lucy from—the moment he could remember noticing women. It had been that defiance, the not giving into the deafening theatrics that her family was known for, that had made her stand out to him. In a world where everyone wanted to be loud and seen, Lucy had built a life in the quiet, and that made herinteresting.
“I didn’t want a scene!” She swept her arm around her, indicating the women who’d crammed themselves into the bathroom.
Okay, so maybe there was some temper left in her. He kind of liked it, too because it mostly came out just for him.
“But you never listen, Joel, because you’re The Fixer. The one who knows what’s best for everyone. You blow into people’s lives and try to make everything better. But sometimes it can’t be made better.” She wasn’t talking about his engagement stunt now, and they both knew it. “There’s a time and a place for something to happen, and this isn’t our time or our place.” She dragged in a desperate breath beforecontinuing. “And maybe you and I need to accept that we’ll never have one.”
Beside her, Ella gasped loudly. “Luciana, basta, you don’t know what you’re saying.” She whirled to Joel. “She’s upset.” Then she addressed the women in the room. “Why don’t we all leave and give them space to talk, no?” She waved her hands, herding the women toward the door.
“No.” Lucy lifted her hand. “I needmy ownspace. I’m leaving.” She jabbed her finger at Joel. “Do not follow me.”
Without looking back, she strode out of the washroom. Leaving him with a pack of overdressed, overly perfumed, and overly interested women who all stared at him like he was the latest person on the cover ofPeople Magazine. Which he hadn’t been. This edition.
That didn’t go as he’d planned. Not that he really had a plan. With Lucy, he never seemed to have a plan. Life with her just happened, and he went where it called him.
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. A wave of lash extensions blinked at him expectantly.
“I should go after her.”
Everyone nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes! Yes, you should go!” Ella flapped her hands again, shooing him out the door. “Go now, before you change your mind.”
Joel opened his mouth to tell her he’d never change his mind when it came to Lucy. She lived in him, day and night, hurt him in the way no other person had ever hurt him, and still, he’d never change his mind about being with her.
But Ella slapped her handbag across his thighs in a sweeping motion, and before he knew it, he was out in the hall, the bathroom door hissing shut behind him.
Not having a clue where she’d gone, Joel followed his instinct, and exited the hotel’s side entrance, which led to alittle garden patio with a fountain. He’d seen it on his way in, before he’d realized Lucy was inside the reception. The sound of the fountain triggered a memory of her. She used to love fountains, and apparently, she still did because he found her standing with her back to him, watching the water.
Her arms wrapped protectively around herself, as if she was trying to hold herself together. He could relate to the feeling.Seeing her was like an old wound that had reopened after healing poorly in the first place.It fucking hurt.
