When that word popped into his head, he saw Chloe whisper something over to Elle. Then his heart started to pump slowly and steadily as he watched Chloe get up and head toward the big double doors.
This was it. This was his time. His moment was here.
Fuck, what am I? Nervous?
Going out a different back door than she had used, he tried his best to keep his feet light through the little bit of dusted snowfall. He had to be as careful as possible not to let Elle get a glimpse of him, or worse, scare Chloe away before he even got a chance with her.
Lucca knew he was going to scare her regardless, but he didn’t want her too scared to let their first encounter be of her running away screaming. She could think he was scary, but he needed a few minutes with her so she could see something else in him. What a girl like Chloe was going to see, he didn’t know.
Going around a corner, he saw her sitting perfectly still on the bench in the middle of the lighted gazebo, making him stop in his tracks. Never had Lucca thought anything like love or soulmates existed, yet now he was sure of it.
All his nervousness seemed to slip away as he looked at Chloe. Finding his purpose, he took a deep breath.
Waiting until the perfect moment to let her know of his presence, he stalked toward her, caging her in like an animal.
“Hey, darlin’.” Lucca had anticipated her wanting to run, but she didn’t. Instead, he watched her jump at his voice, then freeze. Something about that didn’t sit right with him, yet he continued on up the steps. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Chloe still didn’t move a muscle.
Leaning against a pillar to block her exit, he took in her appearance. This was the closest he had been to her. Her black dress and tights hugged her body, but her pale, scarred face was what stood out against her black hair, giving him a perfect view of her scars. Finally looking deeply into her eyes, he wished he could say the word out loud. Beautiful.
It was almost like she could hear his thoughts as her eyes dashed to her lap, and she began wringing her hands.
“I’m Nero’s brother, Lucca. I would shake your hand, but you wouldn’t shake it, anyway.” He wanted her to know he had been listening to their conversations.
Chloe’s eyes darted back up for a second then back down. It was obvious she was silently wondering how he knew that.
“I overheard that you’re apparently germophobic.” He hoped he had emphasized apparently just enough to gain her understanding that he didn’t buy it. He had watched her for a week now, not seeing any signs of her caring what she touched, not showing any traits of a real germaphobe. The only thing he saw was that she didn’t like human contact.
He could see the slight panic behind her eyes when she looked up at him again, which seemed to increase when she realized she was trapped.
Lucca had in fact finally caught her. Now he was going to enjoy it and see how far he could press his prey.
He slowly reached into his back pocket, watching her hold her breath, not knowing what he was going to pull out. When his pack of cigarettes came out, he could see the relief on her face as she was able to breathe again. Pulling out a stick and holding it with his lips, he put the pack back in his pocket then reached in his front pocket, seeing her give the same reaction and then relief again when it was just his Zippo.
She’s scared of everything, isn’t she?
Flicking his Zippo open with the flick of his wrist, he lit the end of his cigarette until it flamed a bright red from his inhale. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Staring at him, she somehow managed to shake her head.
Lucca had felt the eyes of women on him at even a very young age and knew when they found him attractive. However, as he tried his best to focus on smoking his cigarette, feeling her eyes on him, he realized Chloe wasn’t fawning over him like most women did. He could see it in her face that she was simply taking a long look, almost studying him, like he intrigued her.
This is good. Now he was going to step it up a notch.
He made his voice drop an octave as he said, “Aren’t you a little cold out here, darlin’?”
Chloe didn’t look comfortable with him calling her that in that deep tone of voice. “M-my name is Chloe.”
Really fucking good. Lucca couldn’t help smiling as he put his cigarette to his lips again, inhaling. Speaking as he exhaled, the smoke escaped more with each passing word, “The mayor’s daughter, right?”