I want to be the man he thinks I am.
I want to spend every morning of the rest of my life waking up to that honor.
To a new day of being his romance hero.
CHAPTER 66 – ANTONIO
I’m halfway through my coffee break when the trattoria door opens andCaspian steps inside.
Half an hour early.
While I’m having coffee with another man. And not just any man—Luca.
Luca from the nerd club. I mean, archive group. Pub—sex basement—arranged marriage—that Luca!
He’s sitting right across from me, stirring sugar into his coffee, blissfully unaware that my boyfriend might be about to flip a table.
I try to sit normally. Casual and innocent—like someone who’s definitely not cheating would sit.
Luca popped in when my break had barely started, so I asked if he wanted a coffee. Now Caspian’s going to cause a scene, because he loves me so much he cannot remain rational when I exist near other men.
It’s going to be a catastrophe.
I can’t wait.
Caspian scans the room, and when his eyes land on me, a warm smilespreads across his handsome face. The face that is about to twist into rage any second now.
“Hi, baby,” he says when I get up and hug him.
His gaze flicks to Luca. I brace myself for the impact.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your coffee.”
See? He’s devastated. So wounded by what he assumes is a betrayal that it doesn’t even show up on his face yet.
He’s suppressing it.
“You’re not interrupting,” I say quickly. “Nothing’s going on here! Just an innocent catching-up with a friend—we only kissed once anyway!”
Caspian blinks.
“You kissed—what?”
“Before,” I clarify, gesturing behind me. “In the past. This is Luca.”
“Oh.” Understanding dawns, and Caspian turns to Luca. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
“There’s no need to shout,” I inform him.
Luca looks confused.
“Sweetie, no one is shouting.” Caspian studies my face more closely now. “Are you okay?”
“Totally! This is all very casual. We’re not having an afternoon rendezvous.”
His lips twitch.
“I didn’t think you were, but thank you for clarifying.”
