Chapter 4
Perry
“Thanks for stepping in… again,” I tell Luca, desperate to lighten the mood.
I’m not surprised when he shrugs off my thanks. He’s helped me and bought me breakfast like it’s nothing. Maybe it is nothing to him. Maybe he helps dozens of damsels in distress every day.
Did he think about me last night? I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I even dreamed about him. Those thick arms wrapped around me, his hands grabbing my hips and lifting me easily. I woke up right as his lips slammed down onto mine.
Here I am crushing hard on the guy, and he probably thinks I’m a freak. I mean, I jump at shadows and act like the boogeyman is after me. Still, even if he thinks I’m crazy, he’s been kind to me.
“Have you fixed your tire yet?” he asks, lifting his coffee and taking a drink.
“Yep,” I lie.
He doesn’t say anything, but looks past me to my car in the lot and the very visible donut tire.
I flush from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes. I might as well be honest. This guy has been nothing but kind and respectful to me. He doesn’t deserve me lying to him when he’s trying to help.
“Okay, I haven’t,” I admit. I stare at my feet, at the worn edges of my shoes, as shame and embarrassment swarm inside me like angry bees. “I don’t have the money to replace it right now.”
Luca grunts. “I’ll take care of it.”
My eyes fly to his. “No, you don’t have to do that.” I shake my head, but secretly, I love having someone looking after me. I’ve never had that before. Ever. It’s… wonderful.
“I want to,” he says simply.
Strangely, I believe him. “Are you a white knight to everyone in town?” I ask, needing to hear him say that, yes, that’s just the way he is. Maybe then I can kill my stupid crush on the guy.
“Nope. Just to you,” he says quietly.
I’m not sure how to respond to that. My heart is swooning in my chest and telling me to throw myself at him, that he would catch me. But my head is wagging a reprimanding finger and reminding me that we can’t get involved with anyone. Not with Bryan still looking for me.
Still, my heart is winning.
I step closer to Luca, opening my mouth to ask him… I don’t know what, but at that moment, I spot a familiar car over his shoulder.
My gaze locks on the black sedan with the dark tinted windows and California license plates. I freeze in fear, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I swallow a scream of terror.
Instinctively, I step closer to Luca, burying my face in his chest before the men in the car can spot me. I expect him to step back, to put some distance between us, but he doesn’t. He wraps his arms around me, his body curving around my shoulders to shield me.
“What is it?” he asks urgently.
“I have to get out of here,” I whisper, peeking up at him, my skin clammy.
Luca doesn’t react the way I thought he would. Most people would ask a million questions, trying to figure out what was going on. But not him. One second my face is buried in his chest and the next, he’s lifting me in his arms and striding across the parking lot to his Jeep.
He tucks me into the passenger seat before climbing behind the wheel, all without saying a word. I’m grateful for his tinted windows as the familiar black car slowly drives past.
“Where to?” Luca asks, starting the Jeep.
“Uh…”
Do they already know about my motel room? Are they searching randomly, or do they know I’m here?
“Perry?” Luca prompts gently.
I blink away the tears. “I don’t know.”
“I can take you to my place,” he offers.
“Okay.”
He nods once and takes off. I stare blankly out the window at the passing scenery, my head spinning with a million thoughts.
My muffin and breakfast burritos are growing cold in my lap, but I can’t bring myself to eat right now.
Was that Bryan and his men, or am I seeing ghosts? It looked like his car, but thousands of people in California probably drive the same model.
“It’s going to be okay,” Luca promises, reaching over and wrapping his fingers around mine.
I stare at our joined hands, forcing myself to relax. I’m surprised Luca helped without asking a million questions. I’m surprised he helped at all. Most people wouldn’t have. At least not in the world I grew up in.
What is it about Luca that has me trusting him so easily?
He makes me feel safe and cared for. Sure, he hasn’t given me a reason not to, but I was raised to never let my guard down and to treat everyone as an enemy.
My parents taught me that everyone has an angle and wants something.
But a few hours with Luca, and that conditioning had flown out the window.
How is he always right there when I need him? Is he my guardian angel? My knight in shining armor?
I should be terrified as I sit in his passenger seat, driving to God only knows where, but for the first time in my life, I’m not scared. Luca might be a near stranger, but he’s a good man.
I could fall in love with him so easily.
The thought hits me like a punch as we turn down a back road, bouncing over a pothole.
No. You can’t get attached. It’s not safe for him. Plus, if I have to pack up and leave in a hurry, it would only break my heart to leave Luca behind too.
Still, as Luca squeezes my hand and drives us away from town, all I can think is that it might be too late. I’m already falling for the giant grump, and I don’t know how to stop it.
Or if I really want to.