Completely unaware of my stare and subsequent meltdown, Nicki continued to eat.
Crushed, I looked back at Luca. When our eyes met, I saw nothing of the man I loved. His dark eyes were as hard as the jaw now covered by a dark five o’clock shadow. I received no softness. Only a head tilt in acknowledgment before he turned back to Nicki.
I couldn’t pull my eyes from him and willed him to look at me again, but he stayed focused on the woman in front of him,telling an animated story. I shook with the desire to run, but my limbs couldn’t move.
Sweat covered my palms as my hand tightened around the cold glass.
I left him. I. Left. Him. If he was engaged, it shouldn’t matter to me. I shouldn’t care. But I fucking did.
“Sasha. Sasha!” Ashley’s voice pulled me from my spiral. When I finally turned to her, her glare was burning into the side of Luca’s head.
“I need to go to the restroom.”
Her eyes snapped to me, the disgust evaporating. “Sure, I’ll come with.”
Shaking my head, I let her know I wasokay.
On shaky feet, I made my way towards the bathrooms. Before I was out of earshot, I heard Ashley tell Axel that we should’ve gone somewhere else. The sadness in her voice hurt. The confusion in Axel’s made me feel guilty. He wanted to treat us to a nice dinner, not send me into an imploding episode.
Stumbling into the small room, I locked the door behind me. My shoulders curved under the weight of my heartache. The mirror offered me little comfort as my perfectly painted face suddenly looked hollow, my green eyes dull.
I busied my hands, wetting a paper toweland holding it to the back of my neck.
“Get it together,Sasha. You’re a bad bitch. You’re better than this. DO NOT let Luca ruin your night.”
Pacing the tiny pink bathroom, I tried to pull myself together. I adjusted my boobs, making my cleavage even more enviable, and took a deep breath. Checking my appearance one more time, I unlocked the door.
Before I could get a foot out the door, I was pushed back into the room. With his back to me, Luca flipped the lock.
“You know this is kidnapping,right?”
His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t turn around.
A minute passed without him saying or doing anything. “We justgonnahang out in a bathroom all night?”
Luca rested his hands against the door and shook his head, taking slow breaths, like he was trying to calm down.
“If you’re just going to stand there, can I leave? I have a table full of people waiting for me.”
Nothing.
“Listen, asshole,” Reaching my limit, I grabbed his shoulder to spin him around. “I—”
Luca turned, his hands landing on my shoulders, pushing me against the wall as he bellowed, “Just shut up!”
His dark eyes narrowed, his jaw twitching in agitation. In a softer voice, he said, “Just stop for a minute.”
I nodded dumbly. Luca’s grip loosened, and one hand ran through his hair.
He tilted his head and trailed his other hand down my arm and laced our fingers together. The gentle gesture was in complete opposition to the anger on his face.The warmth of his palm and the way our hands fit together reminded me just how dangerous he was to my resolve.
Shaking my head, I tried to pull my hand from his, but he only held on tighter. “What are you doing,Luca?”
Our hands swung between us. “Honestly? I don’t know. You make me a little crazy.”
I fought the urge to smile at the memory of that night in the dressing room. The night he earned a date.
“I need to go. Ashley, Scott—”