Page 24 of A Game of Ruck
Right?
Right.
God, I’m so screwed.
Okay, focus on anything else.
The boat is sleek, massive, and stupidly white—like the kind of yacht you’d see in a music video where someone pops champagne and falls overboard in slow motion.
It’s docked just off the resort’s private beach, and somehow, despite my entire body screamingabort mission, I’m already wanting to kick off my sandals.
My pause has me almost falling headfirst as I step out onto the sunny deck where there’s a perfectly round swimming pool I hadn’t even noticed.
But there’s Luca, already in place, steadying me with one large, warm hand before I can make a mess of myself.
“Easy there, Angel,” he murmurs close to my ear.“Wouldn’t want you making a splash before the party even starts.”
“Ha.Hilarious.”
My voice is dry, my heart beating at an entirely illegal pace.
Because his hand stays on my waist a second too long.
Because his sunglasses are perched low on that ridiculously perfect nose.
Because I’m still reeling from the moment he pulled me against him in the lobby like I was his.
Like he might actually be into me.
“Don’t look now,” he says, his breath tickling the shell of my ear, “but everyone is already watching us.”
“Oh my God.”I try not to look.I fail.
Sure enough, half the bridal party—including Lisa, who is now sipping something blue and obnoxious from a coconut—aredefinitelywatching us.
“I told you.They were going to stare.I don’t fit in here,” I explain.
“You’re right, you don’t fit in,” he repeats, and dammit, it hurts to hear him say that.
But then he lifts my chin with two fingers and cups my cheek, arching a brow as he steps in front of me, blocking everyone else out.
“They’re staring because they thinkyou’rethe surprise,” he murmurs, eyes locked on mine.“Like they can’t believe someone like you walked in here with a guy like me.”
I scoff, rolling my eyes.“Well, that’s flattering.”
He steps in closer, so close I can feel the heat of his body and the sincerity in his voice as he lowers it just for me.“No, what’sreallygot them gawking is how the hellIgot this lucky.”
I blink.
“I mean it, Angel,” he says, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear like he has every right.“You’re the most stunning woman on this boat.The most interesting person I’ve met in a long time.And without a doubt—the realest thing I’ve seen in a world full of filters and fake smiles.”
Just like that, my breath catches.My knees wobble.My heart?Yeah, she’s full-on gone rogue.
And Luca Warden?
He’s absolutely not playing fair.
And the cocky bastard knows it.
