Caterina.Oh, fuck.Here I was, standing in the center of my new living room, keeping my arms crossed and lips pressed in a tight line as the men in the dark uniforms shuffled around with all my boxes.The movers had been at the whole stuff for hours now, carrying my things into the penthouse, unwrapping all the furnitures they recently wrapped, and arranging all the pieces I had told them to.That was such work. Fucking work Luca had helped me with since he was the one who recommended them. How he knew a good movers company when he doesn't even reside in New York still baffled me.Every few seconds, those movers made another thump or maybe it was a scrape echoed from the upper part of the penthouse. And it would be a shame not to talk about how stunning the penthouse was becoming. It had that skyline view that people would pay fortunes just to get a glimpse of for just a moment and now I had it all to myself. This should thrill me.It should make my chest swell up with pride that
CaterinaWell, the flight and the drive to the estate was long, and I did my best to make sure Luca's nerves were not totally fried by the time we got there.It was.By the time we reached, evening had turned fully into night. The once-pristine silhouette of the mansion was now cut though by what I would call ugly black scars because that was what they were. An entire wing charred, the smoke still moving faintly into the air as though the fire itself had refused to die.I stood at the edge of the courtyard, staring at that ruin. My chest tightened. This had been my home for a while, though not by my will. I had spent my time here, being with Luca, staying with Maria. Now all I could do was stand beside the man, not as a simple spectator, but as someone who needed to find a way to make him be able to pass through this.How on earth would I be able to do that?This whole thing... it felt like stepping into fire, no pun intended.It was that bad.And Luca didn't even need my cuddling at
LucaWe were back from Paris and the penthouse now smelled faintly of that fresh paint and lemon Polish.I wish we were still there though. The afternoon sunlight poured through the window, painting the room in what I would describe as gold. I leaned back against the arm of the sofa, one ankle resting on my knee, while I watched Caterina as she walked around with a small notepad in her hand.Was she talking to it?It was hard to tell.She was currently in leggings and a loose shirt, hair pulled back in one of those messy knots that somehow made my girl look like a goddess anyway. She was pointing toward a blank wall as though she could already see the future there.Knowing her, she probably would."And I'm thinking," she continued, tapping the end of her own against her lips, "a mural. Something modern and abstract, not too loud but bold enough to stand on its own. Or..." She turned, eyes narrowing as if she was accusing me of something, "You'll team me it should just be a mirror.""
Caterina.The morning light spilled through the tall windows, all golden and warm, against the cream walls of the suite.Paris looked like a painting beyond the glass... all terracotta rooftops, the faint sparkle of the river, and that rising silhouette of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.And then there was Luca, stretched all lazily across the edge of the bed. He had one hand tucked behind his head, watching me as if I had become part of the scenery. Mesmerising. "What?" I asked, tugging my hair into what would be considered a loose knot. "Why are you staring at me like that?"His mouth curved into that smile that I loved. "Because you're in Paris, kitten, and Paris has never looked better."I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly got stuck. “You’ve been awake for five minutes, and you’re already impossible.”He had been awake for longer than that. Even took a shower while I was asleep.“Correction.” He swung his legs off the bed, stood with that slow, catlike grace that belonged onl
Caterina.We did not leave the plane until two hours after it stopped.The hum of the engines was still buzzing in my ears when my heels clicked against the polished floor of the private hangar. Paris air greeted me with a soft chill, but Luca’s hand, warm at the small of my back, chased away any trace of the cold.He did not say much as we walked toward the waiting car, just slid his sunglasses onto his face and guided me toward it like it was the most natural thing in the world.And somehow, it was.It was so natural that it made me almost forget the whole girlfriend thing he said some time back.Key word. Almost.I just didn't know how to bring it back up, especially since I had expected the man to remain glued to his phone once more, issuing orders or murmuring in Italian or something to one of his men. He did none of that, instead he sat angled toward me, one arm draped across the seat, watching me with that maddening calm.I couldn't help but shift a bit under the weight of his
Caterina.So Luca did come for me before ten pm, and I seemed to have overpacked.He didn't wait for me to say anything about it though. Just got the driver to put my bags in the car and off we went.I leaned back against the plush leather seat, absently crunching a kernel of popcorn between my teeth.The private jet hummed quietly around me, its cabin dimmed with soft lights, the faint scent of leather and expensive cologne clinging to the air clinging to the air. I had been trying to distract myself with the food they'd offered, having spent most of the day awake... the wine, those tiny delicate hors d’oeuvres, the dangerously addictive popcorn that was kept in bowl which I kept near my side... but my eyes kept on sliding back to the man of the moment.Luca fucking Romano.Or rather, to the man’s damned phone.He hadn't looked up from it since we boarded this plane, which was about five hours ago. Two hours since he woke up after he passed out the moment he was comfortable. Now the