Page 66 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
“How’s that puzzle coming along, buddy?” Luca asked. “Any progress?”
Ollie shook his head. “Not since the day you came over. I can’t figure out where the pieces of the headlights go.”
Luca clicked his tongue. “If only your mommy would let me come by, we could finally finish it together.”
He looked at me then, pouting—actually pouting—like he expected that alone to melt all my defenses and make me say yes.
And maybe…it almost did.
“That won’t be necessary. I can help him with the rest of the project.”
“But you’re not good with stuff like that. You said so yourself,” Ollie countered, frowning up at me.
Damn it. I had said that, too. Puzzles and building things were both annoying. Those kinds of projects were often infuriating and only ever made me want to flip the whole board over. They weren’t a challenge. They were a recipe for frustration.
“Please, Mommy,” Ollie said softly, tugging on my hand. “Can Uncle Luca come over and help me finish my LEGO car?”
And just like that, my heart cracked open. Because I couldn’t tell him no. But Luca coming over…that was a risk. A big one. If they spent more time together, he’d start noticing things. The resemblance. The mannerisms. Everything. Luca was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
If he figured it out, if he realized Ollie was his, he could take him away from me. So many things could go wrong.
I didn’t get a chance to respond.
I didn’t knowit happened, but in a blur, someone rammed into me, and without bothering to apologize, skipped forward. I lost my footing and…I would have hit the ground—should have—if not for the arm that caught me. Firm. Strong. Familiar.
Luca.
One hand wrapped around my waist, the other slid instinctively around my arm to steady me. My breath caught in my lungs. I forgot how to breathe. How to move. The world didn’t just pause—it vanished.
My face was inches from his, and his scent wrapped around me like a second skin. My body betrayed me. My pulse spiked. My stomach flipped. And for one stupid second, I forgot everything. The pain. The heartbreak. It was just this heat between us, pulsing like electricity I couldn’t contain.
We hadn’t touched. He hadn’t touched me. Not since that night in his sheets five years ago. The memories hit me all at once—what it felt like when those hands roamed all over my body, tracing every invisible line, pleasuring me until I was screaming his name…
“You okay?” he asked, his voice low and rough, his gaze dark with desire—like he was thinking the exact same thoughts. Feeling the exact same thing.
I suddenly lost my ability to speak. I simply nodded.
I don’t know if he did it on purpose, but his hand dipped lower, to my hip…
God.
Why was this happening? Where the hell was my resolve?
My gaze shifted, and I caught sight of two women standing behind Luca, pointing at us and whispering something. And to my right, another set of people. Also staring.
The awareness struck like a lightning bolt. My chest tightened. My hands shook. I staggered away from Luca’s grip, like the distance might fix something. It didn’t.
Heat crawled up my neck. My skin prickled. The eyes. The whispers. The feeling of him. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get away from him.
“Mommy,” Ollie said, tugging at my sleeve, his voice small, “I need to use the bathroom.”
Relief crashed into me. I couldn’t be more grateful for the timing.
“Of course, baby,” I said, my voice thinner than I liked. “Let’s go.”
I didn’t wait.
I took Ollie’s hand and walked off toward the quiet side of the park near the rivers where the bathroom stalls were. Ollie slipped inside, and I used the time to pull myself together.
