I stare at him until his smarmy grin starts to waver.
Then I give him a deliberately easy smile.
“No, Ryan,” I say, my voice so soft it takes him a moment to catch up.
“No golfing for us. No bonding. We are not going to do anything together.”
“Huh?”
“You and I have nothing in common. We are not friends. We never were. Never will be.”
I’m already standing.
Ryan’s jaw hangs. He gapes at me, stranded somewhere between confusion and wounded pride, as I walk out.
I don’t look back.
CHAPTER 14 – ANTONIO
I’m going on a second date with Luca—a personal record.
His face lights up when he sees me. He’s so nice. Nice, funny, andgood-looking.
Not tall and muscular like Caspian, for instance, but taller than me, andclearly someone who hits the gym regularly.
I halt. Did I just… compare my date to Caspian?
What is wrong with me?
Caspian is nothing to me. He’s so far from being a thing in my life I’d need binoculars to spot him in my mind.
I shake my head, trying to evict the pampered prince of Baywood from my thoughts.
Luca gets up as soon as I reach the table he’s secured.
“Hey!” He beams. “What are you having?”
“Hi,” I reply, still disgruntled about my mental slip.
I don’t want to think about Caspian. Not his height or his muscles or what he might look like shirtless. The fact that my brain occasionally commits high treason does not mean he fascinates me. I happen to appreciate things like biceps and forearms and pecs.
It’s perfectly normal.
It would be weird, actually, if I didn’t react to a well-built, beautiful male body like his.
And it’s not like I don’t appreciate Luca’s arms. I do. More importantly, I appreciate his personality. The same can’t be said about Caspian. No, it certainly cannot. He’s… vile. Yes. Vile and atrocious.
I’m so glad I saw him with Ryan the other day. That served as a good reminder of his abominable soul.
“Antonio?” Luca asks.
Oh. I might’ve spaced out.
“Sorry.”
I give his arms an extra appreciative look.
“I’ll have ginger ale, but I can grab the drinks.”
