I turn away, focusing on the window as the city lights flicker through the rain. “This isn’t happening, Dan.”
The leather of his seat creaks as he shuffles beside me. “I know.”
But deep down neither of us believeit.
Not for a second.
Dan pulls up outside my building and kills the engine. Neither of us moves.
The rain drums against the windscreen, a steady rhythm that matches the pounding in my chest. I reach for the door handle, needing to put space between us before I do something reckless, but his voice stops me.
“You gonna invite me in?”
My breath catches. He’s not demanding. Not pushing. Just waiting.
I turn my head slowly, finding him already watching me, his elbow resting on the steering wheel, fingers absently tapping against the dash. He looks relaxed. Too relaxed. Like he’s perfectly fine with whatever I decide. But his eyes burn with all the heat of an inferno.
I wet my lips. “Why would I?”
His gaze drops to my mouth. He shrugs his shoulders. “To be hospitable?”
I pat his knee. “My shift’s over. I don’t have to wait on you anymore.”
He nods with a grin. “Fair enough.”
I should get out, shut the door, go inside alone. That would be the smart thing to do, but smart has never been my strong suit where Dan is concerned. I grip the door handle tighter. “If you come in…”
He shifts, elbow against the seat, one brow raised like he’s already halfway through the door as he leans in, voice dropping dangerously low. “Yeah?”
I shake my head, hating the way my body betrays me, heating at just the possibility. “You know what will happen.”
His tongue swipes across his lower lip. “Do I?”
I exhale sharply. “Yes.”
Another stretch of silence. Another beat where I should just open the door and walk away, but I don’t because he’s looking at me like I’m the only thing that’s ever mattered. Like he’s been waiting for this moment, for me, for so so long.
I’ve waited too.
It’s as if my body wants this, craves it even, but my mind knows all too well the pain that follows and my heart can’t take another break. One more crack and there’ll be nothing left to fix.
My fingers twitch. I can feel the heat radiating off him, smell the faint scent of his cologne mixed with the rain.
He shifts closer, invading my space without touching me. “Say the word, fiore mio. Just invite me in.”
12
DAN
She closes her eyes, breathing in the crackling air between us.
“Say the word, fiore mio. Just invite me in.” It takes all my strength to not touch her. It would be so easy to move an inch closer, brush my lips against her and weaken her defences, but she’s waging an internal war only she can work through. Maybe it’s the fact she’s still legally married, maybe it’s that she hates me, but I’d bet she wants me as much as I want her, only she’s too stubborn to admit it.
On an exhale she says, “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“If I let you in, I’ll have to kill you.” She pulls the door handle, pushes it open, and steps out into the rain. She turns back, meeting my gaze through the open car door. “Goodnight, Dan.”
