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“This wasn’t a good idea. Fuck, what the hell was I thinking?” Her bold declaration is ignored by me.

“I get what I want, Heaven.” I let go of her, and she retreats into the bedroom. “The clothes are in the bathroom,” I call after as she storms away from me. But, still, no one likes the walk of shame.

She appears less than five minutes later in a pair of jeans that fit her like a glove and a blazer with a black cami underneath. She’s wearing her heels from last night, but the outfit looks like it was picked out by a top fashion designer, and not my driver.

“When can I see you next?” I ask.

Her clothes aren’t in her hands and I know she’ll return for them, eventually. They’re name brand and have had cost her a pretty penny.

“I’m your lawyer, Mr. De Santos, and nothing more. I was getting you out of my system, fueled with anger.” She stands straighter, her backbone stiffening, her confidence is on full display for me, but it doesn’t stop me from pulling for her hand.

“You’ll be back, you know this, right?”

My posture changes, blending back to the person in control. Shivers nip her, her strong stature along with her entire upper body quivers with my touch.

“You seem certain, don’t you, Mr. De Santos?” Her question comes with a bite, and her tone is sharp. She’s trying. I’ll give her that. Trying to be the one who thinks she’s in control.

I only nod my head as her answer.

The landscape of her face changes, emotions run through her, and most possibly frustration. She opens her mouth to speak, then closes it. This process is repeated several times, and all the while I display my pearly whites in an arrogant smile. She takes in a shuddery breath, only to let it fully out, slamming the door behind her, but I call bullshit. She knows we’re not over. And she’ll admit it and very fucking soon.

CHAPTERSEVEN

What a day. I barely got through work, stewing over the way Penn spoke to me yesterday, and angry at my decision to give into this thing between Luca and me.

I do what I typically do when my organized little world seems to be imploding on itself and take to the back steps of the brownstone backing up to the alley. My blood boils at Penn Coultier’s final words from yesterday. Then there’s Luca, the son of a bitch.

Prosecco and grapes will be my dinner for the night in my solitude. My phone rings, and I have it on the loudest tone after Penn’s ultimatum to be at Luca’s beck and call. Fuck both men.

My smile pulls to both sides at my sweet cousin’s name. I know very little of her husband, but I hope his own cousin isn’t any indication of what kind of man Maddox Sabota is.

“Jewel, aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” I answer, swigging the rest of my drink and pouring more from the bottle I decided to bring outside.

“Um, not in my condition. Maddox won’t take me anywhere but our home. He’s a little….”

I’d say controlling if Luca is any indication of what runs in his genes.

“Overprotective is the word I’d use when it comes to my husband.” Jewel is much younger than me, by ten years, but we both grew up as preachers’ kids, a burden in itself, and as she grew older, I was a sounding board. Her father, unlike mine, was borderline abusive, but that shit has stopped now with Maddox in her life.

“So, there’s a reason I was calling, and I hate to be intrusive...”

“It’s about Luciano De Santos, right?”

Jewel’s playful laughter fills the silence between us. “You’ve always said it as it is, so I’m not surprised you’re as blunt as ever. You two disappeared shortly after the first dance. Did something happen?”

Yeah, something happened and has continued to happen. “It’s all in the definition. I know Maddox and Luca are cousins, which is funny since we are, too. Do they see each other often?” Their lineage has me curious.

“Maddox and Luca’s moms are sisters. They lost touch over the years. Maddox’s parents lived on a huge estate as the help. Heard of Chadwick Westbrook? Long story short, Maddox and Chadwick are best friends. Maddox grew up in California on the Westbrook estate and Luca has always been in Chicago. Luca was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. At twenty-one, Luca reached out to his extended family, wanting a relationship that no one else ever had. It cemented Luca’s presence in Maddox’s life. Luca was the glue that brought Maddox’s mom and his own mother back together. He’s a good guy, but do you know anything else about him?”

“I know he’s my new client, so hands off of anything extracurricular, to say the least.”

There’s a silence on her end. “Well, then, if nothing is going on, I guess all is good.”

It’s an odd response from Jewel, but I let it go. Because nothing will ever happen between Luca and me again.

* * *

“Ms. Atkins?” There’s a knock at my office door. Caroline is at lunch, and I have no one scheduled. One peek from my computer, and it’s Harry Lane standing in my doorway.

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