CHAPTER 66 – ANTONIO
I’m halfway through my coffee break when the trattoria door opens and Caspian steps inside.
Half an hour early.
While I’m having coffee with another man. And not just any man—Luca.
Luca from the nerd club. I mean, archive group. Pub—sex basement—arranged marriage—that Luca!
He’s sitting right across from me, stirring sugar into his coffee, blissfully unaware that my boyfriend might be about to flip a table.
I try to sit normally. Casual and innocent—like someone who’s definitely not cheating would sit.
Luca popped in when my break had barely started, so I asked if he wanted a coffee. Now Caspian’s going to cause a scene, because he loves me so much he cannot remain rational when I exist near other men.
It’s going to be a catastrophe.
I can’t wait.
Caspian scans the room, and when his eyes land on me, a warm smile spreads across his handsome face. The face that is about to twist into rage any second now.
“Hi, baby,” he says when I get up and hug him.
His gaze flicks to Luca. I brace myself for the impact.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your coffee.”
See? He’s devastated. So wounded by what he assumes is a betrayal that it doesn’t even show up on his face yet.
He’s suppressing it.
“You’re not interrupting,” I say quickly. “Nothing’s going on here! Just an innocent catching-up with a friend—we only kissed once anyway!”
Caspian blinks.
“You kissed—what?”
“Before,” I clarify, gesturing behind me. “In the past. This is Luca.”
“Oh.” Understanding dawns, and Caspian turns to Luca. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
“There’s no need to shout,” I inform him.
Luca looks confused.
“Sweetie, no one is shouting.” Caspian studies my face more closely now. “Are you okay?”
“Totally! This is all very casual. We’re not having an afternoon rendezvous.”
His lips twitch.
“I didn’t think you were, but thank you for clarifying.”
“I should probably leave,” Luca says, already standing.
“You don’t have to,” I insist.
"Ignore my boyfriend. He’s deeply possessive and mildly unhinged.”
“Clearly,” Luca says dryly.
“Antonio, I can come back later,” Caspian says, kissing the top of my head. He’s still pretending to be calm. “Catch up with your friend. There’s no rush.”
“When he says there’s no rush,” I explain to Luca, “he means he’s burning with rage and despair. Maybe it’s best you go before things escalate into a duel.”
Luca leaves, looking more entertained than endangered.
He exchanges perfectly civil pleasantries with Caspian, who is not letting his inner collapse show.
He’s in shock. It’s the only explanation.
“I’m sorry I interrupted,” Caspian says. “I finished faster than I thought at the library.”
“That’s it?” I ask, crossing my arms. “You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
I stare at him in disbelief.
“Because I was having coffee with my ex! The man who almost had a sex basement!”
“He seemed nice.”
My jaw drops.
“Nice?”
“Yes.”
I sit down, deeply offended.
“So you don’t care.”
“Antonio—”
“No,” I interrupt. “I see it now.”
“See what?”
“You don’t care enough to be jealous,” I whisper. “I’ve never encountered such offensive emotional stability.”
“You say stability like it’s a disease.”
I glare at the tablecloth.
“What else is there to say? Telling Luca to have a nice day was not okay!”
Caspian looks at me fondly.
“Sweetheart,” he says, taking my hand like some kind of an epitome of common sense, “you’re with me. I trust you.”
I scoff.
“Wow. Must be nice to be so reasonable. Your mind is like a fortress of tranquility.”
He smiles, his thumb brushing my knuckles.
“Yet you conquered it within seconds. You’re the only one who could.”
I feel instantly better.
I can work with being the conqueror of his mind.