Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
The heat and passion had passed, and now I wasn’t sure what would happen next. If he would get dressed and leave. If he would shower before he continued on with his day. If he’d wait for me to fall asleep before he slipped out.
I really didn’t know. Didn’t know him at all. But he somehow felt like my ride-or-die.
I was the one to get out of bed first. I pulled on a pair of underwear then a t-shirt from my bags still on the floor and walked into the kitchen. It had started to rain again, the drops pelting the windows. I grabbed a bottle of water and poured two glasses, in case he wanted one. When I came back to the room, he had retrieved his phone from his jeans. He typed a quick message then sent it before he set it on the packing box I used as a nightstand.
I handed him the glass of water.
He took it with a slight nod and downed it before he set the empty glass on the box.
“Sorry, I’m still getting settled.”
“Don’t apologize. I don’t care.”
“You’re the least snobby billionaire I’ve ever met.”
“You’ve met other billionaires?” he asked.
I sat on the mattress and took a drink of the cool water. I shrugged instead of giving him a concrete answer.
He didn’t push for more.
I closed the curtains over the window even though privacy wasn’t as important as it’d been a few moments ago. I got back into bed, ready to sleep after that filling dinner and the sex that followed. I knew I’d have to get up again and let him out, so I’d have to muster up the energy from somewhere.
But he continued to lie there, head propped on his arm, his other hand on his stomach as he relaxed. His eyes were focused on the ceiling.
“You don’t have to stay, Luca.”
After a pause, he turned his head to look at me.
Normally, I would leave, but I had nowhere to go. I didn’t want it to be awkward when it didn’t have to be.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No, not at all,” I said quickly. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to stick around…”
“I don’t.”
“Oh, okay…” Now, it was awkward, at least to me, because I wasn’t sure what was happening. I knew this was a no-strings-attached hookup, and he didn’t have to be delicate about it. I understood that sex was as meaningless to men as a trip to the grocery store. I didn’t take it personally. “Because you really don’t have to stay.”
He propped himself up on his arm as he faced me. “I’m not good at this shit.” His tone deepened, approaching the border of anger or frustration, I wasn’t sure which. “If you want me to leave, just tell me. You can’t hurt my feelings because I don’t have any.”
My eyes narrowed in confusion. “No, I don’t want you to leave—”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I just want you to know you won’t hurt my feelings if you want to leave.”
“I said I don’t want to leave.”
“You’re sure?”
His eyebrow cocked.
“I know this is just a hookup. You aren’t going to hurt my feelings—”
“If I wanted to leave, I’d already be gone,” he said. “And you think this is a hookup?”
“Well…what else would it be?”
He stared at me for several seconds. Stared at me hard. “Do hookups normally include dinner?”
“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 read Vatican Museum Robbed. Investigation Underway. When I skimmed the article, the truth became glaringly obvious.