“Just stop.”
“It’s like you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“Adriana, I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
A loud smack sounded, and heels clicked closer to the door. I hurried down the hall, out of sight.
“You’re heartless, just like your brother.”
Adriana stormed down the hallway back toward the crowd. A couple of minutes later, a defeated Luca followed.
Every fiber of my being wanted to walk out the front door and never look back. There was some crazy shit happening, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know why Adriana felt like Luca owed her something.
I walked casually back to the party, woodenly smiling at people as I passed. I just needed to make it to my coat, and I could escape.
I reached the foyer when Luca found me.
“There you are.” His face was solemn as he wrapped me in his arms, placing a possessive kiss on my lips. The more his tongue caressed mine, the easier it was to forget we were making out in his parent’s house surrounded by his family. Or that I was trying to ditch him not one minute ago.
My lungs screamed for air as he pulled away. I smiled as I wiped the lipstick off his swollen bottom lip with my thumb.“Can I talk to you before we sit down for dinner?”
Luca frowned but nodded. After taking a quick look around, he led me upstairs to a bedroom. When he flipped the lights on, I found myself standing in a teenage boy’s dream room. Band posters covered every inch of the walls, and the entertainment center was packed with every gaming system known to man.
A shelf filled with cookbooks was the only thing amiss—a little reminder of how odd Luca must’ve been as a teen boy. Was he picked on for being a culinary prodigy?Was that how he got all those scars?
“Your bedroom?”
Luca smiled and nodded. He sat on the bed, smoothing out the comforter as he waited for me to talk.
Standing in front of him, I forced him to look me right in the eye. “Why doesn’t Adriana want me here?”
He flinched as if I had slapped him. His hand rubbed down his face. “Damn it.”
I took a step back. “Are you fuckingAdriana? Did I come in between some secret affair?”
Luca jumped up in a panic. “Fuck! No, no! Jesus, she’s my sister-in-law!”
His outburst made me feel less disgusted but more confused.
“How do I explain this?”
I took his spot on the bed as he paced the room. When he turned toward me, apprehension was written all over his face.“My family’s rich.”
That’s what he agonized to come up with?
“Yes, and?” I waved my hand at the ridiculous size of his childhood bedroom.
“And there are dangers to being this wealthy.”
He was being deliberately slow with his explanations. “Can you jump to the part that’s the deep, dark secret? I feel like I’m the weakest link on a CW teen drama.”
“She’s worried that I’ll die just like my brother.”
“I thought you said it was an accident.”
Luca shook his head, his gaze on the floor. “According to the police report,it was an accident, but Dante had been receiving threats for months but ignored them. We didn’t find out about them until it was too late.”
Tears filled his eyes,and his hands fisted in his pockets. The slump of his shoulders tore at my heart.