“Thanks for the offer, Roman,” I squeak out. “But I’m enjoying working with my father for now.”
He winks. “I’ll shoot you a text anyway. He might be a good contact for you in the future.”
“Oh, for sure,” Luca says. He turns to me, “Don’t be shy. Roman wouldn’t offer if he wasn’t totally willing to help you.”
“Absolutely.”
Fuck. Barf. What’s happening?
I inhale a deep breath and tell myself to calm down. What are the odds Roman will actually do anything, anyway? Most likely, this will be like when people say they should get together for lunch and never do.
“Chelsea’s got huge dreams,” Luca says proudly, shooting a smolder at me that practically melts my face off. “It’s one of my favorite things about her.”
A torrent of electricity flashes through me at Luca’s compliment, combined with that heated, sexual look. Suddenly, I feelthe need to get away from Luca, or else I might do something bad. Regrettable. Weak.
“Excuse me,” I blurt. I raise my glass and add, “I could use a refill. Anyone want anything?”
Roman and Iris both say they’re good, but Luca says he’ll come with me, even though his cup is still almost full.
“No, no, catch up with your brother,” I gasp out, patting his gorgeous forearm. “I’m going to check on Daisy, too.”
I make it to the drinks table and quickly down some tasty sangria from a pitcher. And then, I look around for my bestie. In short order, I spot Daisy on a nearby couch, engrossed in conversation with a very large and attractive dude. A Thunderbolt, surely. Shoot. Now probably isn’t the best time to interrupt her. She looks like she’s going in for the kill over there. But then again, this is a code red situation for me.
I stride over to her and grimace when she glares up at me, staving off my interruption. “Sorry, I need you,” I stage-whisper. “It’ll be quick.”
“Of course, my darling.” She tells her new friend not to go anywhere and follows me to a quiet corner. “Are you having trouble playing nice with our host? Because I swear to God, Chelsea—”
“No, no, it’s the opposite. He’s been disgustingly wonderful, much to my extreme horror. My problem is with Luca.”
Daisy furrows her brow. “WithLuca? But he’s been acting like you walk on water.”
“I know. That, I could handle. But just now, he said something that made me want to jump his bones, and now I feel like I have to get out of here.”
I explain everything that just went down in my conversation with Luca and his brother, and Daisy looks thoroughly confused.
“Don’t you see?” I say. “Luca’s repeatedly said I’m the bestcoach he’s ever had. And yet, suddenly, he’s doing everything in his power to make my dreams come true, even though that would require me to ditch his ass! My success would be against his own self-interest, Daisy. And yet, he’s still trying to make it happen for me.” I wring my hands. “As a result, I’m feeling so horny for Luca, I can barely stand still.”
“Sounds like a great problem to have.”
“We have to go right now. If we don’t, I might cave and drag him away to have sex with me again. Here! Somewhere in the catacombs of the devil’s lair!”
Daisy cackles. “All the more reason to stay. Go on, Chelsea! Live a little. Go have sex in the devil’s lair!”
I resist. Push back. Explain all the reasons I truly can’t. But Daisy isn’t having it.
“Darling, I say this with love,” she says. “But if you don’t drag that hot-ass man into a back room of this mansion and fuck his brains out right now, I’ll find him and do it myself to prove a point.”
I roll my eyes. She’s teasing, of course. Daisy is as loyal a friend as they come. But her joke serves its intended purpose: It gives me the shove I need.
I thank Daisy and she pats my ass in parting.
“Have fun, ya filthy harlot!”
When I locate Luca again, he’s now chatting happily with a gaggle of women—Nicola, his mother, his aunt, and Iris—so I stand strategically off to a side, hoping to covertly make eye contact. When I finally do, I flick my head toward a nearby hallway, letting Luca know that’s where I want him to meet me.
A moment later, we’re huddled together and alone in my designated meeting spot. “I was wondering if you’d give me atour of the house,” I whisper with a suggestive waggle of my brows. “Or at least, maybe you could show me a particularly quiet back bedroom?”
A wicked smile spreads across Luca’s face at my obvious meaning. “If that’s code for ‘Give me your man meat again, Luca,’ I believe I gave you a secret code that will unlock that particular treasure.”
