Se connecterI was never supposed to fall for Luca Moretti. He was cold. Untouchable. Dangerous. And after our parents brought our families together, he became the one man I was forbidden to want. Luca made it clear from the beginning that I meant nothing to him. He pushed me away, warned me to stay out of his life, and looked at me like every feeling between us was a mistake. So why was he always there when I needed him? Why did his cold eyes soften only when he looked at me? And why did it feel like he was fighting something inside himself every time we were alone? I tried to stay away. I really did. But the closer I got to Luca, the more secrets I uncovered. His mother was hiding something. His past was darker than anyone knew. And the family that brought us together wasn’t built on the truth. Then I discovered the one secret that changed everything. Luca was never who I thought he was. The man I was told I could never love was hiding a past that could destroy us both. And if the truth comes out, our forbidden obsession won’t be the only thing that falls apart. Because sometimes the most dangerous love story begins with a family lie.
Voir plusLuca The guest office smelled of old paper and Richard's cigars. I shut the window, didn't shut the door, and called her back. Ignoring Molly had never once made her go away. It just made her creative. She picked up on the first ring. "There he is." Bright and sweet, the voice she used at dinners when she wanted people to think she was harmless. "You're a hard man to reach these days, Luca." "You called my mother's house." "I called Eleanor. We had a lovely chat. Did she tell you?" A pause, so I could feel it. "No. She wouldn't, would she? Eleanor's very good at not telling people things." The window glass was cold under my palm. I hadn't noticed putting my hand there. "You call my mother's house again," I said, "and you'll find out exactly how little patience I have left." "I miss you." "No. We're done. We've been done for a year." "A year." She laughed softly. "You know what I did with that year? I cleaned out my apartment. Found a box of your things. Old things.
Luca I was awake at four. Awake at five. At six I gave up pretending and stood at the window with the lights off, watching the garden turn grey, then less grey. Three nights. Three nights since that bathroom, and my body still hadn't been told it was over. At 6:40 her water didn't run. I noticed. I noticed the way I noticed a figure on a balance sheet that didn't add up. It meant she was lying awake too. It meant she was listening. So I gave her something to listen to. I showered at seven. Cold, because I didn't trust warm. I shut it off at 7:12, dressed, tied my hair back wet, and walked down the hall past her door at exactly the pace I'd walk past any door in any house that wasn't mine. I didn't slow down. That took more out of me than the board ever had. Richard and my mother had come back last night. Good. Witnesses. Two people at the table meant rules I couldn't break, and I needed rules the way some men needed a drink. I took the head of the table because it was empty
Melody I lasted twenty minutes.I took my cup to the kitchen because the housekeeper was off on Mondays and because I needed something to do with my hands. I rinsed it, then rinsed it again. Through the window over the sink I could see the garden, the bench where I'd stood babbling at him with wine on my dress, the gravel he'd ground his cigarette into.Who was Molly?It wasn't my business. Nothing about him was my business. I said it to myself twice, and then I dried my hands and walked down the back hall toward the guest office anyway, because apparently I had learned nothing.The door was half open. I heard his voice before I saw him, low and very calm, which I was beginning to understand was the most dangerous way he spoke."—you call my mother's house again, and you'll find out exactly how little patience I have left." A pause. "No. We're done. We've been done for a year." Another pause, longer. "Don't threaten me, Molly. You have no idea what you're dealing with.”The line must
Melody The water down the hall shut off at 7:12. I knew because I was watching the clock instead of sleeping, the way I'd watched it for three nights now. Three nights of lying very still and listening to a house that had stopped feeling like mine. Then a door. Then his footsteps, unhurried, passing mine without a single pause. Not even a pause. I told myself that was good. That was what I wanted. I'd said no. I got up anyway and stood in front of my mirror for far longer than anyone needed to get ready for breakfast. I wore jeans and a loose sweater that covered everything. I pulled my hair back, then down, then back again, because apparently I was the kind of person who dressed for a man who'd told me to keep my fucking distance. Dad and Eleanor had come home last night. I had heard the car, the luggage, Eleanor's laugh floating up the stairs. Normal sounds. Family sounds. As if nothing in this house had shifted while they were gone. Act normal. That was all I had to do.
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