My cheeks immediately turn red as I retract my fingers.
“Thanks,” he says with a mesmerizing smile. “I can always count on you.”
A sudden slow clap makes us both look up, but my face immediately sours at the sight of Luca sitting down at a table right beside his brother.
I have never wished for a class to start faster than I have now.
“I am amazed,” Luca boasts.
I roll my eyes. “Shut up.”
“No, no, continue your courtship. Pretend I’m not here.”
“What?” I scoff.
“It was cute, honestly,” Luca jests.
Liam leans over to shove him. “She said to shut up.”
“And miss out on this amazing flirting routine of yours? Fuck no,” he responds, and he plants his feet on the table like he owns the place. “I’m here to enjoy the full show.”
“I’m just borrowing a pen, asshole,” Liam says.
“Like you do every day?” Luca jokes, raising a brow.
My cheeks instantly flare up again.
“Relax, I get it,” Luca adds, shrugging. “It’s not easy vying for attention when you know it’s futile.”
I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leans back in his seat. “Oh you know, the whole ‘arranged marriage’ thing.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers. “Makes it kind of pointless, don’t you think?”
Liam and I stare him down.
“What?” Luca laughs it off like it’s no big deal, but it is, and he knows it.
We’ve all been avoiding the topic like the plague.
Luca tilts his head at his brother. “I mean, feel free to play around, I don’t fucking care. Maybe our parents will end up choosing you. Or me.” Luca turns to look at me. “And your parents might choose you. Or your sister.”
My body is getting cold. Icy cold.
“You might be the one to marry …” Luca glares at Liam. “But she might not be the one you end up marrying.”
It feels like I can’t breathe.
The door to the classroom opens, and more students pour in, ready for class, and the moment of silence between us is broken.
But nothing can break the silence in my heart.
Because Luca is right.
Nothing I say or do … nothing Liam says or does … matters.
Because in the end, after carrying my heart on my sleeve, when all is said and done …
He still might end up marrying my sister instead.