All Chapters of In Love With My Son's Best Friend: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

JUNE'S POVThe next morning, breakfast was awkward as usual. Luca did not try anything. After I finished tidying the kitchen, the doorbell rang. My heart did a little jump. Ridiculous, really. Of course it was Sarah. She blew in with her usual whirlwind energy.She was on the doorstep, hair in a messy bun, oversized sunglasses perched on her head, and a smile that could probably power the whole neighborhood.“Coffee?” I asked before she even stepped inside.“God, yes. Make it extra strong. You have no idea the morning I have had,” she groaned, following me in. She plopped onto a stool and launched right in. “So. Do not judge me, but I think I have a crush.”I set the mugs down carefully and raised an eyebrow. “A crush? That is the fourth one this month, Sarah. You are worse than your teenage daughter.”“Oh, hush,” she laughed, swatting the air. “It is not like that. He is just younger, okay? A lot younger. And before you say it, yes, I know I am a single mom, but what can I do? The ma

LUCA'S POVAnd when she finally breaks, it is going to be spectacular.That night, I could not sleep. The whole house was quiet, but my head was anything but silent. I kept seeing the way she looked at me in the living room, that mix of fear and wanting. It was driving me crazy.My throat suddenly felt dry, and I went downstairs for water, not really thinking. That was when I heard it. A quiet, broken sound, like someone trying to cry without making a noise. I followed it to the dark living room and saw her. June. Curled up on the couch in the dark, her shoulders shaking, one of those fancy colorful blankets crumpled in her lap like her hopes.My chest tightened. Before I could even think, I was walking over. "June?"She jumped, scrambling to wipe her face with the back of her hand. "Luca. Go away. Please."I did not go away. I sat down on the edge of the couch, not touching her but close enough to feel the heat coming off her skin. "What is wrong?""It is everything," she whispered,

June’s POVIt wasn't a glance. It was a stare. Open, intense, and utterly devoid of the apology or hesitation I desperately needed from him. His gaze was a physical touch, a slow and deliberate trail from my bare shoulders, down the line of the sarong, to my legs.It was the opposite of Franklin's indifferent oversight; it was full consumption. He wasn't seeing a "mom bod." He was seeing the woman from the dark couch, now illuminated in the sun, and he was making no attempt to hide his appreciation.A flush, hot and mortifying, spread from my chest to my cheeks. I wanted to shrink, to disappear into the lounge chair. I wanted to yell at him to stop. But I also, God help me, felt a treacherous thrill at the raw hunger in his look. It was a drug, this feeling of being seen after feeling invisible for so long.I quickly looked away, focusing intently on Marlene as she swam, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I could still feel his eyes on me, a brand on my skin. I was t

Luca’s POVShe was sitting a little away from the main group, curled up in a patio chair with a glass of wine, looking like she wished she could disappear into the night.I started to play. It was a slow, soulful song, one I had been fiddling with for weeks. But tonight, the words meant something else. As I sang about seeing the hidden fire in someone’s eyes, about a secret that burns brighter in the dark, I was singing directly to her.You cannot hide from me, the melody said. I see you.I did not look at the other girls who were sighing and blushing, thinking the song was for them. I kept my eyes locked on June Wallace. Her glass froze halfway to her lips.The whole yard grew quiet, everyone caught in the spell. But the spell was for her. This was a conversation between us, with everyone else simply eavesdropping.I saw her throat work as she swallowed. Her knuckles were white where she gripped her wine glass. She was fighting it, staring into the fire like it could save her.And th

JUNE’S POVThe next few days were a special kind of torture. Having Luca in the house was like a constant, low hum of electricity, something I could not unplug from. So when I said I was going to the store to restock the pantry, it felt like a pardon, a tiny escape.“I’ll come with you,” Luca said. He appeared in the hallway just as I picked up my keys. “Adrian’s still asleep. Marlene’s out.”My heart sank straight to my feet. “That’s really not necessary. I can manage.”“I know you can,” he said, his voice calm and final. He plucked the keys from my hand. “But why should you have to? I’ll drive.”The car ride was suffocating. The silence was not empty, it was full, packed with everything we were not saying. I could feel the heat coming off him in the driver’s seat, his fingers tapping a restless rhythm on the wheel. I stared out the window, watching my safe little neighborhood blur past. I did not feel safe at all.I could not take it. I reached out, fumbling for the radio dial. Gene