Her eyebrows furrowed,and she moved towards me. “I just don’t seeLucaas a cheater. It’sgottabe something else.”
Shrugging, I kept filling the box in front of me. “Doesn’t matter. Being a liar’s notmuch better.” Looking at the clock on the wall, I sighed. “Listen, can we just get this done? He’s being discharged tonight, and I’d rather be anywhere but here when he is.”
Frowning, Ashley didn’t say anything else.
An hour later, I had all my essentials in our cars, the rest stacked at Luca’s and Adriana’s. Locking up, I handed Adriana my key. “The movers will be hereonSaturday at 10 am. It shouldn’t be a problem for Luca. He’s usually at the office or wherever.”
Pulling me into an impossibly tight hug, Adriana whispered. “I’m so sorry. I wish I knew what to say.”
I patted her back. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s Luca’s secret, and he isn’t sharing.”
My heel caught on the top step as I watched Pete pull up to the curb. The back door swung open, and before I could run, Luca was charging toward me.
“What the hell is this? Where are you going?”
Sneering at his demanding tone, I pushed past him. “Where were you this past week?”
Luca grabbed my elbow. “St. Louis.”
“Doing what?”
His finger dug into my skin. “I can’t—”
“Tell you. Got it. Have a nice life, Luca.”
Using all my strength, I ripped my arm from his hold.
“Sasha—”
Reaching the driver’s side door, I looked him dead in the eye. All I saw was fear and panic. “No! This is it. You always acted like I would be the one to lose interest and break your heart, but here I am, completely broken. Stay away,Luca. Just stay away.”
As I drove away, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the crumpling figure in my rearview mirror.
* * *
“Scott, just follow the floor plan we created, and I’ll be there in half an hour to finish up.”
“Fine, but now that the wallpaper is up, I am second-guessing this pillow for the lobby and—”
“If it’s heinous, we’ll make adjustments. I’ll be there soon. Bye.”
Before the neurotic mess pulled me into another round of “which cushion, which vase,”I hung up.
We were one week away from the grand opening of the condo and two weeks out from Mexico.
Leaving Luca made our working relationship more than awkward. It was clear he was dragging out the project, but it wasn’t getting him anywhere with me. I sent Ashley and Scott in my place for any face-to-face meetings.
I’d successfully dodged him for six weeks, but soon I’d have to suck it up and see him at the grand opening event. He wasn’t going to keep me from such an excellent networking opportunity.
Shutting down my computer and gathering up my stuff, Malcolm startled me when he slipped into my office and shut the door.
Arching an eyebrow at the door, I looked back at him. “I think you have the wrong office. Your lady love is across the hall. You know, 5 foot nothing, curly brown hair, dimples?”
He laughed and glanced towards Ashley’s empty office. “I’m pretty sure she’d be pissed if she knew I was here.”
Confused, I sat back down. “Okay?”
Malcolm dropped a folder on my desk. “I was sorry to hear about you and Luca. I really liked that dude.”