Page 2 of The Billionaire's Christmas Wish

I clear my throat, my gaze shifting to the set as I change the subject. “The set looks fantastic—your team did an amazing job. How did you pull this off?”

He shrugs. “I have my ways.”

I give him a playful punch on the arm. “Show off.”

“You know me—I only work with the best.”

“And you never back down from a challenge,” I add.

His face darkens.

Does he think I’m insulting him? Suggesting that he didn’t fight for me when he had the chance?

Luca’s phone buzzes. He looks at the caller ID, and then at me.“I need to take this.”

He steps away, leaving me in the middle of the snow-covered set. The artificial flakes settle on my hair, making me feel cold despite the heated soundstage.

I watch Luca, his face grave as he talks in hushed tones. When he ends the call, he walks back to me. “I’m sorry.”

“Trouble?”

Luca reaches for my hand, his fingers warm as they envelop mine. “Auds, I need to deal with a lighting issue.”

Ignoring my disappointment, I force a smile. “I’ll see you at the production meeting this afternoon.”

After being apart for a year, I'm desperate to reconnect. I've missed him so much, but this hectic first day on set isn't the time or place for a personal reunion.

Luca and I grew up together as family friends. At thirty-two, he’s six years older than me. Luca was making waves in Hollywood while I was playing with eyeshadows and lip gloss in high school.

When I pursued my passion as a career, Luca opened doors for me. We’re discreet about our connection, and we’ve never worked together—until now.

He’s always been protective, sometimes overly so. Once, when we were playing ball at his house, I threw a wild pitch that shattered the living room window and knocked his mom’s prized vase off the shelf.

I was terrified of getting in trouble since everything in the Regis house seemed irreplaceable. Luca looked at my tear-stained face and marched inside to take the blame. That was the moment I fell deeply and irrevocably in love.

The only problem? Loving Luca was forbidden.

Our parents refused to acknowledge our chemistry. No matter how often I asked why we couldn’t be together, they brushed my questions aside.

I’ve tried to get over him. If I were sensible, I’d stop pining, but how do you get over a man who is part of your emotional DNA?

I’ve spent months strategizing how to win his heart. It’s risky, but I’m tired of letting our families’ rules dictate my life. I feel like I’m caught in a modern-day Romeo and Juliet saga. Only my version is all angst and no poetry.

Working together will be tough—maybe even masochistic—but life’s short. I’d rather try and fail than keep living a lie. I hate keeping secrets. Some people believe keeping secrets is a necessary evil. I disagree. They lodge in your heart like splinters, burrowing deeper over time, causing more heartache each day.

If Luca rejects me and I keep it together, then maybe—just maybe—I can move on. Either way, it’s a fresh start—like a self-imposed detox.

Or an exorcism.

Chapter2

Audrey

On my way to the makeup trailer, a piece of tinsel flies into my eye, causing a sharp, scratching pain. Blinking only makes it worse—it feels like sandpaper on my eyeball.

I race to the trailer to swap out my contacts, a two-handed job, when the phone rings.

It's my sister Ivy.

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