Chapter 6

HOLLY

I haven't seen Luca for quite awhile now, but I know— he will come back for me. I saw the fire in his eyes. He wants me, just the same as I want him. All I need to do is make him fall in love with me even more so I can go to the next level— meeting his uncle. 

And just as I had anticipated, there he is again. All that was required of Luca was a little prod. To his good fortune, his relative enjoys drinking tea. Oh, it's true that doing research the right way can pay off, and I seem to be doing extremely well at playing my cards right now. If he has lost interest, there is no reason for him to be in this room.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him after that sweet kiss. I'm not going to lie— I missed him. I missed his company and his not-so-smiley face. 

"I was... going to ask if you're free for dinner." Luca is still holding me and his eyes never left my face. 

I furrowed my brows. "It's not even five yet."

"So?" He looked lost.

"So? That means I am still at work. You shouldn't be kissing— uhmp!" He gave me another kiss and it made me giggle like a school girl. And I never do that— Ever. But with Luca, he's... it's... different with him. 

"I will kiss you whenever I want... wherever I want." 

I gave the tip of his nose a very gentle tap. "Aren't you a little... forward?" 

"We're adults, Holly. We're old enough to make a baby if we want to."

When I suddenly opened my mouth in shock, he laughed. Even though he just came back to see me, Luca is already talking about having children. I mean, not that I want him to, but you get the point. To clarify, what I mean is that I want him to — Goddamit! It is so simple for him to throw me off my game, and I hate when he does that. It is going to prevent me from achieving my goals.

"I'm just kidding. No babies, just dinner. What do you say?" 

I shouldn't say no. If I say no now, there's a slight chance that I will lose him for good and that cannot happen. 

"Okay. We'll have dinner, but can we skip the fancy restaurants? I don't feel like dressing up and applying making up?" I asked him because I don't really have a lot of clothes to wear that would fit in those kind of places. And I am also not a fan of cosmetics.

"How about I cook dinner for us and you can just put your feet up while having wine? Would you like that?"

Tempting.

"Are you trying to get into my pants, Mr. Fazzari?" I glanced at the clock and I still have a few minutes left. I should get going and make sure the store is secured.

"You're not even wearing pants." Luca smirked. Right, I'm wearing a dress. This man notices everything and he's not like the others that I've met. It's too bad that I'm not here for a romantic relationship. I am not built for that and I am destined to be alone.

"Smarty pants. Wait for me outside then? I just need a few minutes to check everything before I leave the shop."

He nodded and sat at the corner while waiting for me. I thought he'd walk out the door and wait for me outside but Luca didn't. When I glanced at him, he was on his phone reading. A few seconds later, he was typing. When I'm finally done, I walked towards him to let him know that I'm good to go. 

***

We hit traffic on the way to my apartment from the grocery store. I don't have a lot of food in my fridge and he offered to shop so we went to a local market. 

"Are you sure you want to cook? Aren't you tired from work?" I asked him even though I know, his work is not really physical. It involves a lot of talking, negotiations and mental strategies. 

"It's fine, Holly. Don't worry about it." 

We finally arrived at the parking lot. I helped him with the grocery bags. After washing his hands, he started preparing the ingredients. Meanwhile, I told him that I'm just going to take a quick shower. I feel sticky from working at the tea shop all day. While having a shower, I made sure that I scrubbed myself really well. I used the lavander soap this time to set the mood. 

"Hey, what are you cooking?" I'm all dressed now. My hair is still a little damp, but it's not dripping. 

"I made creamy shrimp risotto and stuffed peppers. Something easy. Is that okay? I forgot to ask if you have allergies." He looked worried. Luca has also cleaned up the kitchen. Amazing!

Everything appeared to be amazing, and now my mouth is watering just looking at it. "Are you trying to make me get fat?" Instead of responding to his inquiry, I questioned him with that statement. Luca cracked a grin. "I am not allergic to any of the foods, and they all looked delicious. Please allow me to prepare the table so that you won't have the chanceto tell me I'm worthless."

Luca let me do my thing but I felt his stares and when I couldn't take it anymore, I stopped and faced him.

"What is it?" 

"Nothing."

I raised a brow. "I don't belive you. Spill. What is it?" 

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" I saw him swallowed twice.

"Love at first sight?" I made a wrinkle between my brows. "Nope." I even popped a P on that one. "Do you?"

"Not really. I just... I feel weird." Luca certainly looked like it as he stares at me.

"Weird?" He nodded. "Weird good or weird bad?" 

"It's more like in the middle. It's like I can get used to this." I furrowed my brows even more. "Like I'd cook dinner and you'd set the table then we'll dance after dinner."