Page 48 of Lunar Crest University

“Do I get to meet her?”

Her question makes the pastry feel like tar stuck inside my throat as I attempt not to choke. “That would make it serious. I don’t need it to be serious. Like you said, this job means something to me. I can’t risk everything I’ve worked so hard for.”

Meanwhile, I’m guilty as fuck for still pursuing her. The jobdoesmean everything to me, but I forget all about that damn college when I’m looking at her. Her hair. Her long legs. Her pink cheeks. I’ve tasted her, for fuck’s sake. How do I simply forget about something that tastes so sweet? Maybe I was lying to my mother again—thesebuñuelosaren’t my favorite dessert.

“My son is blushing.” Walking toward me, her hands find my shoulders. “And that isn’t something you do. Bring her to me,por favor.”

“Okay,mamá.” Her cheeks lift as she beams up at me. “Okay.”

With a swift pat on my cheek, she turns to start cleaning up the mess that accumulated during her baking. I watch her in silence as she tidies up, but my mind is loud. The thought of bringing Finley around my mother and sisters is enough to make my neck prick with sweat. Not because I feel ashamed of our…situationship, but because I’m afraid. Afraid she’ll see something in me, a glimpse of hope in what we could be—something I can’t give her.

I’ve already fucked up enough as it is. I’ve jeopardized her safety. The last thing I need to do is break her heart, too.

“Now that I’ve stuffed you with your favorite dessert,” she says. “I guess now would be a good time to tell you that Emilia and Carmen are both out with their boyfriends.”

My deafening thoughts screech to a halt.

“What?Carmen is a baby,mamá.” I roll my bottom lip harshly between my teeth. “She’s out with a boy? Why would you let her do that?”

She scoffs. “She’s an adult, Luca.”

“She’s eighteen.”

“Alegaladult,” she urges.

Legal adult, my ass. No matter how old Carmen is, I’ll always think of her as my baby sister. She’s the youngest of the three of us, so there’s no way I can imagine her with aboy. All I can picture is the little girl who was soft-spoken as a child, who would hide behind me because she was shy, who always asked me to read her a bedtime story because it helped her sleep.

“Like hell,” I grumble. “Who is this guy?”

“He’s a nice boy.” She swats at the air. “Calm down.”

Gritting my teeth, I try to steady my breathing.

“They have to live their lives, you know. You can’t protect them forever.”

The way she’s looking at me only makes my nostrils flare. Her eyes are warning and pleading all at the same time, staring me down with an unspoken urgency. She knows just how far I am willing to go to keep them safe. The worry is apparent as it flashes in her irises.

I may not be able to protect everyone forever, but that isn’t going to stop me from trying.

Chapter Nineteen

FINLEY

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23RD, 2023

Passport. Headphones. Suitcase.

I’m forgetting something. I know I’m forgetting something.

Repeating the list in my mind for the hundredth time this morning, I pull my luggage behind me on my way to the English Hall. It’s a crisp October morning, and I can see my breath as I pant anxiously across campus. The trip to England is finally here, and my nerves twist in my stomach at the thought of flying. I’ve flown a couple of times, but it never gets any easier. That, paired with being in another country with Luca, has my heart palpitating.

Being on our best behavior is imperative—it isn’t just going to be the two of us. The risk of getting caught is ineptly high with this trip.

The wheels of my suitcase crush the leaves scattered across the sidewalk, and I can feel tiny drops of rain starting to hit my cheeks as I enter the building. My body shudders all the way down to my toes as the warmth inside shrouds me. It’s quiet asI walk to the classroom, the hallways completely empty in the early hours. I was up before the birds this morning, and the burning behind my eyes is testimony to that.

As I lug my belongings through the classroom door, the bundles of nerves in my stomach quickly shift into nausea to see Genevieve Pierce is the only other person present.

Perfect.

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