Page 100 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
His jaw clenched.
“Look, you have to stay away from me, Luca.” I put some space between us, and instantly missed the heat of his body. My chest ached with each word, because deep down, I didn’t want any of this. “You shouldn’t act all nice and sweet and charming. Or even look at me like that. Or even bring me coffee and croissants like it means something.”
Something flickered in his eyes. Hurt?
I pushed on. “That kiss…can’t happen again. Whatever we were—it’s done. You made sure of that.”
Before he could speak, the door swung open.
We both turned to see Charles standing in the doorway, his gaze flicking between us. The tension hung in the room like fog—thick, low, impossible to ignore.
“Bad time?” he asked.
Luca held my stare a second longer before clearing his throat and stepping back. “No. We’re done here.”
He turned away.
I stood frozen, guilt curling in my chest. Maybe I should’ve just said thank you for the coffee. And the croissant.
The next day,I came into the office a little after six p.m. as I had some things to take care of during the day regarding the wedding. I was grateful for the emptiness of the office when I arrived. There were only a couple of people around.
I half-expected that Luca would have gone home, but when I entered his office, I saw him standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. He turned at the sound of the door and passed me a smile. He looked tired, his features shadowed under the low light. His tie was loose, sleeves rolled to his elbows, brows slightly furrowed like he hadn’t stopped thinking all day. Stressed—but still breathtakingly handsome.
I glanced over at my desk. There was a Chinese takeout bag on it, along with an energy drink.
“I thought you wouldn’t have had anything to eat,” he said warmly.
Unlike his usual self, he wasn’t being mischievous today—wasn’t taunting me with his presence or his looks just to get a reaction out of me. I concluded he must have had a long day.
But it didn’t stop the funny flutters in my belly. Not remotely.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, going to settle into my seat.
Luca didn’t say or do anything as we worked in silence. Occasionally, I would catch him staring at me—he didn’t try to be subtle about it. I found myself yearning to be inches away from him, inhaling his scent, tasting his breath. My wolf stirred inside of me, urging me to go to him.
But I couldn’t.
I had to remind myself that it was dangerous to be that close to him again, that I wouldn’t be able to stop him if he kissed me right here, that I wouldn’t mind it if he took me right here, right now, on his desk.
I had to remind myself that that wasn’t a boundary I wanted to cross—because it wouldn’t bode well for me.
So, I sat in quiet yearning.
And unfortunately, Luca made it easy for me.
In the days that followed,Luca was…cold. He kept his distance from me. Only spoke when it was strictly necessary—an instruction about the design, or a dry offer for coffee. And God, it was infuriating.
I realize now that I didn’t mean the things I said the other day. Yes, he was getting married. But that didn’t change the fact that I wanted him. I liked the attention he gave me—craved it, even. I loved the way he looked at me, like I was the only thing in his world that mattered.
It was exciting. Thrilling. Addictive.
But in the last two days, I’d yearned for that thrill and gotten nothing but silence. Coldness.
It was his turn to shove a wall between us. Or maybe…maybe he was finally accepting the one I’d built, and stepping back.
And that thought stung in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
“So, I was going through the designs again, and I made a few additions to the layout. Nothing that alters the pitch we already agreed on, but I think it makes everything a lot more…interesting.” I looked up from my computer screen, and Luca looked up, too.
