Chapter 95
“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “I just His gaze lingered on the men.
Vee looked up at him, sunlight warming her skin, the faintest smile curving her mouth.
“Awww… such a sweet baby.” She reached for his tie, and tugged him down toward her. She kissed him right there on the street.
Her lips pressed against his. The city continued around them. Cars passed.
And across the street, Inferi watched.
Luca’s hand instinctively slid to her waist, gripping her firmly.
When she finally pulled back, her eyes were bright.
“You’re confusing me,” Luca said. “There was a time you would fight me for being too overprotective p>
She had once pushed against every boundary he set. Argued. Demanded space. Challenged him at every turn. That fire had drawn him in as much as it had irritated him.
“Not today, Diavolino p>
“That nickname is reserved only for Nonnina. It sounds weird coming from you,” Luca replied.
He opened the passenger door for her and helped her into the car, one hand steady at her back. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.
A voice cut through the interior.
“Hello p>
Vee blinked, scanning for the source until her eyes landed on the phone. “Oh. Sorry p>
On the screen, Bianca’s expression sharpened immediately. Her gaze assessed Vee with open scrutiny, moving from her loose ponytail to the faint bruise still ghosting her cheek.
“Who are you?” Bianca asked.
Vee swallowed. “I p>
The car door shut as Luca climbed in.
“Luca? Who is this?” Bianca asked again, this time the question directed squarely at her husband.
“Shit,” Luca muttered under his breath, realization hitting him. He had forgotten the call was still active.
“A friend,” he said simply. “I’ll talk to you later p>
On the screen, Bianca’s lips pressed together, but she did not argue.
“Okay,” she said after a beat. “Love you, Luciano p>
He ended the call without replying.
Silence flooded the car.
He started the engine, the low growl of it filling the space between them. As he pulled away from the curb, his gaze shifted instinctively toward the opposite side of the street.
Inferi was still there.
As Luca drove past, their eyes locked.
Luca held his stare a moment before turning his attention back to the road.
Beside him, Vee stared straight ahead, her hands resting quietly in her lap now.
She had kissed him to send a message.
But hearing another woman say I love you to the man sitting inches from her had sliced deeper than she expected.
Vee shrank into the seat as the car merged back into traffic. She kept her eyes forward, watching the blur of storefronts and passing pedestrians, but her reflection in the window betrayed her. The bold woman who had just kissed him in the street seemed to have dissolved.
He was on a call with his wife.
Vee swallowed hard. She was not supposed to feel anything. She had allowed herself to forget what she was.
The other woman.
The disruption.
The home wrecker.
“I can hear you thinking, Vee,” Luca said suddenly.
She blinked, startled. “What? No, it’s nothing p>
He exhaled lightly, eyes still on the road. “Stop doing that p>
“Doing what p>
“Shutting down. You want to say something, you say it. Like I said, fight with me if you want p>
She let out a small breath. “I don’t want to fight p>
Luca chuckled. “That’s a first p>
“Your wife she began carefully. “She is beautiful p>
He glanced at her briefly, one brow lifting. “I thought you said you didn’t want to fight p>
“I’m not fighting,” she replied. “Just complimenting your taste p>
There was a pause. “More like my father’s taste,” he said finally. “It was an arranged marriage p>
“Well,” she said quietly, leaning her head back against the seat, “extend my compliment to him then p>
Luca let out a short laugh. “I’ll note that down in the list of things I am never going to tell him p>
Vee turned her head and rested it against the cool window. The glass pressed gently against her temple. She watched the world slide by in muted reflection. She did not want to ask what she meant to him. She did not want to hear the answer.
Luca’s gaze shifted to her again. He saw the quiet in her. The way her shoulders had folded inward. The teasing spark dimmed. He reached over without thinking. His hand settled on her thigh. “Hey,” he said softly.
She did not look at him immediately.
His thumb traced a slow, absent circle against the denim of her jeans.
“I’m obsessed with you p>
Her head turned slowly toward him. “What’s that?” she asked, one brow lifting. “Your version of ’I love you p>
“You could say that p>
Vee rolled her eyes, turning her gaze back to the windshield.
He wasn’t entirely hers.
He would never be.
She was a Chapter written in the margins.
The car slowed as they approached her shop.
It sat on a modest but busy corner, brick façade slightly weathered, the sign above the door elegant but understated.
She studied the exterior critically. The paint near the frame was beginning to chip. The window display was tasteful but not inviting enough. She needed something warmer. Something that pulled people in. A bench outside, maybe. Fresh flowers. A chalkboard sign with handwritten specials.
“I’ll see you later,” she said. She reached for the handle and stepped out. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Whatever turmoil lived inside her chest would not walk through that door with her.
Customers needed confidence.
She did not look back at the car as she entered the shop.
But Luca watched her.
He watched the way she pushed the door open, the small bell chiming above her head. Watched her smile shift into place.
His hand remained on the steering wheel long after she disappeared fully inside.
Then his gaze shifted outward.
He scanned the block slowly.
The uneasy sensation returned.
He exhaled slowly and shifted the car into gear.
As he pulled back into traffic, he checked his mirrors more than usual.
Still, the feeling persisted.
He drove toward Commissioned.