And despite my silent meltdown, Luca didn’t say a word.
“I—I need to use the restroom.”
No response. No questions. Nothing.
I walked away, feeling his eyes drill holes into my back, feeling the barrier that we’d conquered slide right back into place.
29
LUCA
I was able to pull strings behind the scenes and change tables. It was even less conspicuous because I had us seated at President Martin’s table, along with his wife and two daughters and some of his other close friends.
Aliénor was as pale as snow the entire time.
My phone vibrated in my pocket several times, so many times it seemed like it could be urgent, so I pulled it out and discreetly checked it.
Restroom.
It was Carvel.
He texted that to me in ten different text messages, trying to blow up my phone and get my attention.
I held my thumb down on the screen and left a thumbs-up on his message. Then I left the table without a word and crossed the room until I stepped into the large bathroom, the counters and sinks in a whole different section of the space.
Carvel was already there. With his arms crossed over his chest, he sighed when he looked at me. “We need to talk?—”
“No.”
His eyebrows furrowed when I cut him off.
“I want to hear it from her.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine before he gave a sigh.
I turned around and headed to the door. “Not from you.”
30
ALIÉNOR
He said nothing on the drive home.
Didn’t ask me a single question.
And that was how I knew that he already knew.
He hadn’t left my side except when he went to the restroom, but Carvel must have texted him. Something must have transpired right under my nose, and I missed it.
The SUV drove us through the streets. I’d packed my bag so I could stay for the weekend, but I knew those plans were canceled. But when the driver turned toward the Eiffel Tower rather than away from it, I realized we were still going to his place as planned.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t about to get dumped.
God, I couldn’t believe this was over. The best man I’d ever had was already gone. I almost cried right there in the back seat.
When we arrived at his home, we took the elevator to his floor, and that was even more awkward than the drive. After the longwalk into his bedroom, he immediately carried my bag to the dining table and set it on top.
He normally carried it to the bedroom, so that wasn’t a good sign.
