“What?” He blinked. “No, I was doing crunches.” He coughed into his fist, red painting the upper part of his cheeks.
There was something magical about seeing a blush cover Luca’s face. It made me think of naughty things. Inappropriate, lusty, and dirty thoughts. Why was he blushing? Was he hiding something? God, I wanted to know. I tapped my toe over the frame of his room and grinned. “You are lying, Luca Monroe. You’re blushing, and that tells me I caught you doing something.”
He cleared his throat, and when I glanced up at him again, his brown eyes were almost black. A simmering volcano of heat reflected back at me. His lips parted, and he licked his full bottom one, but before he said anything, he shut his eyes and stepped back. That small movement was a cold splash of water on my libido.
Stop setting yourself up to be rejected.
“Did you need something?” he asked, an edge to his voice. If I wasn’t so stung by the huge step away from me, I’d notice the higher pitch of his tone.
“Yes.” I straightened and crossed my arms behind my back, resting them against my lower spine. “I’ve been emailing and chatting with Tim all week, and I need to go back to Heath’s Lodge tomorrow. I was—”
“No.” He worked his jaw back and forth, rubbing his hand over his chin.
“Didn’t appreciate being interrupted or having you say no that fast.” I faked a smile, not losing my bravado. Romanos were built with nerves of steel. “If you’re not able to go up there, could I possibly borrow your truck? I’ll pay for gas, obviously. Tim wants me there to interview some residents, and I had so much fun last time. I could say hi to your grandma too if you can’t go.”
“You can’t do it over a Zoom call?”
“Have you met the clientele there? For real? No one has the patience to show them how to join adang Zoomcall.” I laughed. “Even Tim, who was super kind, couldn’t do that.”
His lips quirked up on one side. “My grandma learned how to text and use gifs, and it’s been downhill from there.”
“Exactly. Now, I know you’re busy and probably not able to tag along,” I paused, as Callum walked out of his room in low-riding shorts. He’d clearly just woken up and nodded at us as he went into the bathroom. “Can I borrow your truck?”
Luca lost the blush, which saddened me, but he shook his head. “It’s big, and if you don’t have practice with it, it could be too difficult.”
I tried one more time. “And there’s nothing I could do to convince you to come with me? We could make a deal of sorts?” I lowered my voice and widened my eyes, hoping my goofy face was the tipping point. It had to be more difficult to say no to a silly face. It was science.
He pressed his lips together tight as his brow wrinkled. It seemed like hewantedto say yes but couldn’t. “I don’t think I can.”
Defeat. It sucked. “Okay,” I said, my stomach twisting. I still had to find a way up there though. “I’ll manage. Good luck tonight.”
“Did I hear you need a ride?” Callum yawned, rubbing his eyes as he exited the bathroom.
“Yes. Why? Can I borrow your car?” And I was back, baby! “Whatever you need. I’ll do it. Chores. Food. A lap dance. Okay, I take that part back. I’m shit at dancing.”
Callum laughed. “Mm, that could be fun though.”
“My mouth ran away from me. It happens in desperation.”
“Fine,” Luca growled, pulling my attention back to him. “Callum’s car is a piece of shit, and mine is safer.”
“Fine as in I can borrow yours?”
“I’ll take you.” He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “What time?”
I couldn’t believe the turn of events, and a small, weird part of me wondered if he was jealous? Did the thought of me driving with Callum bother him? No. There was no way. He didn’t get involved, ever, and that seemed involved-y-ish. I snuck a glance at Callum, and he winked at me before going back to his room.
I felt played but didn’t care enough to figure out why. I had a ride, and Luca was coming with. Spending time with him seemed precious and rare, something to never hope for but moments to cherish. I jumped in the air and let out a little cheer. “Yes! One? Does that work for you?”
“We get back around noon.”
“Okay, two then?”
“No, one is fine.” Luca sighed and studied my toes again. He seemed angry, annoyed even. He’d agreed to this after saying no, so it couldn’t have been my fault for the mood shift.
“Will you be too tired? I can drive if you want to use the time to study or watch film or sleep off the hangover. Tonight is your wild night, right?” My stomach twisted about him going out and having fun, hooking up with another woman.
His silence ate at me. He stared too much and said too little. It made my desperate need to fill the quiet come out even stronger.
