Page 65 of Luka

19

LUKA

He knows.

Lucia sits on the bed not making a sound while I pace the bedroom, my crooked tie flopping as I stomp. I’m dressed like I’m going to fucking church and am reminded of the last time I wore a tie—my father’s funeral. I wasn’t nearly as distressed then.

“Would you please calm down?” Lucia says, her calm voice irritating.

I throw her a glare. “How the fuck could you think this dinner was a good idea?”

She sighs. “How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?”

“As many as it takes.” I grumble, pulling at my tie. “He’s setting me up. He knows you aren’t my fucking girlfriend.”

When Lucia sighs again, I stop my pacing to stare down at her, my hands in fists at my sides.

She frowns. “I’m saw-ry. Okay? He seemed like a man genuinely interested in getting to know his brother-in-law. I had no idea he’d invite the rest of your family when I accepted the invitation, and I didn’t know how to decline the invitation in the first place.”

“So you mentioned.”

“And yet,” she says, her voice wavering as her face reddens. “You keep demanding an explanation. That is the explanation. Accept it and move on.”

Her fingers splay over her knees as her chest lifts with a breath. In a moment, she looks at peace again, the red glow leaving her cheeks.

I flick my gaze over her, my eyes narrowing. “How are you so calm?”

Her jaw clenches at the question, but with another breath, she relaxes. She looks more irritated than afraid. “Because Imustbe. Because unlike you, mylifedepends on this dinner and the opinion of your brother-in-law. It isn’t just fear that my siblings won’t like me anymore.”

I scoff, my mouth opening to counter, but Lucia cuts me off.

“If Vitaly knew for certain there was something nefarious going on between us, he wouldn’t be allowing us to stay here. Right?” she asks, her head tilting pointedly.

I don’t answer, but the thought does loosen some of the panic picking me apart.

“Right,” Lucia confirms for herself. “So it is important, no, it isvitalthat we go to this dinner looking calm and poised.”

“And what happens when Leo says something that contradicts what I told Mila?” I wander toward Lucia like she’s an anchor, which doesn’t feel far off right now. My voice sounds more hopeful than anything.

“Then I willback you up. They’ll believe the both of us over him.” Lucia stands, her lips sloped with a frown as she straightens my tie. “I know it’s impossible to expect you of all people totrust, but … I’m going to ask you to trust me anyway. Tonight, we’re a team. For better or worse.”

When her eyes meet mine, my breath catches. If I could look away, I would.

Something comes over me, something heavy. It’s thick and uncomfortable, and at the same time I want to back up a step, it makes me want to lean in. To press my lips against hers.

My discomfort for this evening eases only to be replaced by the same discomfort I felt a week ago when I lied on top of this woman. She does something to me that I don’t understand. My stomach flips when she looks at me this way. The sweat on my skin turns cold.

And I don’t know what to say. I can tell she’s expecting a reply, but my tongue is tied in a knot as I stare at her like an idiot trying to figure out what the hell she’s doing to me. But I can’t. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t.

Something she said earlier hits me and flips my stomach the other direction, sending bile up my throat.

My life depends on this dinner and the opinion of your brother-in-law. It isn’t just fear that my siblings won’t like me anymore.

Since she told me about this dinner, I’ve been a wreck, but it isn’t until this moment that I realize why. It isn’t me I’m worried for. It’s her.

A knock on the door saves me from having to respond, and I slump with a breath when Lucia breaks away from my gaze, releasing me from a hold I’m not sure she was aware of.

I rub my jaw and go to take Lucia’s hand but pause. I grip her arm instead and roughly lead her to the door like I’m trying to prove something to myself.

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