Chapter 8
Sabrina's phone buzzed at 11:43 p.m.
Lucas: Are you awake?
She stared at the message suspiciously from where she lay on the couch in oversized sweatpants with Chloe half asleep beside her.
Sabrina: Unfortunately yes. Why?
Three dots appeared immediately.
Lucas: Adrian says people think we need more "casual couple content."
Sabrina snorted.
Sabrina: That sentence just took ten years off my life.
Lucas: Agreed.
Another message came through.
Lucas: Want food?
Sabrina blinked.
Chloe lifted her head from the couch cushion. "Why do you suddenly look confused?"
"Lucas texted me."
"Oh my God."
"He wants food."
"That sounded way too scandalized."
Sabrina ignored her and looked back down at the screen.
Lucas: There's a diner open near your apartment.
Lucas: Before you accuse me of stalking, Adrian gave me your address.
Sabrina smiled despite herself.
Sabrina: That somehow isn't comforting.
Lucas: Five minutes.
Before she could answer, another text arrived.
Lucas: Wear something warm. It's freezing outside.
The message hit strangely harder than it should have.
Not romantic.
Not flirtatious.
Just thoughtful.
And somehow that felt more dangerous.
Twenty minutes later Sabrina slid into the booth across from Lucas Cooper in a nearly empty diner lit by fluorescent lights.
The contrast between him and the place looked ridiculous.
Movie-star face.
Black hoodie.
Baseball cap pulled low.
Sitting in a diner eating fries at midnight like a regular person.
A teenage waitress nearly walked directly into a wall after recognizing him.
Lucas looked deeply resigned about it.
"You know," Sabrina said while unfolding her napkin, "you somehow still look expensive in a diner."
"You look judgmental in sweatpants."
"These are quality sweatpants."
"They have holes in them."
"Ventilation."
That earned the quiet laugh she'd started becoming weirdly addicted to hearing.
The waitress approached their table looking one second away from cardiac arrest.
"Hi," she breathed.
Lucas smiled politely. "Hey."
"Can I get you guys anything?"
"Coffee," Sabrina answered immediately.
Lucas looked at her. "It's midnight."
"I'm building character."
"You're building insomnia."
The waitress laughed nervously before turning toward Lucas.
"And for you?"
"Whatever she's having."
The girl nodded so aggressively Sabrina worried for her neck before hurrying away.
Sabrina watched Lucas across the table carefully.
He looked different tonight.
Relaxed.
Less guarded somehow.
No cameras.
No event.
No polished celebrity performance.
Just Lucas.
"You seem less miserable than usual," she observed.
"High praise."
"I'm serious."
Lucas leaned back slightly in the booth. "There's less people here."
"That's literally the saddest thing you've ever said."
"It's true."
Sabrina studied him for a second.
The diner buzzed softly around them while snow drifted outside the windows in slow lazy spirals.
It felt strangely normal.
Which shouldn't have been possible considering she was eating mozzarella sticks with one of the most famous men in the country.
"So," she said eventually, "did Adrian actually send you here for publicity reasons or were you genuinely hungry?"
"A little of both."
"At least you're honest."
"You'd complain if I wasn't."
"Correct."
The waitress returned with coffee and food while trying very hard not to stare openly at Lucas.
The second she walked away again, Sabrina pointed a fry at him.
"You know what I still don't understand?"
"That's a long list."
"The whole celebrity thing."
Lucas looked unimpressed. "Very specific."
"No seriously. People lose their minds around you."
"They lose their minds around free samples too."
"That's not the same."
"Feels similar."
Sabrina laughed softly.
Then she noticed something.
"You're tired again."
Lucas's eyes flicked toward her briefly.
"You say that a lot."
"Because you always are."
For a second she thought he might dodge the comment like usual.
Instead he looked down at his coffee.
"I haven't slept properly in a while."
The honesty caught her off guard.
"Why?"
Lucas shrugged lightly. "Too much work."
"That sounds fake."
A small smile appeared.
"Maybe it is."
The thing about Lucas was that every genuine answer felt accidental.
Like pieces of him slipped out before he remembered to pull them back.
Sabrina rested her chin against her hand.
"You know what your problem is?"
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
"You act like people are temporary before they even get the chance to leave."
That got his attention.
Lucas looked at her properly now.
The teasing faded slightly from his expression.
"You analyze too much."
"I observe."
"That line stopped working chapters ago."
Sabrina laughed despite herself.
Then the waitress returned again.
This time carrying a piece of chocolate cake.
"We didn't order that," Sabrina said.
The waitress looked embarrassed. "The kitchen wanted to send it over."
Lucas sighed quietly. "You don't have to do that."
"It's really okay," the waitress said quickly. "My sister loves your movies."
Lucas smiled politely again. "Tell your sister thanks."
After she left, Sabrina looked at him carefully.
"You really don't like attention."
"I like normal attention."
"This is not normal attention?"
"She almost dropped a milkshake because I exist."
Fair point.
Lucas picked up his fork and pushed the cake toward Sabrina.
"You eat it."
"What if I wanted you poisoned first?"
"I've accepted my fate."
She smiled before taking a bite.
"Okay," she admitted, "that's incredible."
Lucas watched her for a second with something quieter in his expression.
Not distant for once.
Warm almost.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
"So," Sabrina said quickly, changing the subject before her brain betrayed her, "how bad was your childhood?"
Lucas blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You have emotional repression and commitment issues. I'm gathering evidence."
To her surprise, he laughed properly.
Head tipped back slightly.
Real amusement.
People at nearby tables glanced over.
Sabrina stared for half a second because wow.
Lucas laughing fully might actually be lethal.
"You're insane," he muttered.
"And yet you invited me here."
His smile faded slowly but didn't disappear completely.
"That might've been my first mistake."
Sabrina ignored the tiny flutter in her chest at the comment.
Mostly because acknowledging it felt like a terrible idea.
By the time they left the diner nearly an hour later, snow covered the sidewalks outside.
Sabrina shoved her hands into her coat pockets immediately.
"It's freezing."
"You say that every thirty seconds."
"Because I continue being cold."
Lucas shook his head slightly before pulling something from his pocket.
A black knit beanie.
"Wear this."
Sabrina stared at him. "Then your head will be cold."
"I'll survive."
"There it is."
His mouth twitched.
Sabrina pulled the beanie onto her head anyway.
It smelled faintly like his cologne.
That definitely felt dangerous.
They walked slowly down the sidewalk toward the waiting SUV.
The city felt quieter this late at night.
Less overwhelming.
At one point Sabrina glanced sideways and realized Lucas looked... peaceful.
Not happy exactly.
Just calmer than usual.
Then he caught her staring.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're smiling."
"I'm literally not."
"You literally are."
Sabrina looked away quickly.
Unfortunately, Lucas laughed softly beside her like he knew exactly what he was doing now.
And somehow that was even more dangerous than when he'd been cold.