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I barely caught half of what she said because all my attention stayed on Daria.
She sat across from me, hands wrapped around her drink, nervously tapping her thumb against the cup.
The little gold necklace I gave her rested on her collarbone, glinting every time she moved. I kept catching myself staring at it. Staring at her.
"...so do you, like, work out a lot now?" Lizzy asked.
"Yes."
I answered without looking at her again.
My eyes stayed on Daria.
Her lashes were long today. She kept chewing on her lip, soft and pink, like she didn't even realize she was doing it.
Lizzy kept going. "So you don't have a girlfriend?"
"No."
Still not looking at her.
Daria shifted in her seat, cheeks warming. Nervous. Cute. I wanted to look away. Well, not really.
Lizzy narrowed her eyes at me. "Why not?"
I finally glanced at her for half a second. "Busy."
Then my gaze went right back to Daria — who was now pretending to be VERY invested in a plant hanging by the window.
I almost smirked at how nervous I was making her. Almost.
She looked good. Too good for someone I'm supposed to keep my eyes and hands away from.
Her black hair had slipped loose from her ponytail clip, one strand falling near her cheek. She kept tucking it behind her ear, only for it to fall forward again.
I hated how much I noticed that.
"Your hair," I said quietly.
She blinked and looked at me. "What about it?"
"It's falling."
Before she could react, I reached across the table and gently fixed the clip, brushing my fingers against her temple. Her breath hitched — just barely, but I heard it.
Her skin was warm.
Her pulse jumped.
My self-control cracked for a second.
I sat back, jaw tight. I need to relax.
Lizzy stared at us like she was watching a forbidden romance unfold.
"Okay, wait," Lizzy said, pointing dramatically between us. "Why do you talk to her like that?"
Talk to her like what?
Like she's the only person in the room?
Because she is.
Daria's eyes widened. "Lizzy, stop—"
"No," Lizzy insisted. "You guys are weird. You stare at each other like some old married couple. Is it because you like missed each-other or something? "
Daria turned pink all the way to her ears. "We do NOT!"
I didn't say anything.
If the kid thought we looked like a married couple... that wasn't my problem.
Lizzy kept swinging her legs under the table, still analyzing me like she was writing a dissertation.
"So Nico... what do you do for work now?"
Daria looked at me instantly, nervous again.
She had no idea who I really was.
No idea what I did every day.
Good. She didn't need to.
I sipped my drink. "Family business."
Lizzy frowned. "Which is?"
"Complicated."
Daria finally met my eyes.
Curious.
She had no idea how much I'd done to keep the darker parts of my world away from her.
I wasn't planning on changing that.
Lizzy sighed dramatically. "Ugh, you're both so boring. I literally can't."
Daria laughed, and that sound...
Yeah.
That sound did things to me.
She bit her lip again, accidentally this time. Soft, slow, distracted.
My jaw tightened.
I needed to get myself under control. Now.
Her sister's eyes were sharp, and I didn't need a sixteen-year-old figuring out things even I wasn't ready to admit out loud.
But when Daria finally looked back at me — shy, flushed, confused by her own reaction.
I knew one thing for sure:
This girl was going to fuck me up all over again.