“I do, actually.”
I held my breath, hoping the car started. Axel looked amused by the basic interior, running a finger over the crack in the dashboard from sitting in the sun. “Are you afraid to ride in it?”
“Not at all.”
I smirked. “Then buckle up, buttercup. It’s the law.” My stomach growled at the thought of eating something other than my usual fare. “About dinner,” I said, looking out the front window. “It’s out of my budget.”
“You’re not paying. I invited you, remember?”
“But that doesn’t mean you have to pay.”
He groaned and rolled his head on the back of the seat. “You are so stubborn.”
Laughing at his antics, I thought about how many times I tried to convince my clients that there was no shame in accepting help. And that’s what I was doing. “Okay. I’ll go.” Axel rolled his head toward me and grinned like he’d won some prize. My belly fluttered when he looked at me like that. Like I was someone worth knowing. “Okay. Where to?”
He shrugged. “Your choice. Live it up.”
I snorted. “Not my style, hockey god.”
Axel smirked as he turned to peer out the front windshield of my old as fuck Camry. “Don’t I know it.”
Chapter 8
Axel
The warm summer breeze filled the car, sending Luca’s hair all over the place. I stretched my arm out behind his headrest to get comfortable. Blaring horns were a backdrop to the music coming from the radio as Lower Manhattan passed by. Riding in his timeworn car made me wish I could go back and relive the things I’d missed growing up. “Is this what it was like being an American teenager, riding around with the windows down, music blaring?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. That wasn’t my life.” My eyes drifted to him, waiting for a story. But the smile had faded, so I let it go.
Nightclubs, restaurants, and the life I was accustomed to were at my fingertips on this side of the island. But was this what I still wanted out of life? Across the East River, Brooklyn was like a different country. “Do you prefer Brooklyn to Manhattan?”
Luca glanced my way. “I don’t know. I’ve never lived in this part of Manhattan.”
“Fair, but which place do you prefer?”
He shrugged. “To me, it’s like choosing between steak and hamburger. Both have their pluses, but one costs more.”
“Interesting way to look at it.”
“Why do you ask? Are you thinking about living in Manhattan?”
I shrugged and looked around the area. “Maybe. But it probably won’t be convenient. Everything I need is in Brooklyn.”
I gripped the seat when he took a hard right toward the Brooklyn Bridge. My fingertips grazed his shoulder, then caught in the wisps of his hair floating in the breeze.
Luca winced. “Shit, sorry. I should have warned you about the sudden turns.”
I tugged on a strand of hair. “I’ll just hold on here.”
“Asshole,” he muttered, with a smile. He cut his brown eyes to me, then reached up with a single finger to pull a strand of hair from his mouth. Even though I’d tracked him down and showed up at this office like a stalker, Luca appeared to be enjoying the company. More relaxed than before.
Adjusting my sunglasses, I returned to the view of the city. In the week I’d been here, Brooklyn felt comfortable, like I could breathe. My father was in Manhattan, so living in Brooklyn put a river between us.
“Sorry about the windows. The air conditioning is out.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind. The breeze is nice.” It wouldn’t take much to fix that.
“I thought we could eat in Brooklyn, if that’s okay. Closer to home for both of us.”
