“I—I don’t know.”
He stared at me again for several long seconds.
Now, it became awkward.Really awkward.
He continued his stare. “I’m not good at this shit, alright?”
“Good at what…?”
He broke eye contact, sighed, and then left the bed.
My heart deflated.
He grabbed his clothes from the foot of the bed and dressed with his eyes elsewhere. Slipped on his boots and then grabbed his phone from the cardboard box and headed into the hallway to depart.
Disappointed that I’d ruined this, whatever it was, I followed him to the door.
He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
“Luca.”
He stopped, his back to me, and then slowly turned to face me, his handsome face contorted into an expression of annoyance. “I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“I didn’t come here for a hookup, Aliénor.”
Like a mighty condor, my heart spread its wings and caught a draft of air that rushed through my feathers. I soared high over the mountains and the valleys, basking in the warm sunshine. My throat suddenly felt dry, tight, my body pained…but in a good way.
He turned away and walked down the hallway. Turned the corner at the stairs.
I watched him go.
15
LUCA
I sat alone at the bar and stared at nothing or focused on my phone.
Carvel’s name popped up along with a message.Did you hear about the Vatican?He dropped a link to a news article.
I didn’t reply, but I opened the article and scanned it quickly. The headline readVatican Museum Robbed. Investigation Underway. When I skimmed the article, the truth became glaringly obvious.
I texted Carvel.Aristocrats.
Yep.
The Vatican must have had some French pieces in the museum, and the Aristocrats were pissed about it.Out of my jurisdiction, so not my problem.
Thank god for that. Fucking psychopaths.
I set my phone down and took a drink before I looked across the bar again. It’d been a few days since I’d seen Aliénor. We hadn’t spoken. I assumed that was done, but if it was done, why didI still think about her? Why was I frustrated beyond sanity but equally obsessed?
What was it about this goddamn woman?
A text popped up on my phone.
It wasn’t Carvel or one of the other guys.
It was her.
