Chapter 14
By the time they got back to Manhattan, Sabrina felt emotionally unstable in at least twelve different ways.
The drive home had been mostly quiet.
Not awkward exactly.
Worse.
Careful.
Like both of them knew something had shifted beside that lake and neither wanted to be the first person to acknowledge it.
Lucas drove with one hand resting loosely against the steering wheel while city lights reflected across the windshield. Every now and then Sabrina caught him glancing toward her before looking away again almost immediately.
Like he was thinking too much.
Which, honestly, mirrored her current situation exactly.
Because that moment at the lake kept replaying in her head nonstop.
The way he'd looked at her.
The way his hand had turned beneath hers.
The split second where she knew he'd wanted to kiss her.
It would've been easier if Lucas stayed cold.
The problem was that now Sabrina had seen too much of the real version underneath.
And unfortunately, she liked him there most.
By the time the car stopped outside her apartment building, snow covered the sidewalks in thick white layers.
Lucas shifted the gear into park but didn't immediately speak.
Neither did Sabrina.
The silence stretched strangely between them.
Then finally:
"You're staring again," Lucas said quietly.
Sabrina blinked. "You literally looked at me first."
A faint smile appeared.
Small.
Tired.
Real.
"Fair."
Neither moved to leave.
Dangerous.
Sabrina looked down at her hands instead.
"This was nice today."
The words slipped out softly before she could overthink them.
Lucas went quiet beside her.
Then:
"Yeah."
Just one word.
Still, something about the way he said it made her chest ache.
Because it sounded genuine.
Not careful.
Not detached.
Just honest.
Sabrina reached for the door handle before she did something incredibly stupid like lean across the center console and kiss him.
"Goodnight, Lucas."
"Night, Sabrina."
She climbed out into the freezing air quickly without looking back.
Coward.
Unfortunately, escaping physically did nothing to help mentally.
Because the second she got upstairs, Chloe took one look at her face and nearly screamed.
"Oh my God."
Sabrina dropped her bag onto the floor. "Don't."
"You look emotionally compromised."
"That's not a real diagnosis."
"You spent all day alone with him."
Sabrina groaned and collapsed face-first onto the couch.
"That man is a problem."
Chloe immediately sat beside her like an excited therapist.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"That tone means something happened."
Sabrina rolled onto her back and stared dramatically at the ceiling.
"We went to some tiny town outside the city and drank coffee and talked about feelings."
Chloe gasped loudly.
"Feelings?"
"Minor ones."
"What kind?"
"The emotionally devastating kind."
That earned a full-body reaction from Chloe.
"I knew it."
"Please calm down."
"No. Explain immediately."
Sabrina covered her face with both hands.
"He opened up about fame and relationships and then we had this weird almost moment by a lake."
Chloe froze.
"A what moment?"
Sabrina peeked through her fingers.
"The kind where someone almost kisses you and ruins your entire emotional stability."
The scream Chloe let out should've violated several noise ordinances.
Sabrina grabbed a pillow and threw it directly at her.
"It wasn't even technically a moment."
"You almost kissed Lucas Cooper in the snow?"
"When you say it out loud it sounds worse."
"It sounds like a bestselling romance novel."
Sabrina groaned louder.
Because the worst part?
She hadn't wanted the moment to stop.
And that was terrifying.
The next morning Sabrina woke up to twenty-three unread notifications and one massive headache.
Most of the notifications came from social media.
Apparently someone had photographed her and Lucas yesterday despite the tiny town supposedly being private.
Fantastic.
Photos of them walking beside the lake had already spread across the internet.
One picture in particular had gone viral.
Lucas looking down at her while snow fell around them.
Sabrina smiling up at him.
The image looked painfully intimate.
Like something out of a movie poster.
The comments underneath nearly killed her.
THAT MAN IS IN LOVE
THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER???
THIS ISN'T FAKE ANYMORE I'M SICK
Sabrina immediately locked her phone and threw it onto the bed.
Nope.
Absolutely not.
Her phone buzzed again seconds later.
Lucas: Adrian's losing his mind.
Sabrina snorted despite herself.
Sabrina: The internet thinks we're soulmates now.
Three dots appeared.
Lucas: Could be worse.
The response hit her harder than it should have.
Before she could answer, another message came through.
Lucas: You working today?
Sabrina: Unfortunately.
Lucas: My condolences.
She smiled automatically.
Again.
Hopeless.
Unfortunately, reality crashed back in aggressively around noon.
Because Sabrina had barely started her shift at the hotel restaurant when Chloe came rushing toward her from the lobby looking horrified.
"Oh no."
Sabrina immediately frowned. "What happened?"
Chloe shoved her phone toward her.
A gossip article filled the screen.
LUCAS COOPER SPOTTED LEAVING PRIVATE DINNER WITH EX-GIRLFRIEND CLAIRE MONROE
Attached were blurry nighttime photos of Lucas and Claire leaving an upscale restaurant together.
Lucas's hand rested lightly against Claire's back while they walked toward a car.
Sabrina's stomach dropped instantly.
"Oh."
The uncomfortable feeling from before returned immediately.
Sharp this time.
Annoying.
Embarrassing.
Painfully irrational.
Because obviously Lucas could have dinner with whoever he wanted.
They weren't real.
Still, seeing the photos after yesterday somehow felt worse.
Much worse.
Chloe looked at her carefully.
"You okay?"
Sabrina handed the phone back too quickly.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You just looked like someone canceled Christmas."
"I'm at work, Chloe."
"That wasn't an answer."
Sabrina grabbed a tray before Chloe could continue.
Because she genuinely didn't know how to explain what she was feeling.
Jealousy seemed too dramatic.
But hurt felt too honest.
The worst part was that she knew logically there was probably an explanation.
Maybe work.
Maybe publicity.
Maybe coincidence.
Still, the photos bothered her all afternoon.
Especially because Lucas didn't text once.
Not one message.
By six o'clock Sabrina was already irritated enough to fight someone recreationally.
Unfortunately, the universe apparently wanted entertainment.
Because the second she stepped outside after work, paparazzi cameras flashed aggressively from across the street.
"Sabrina!"
"How do you feel about Lucas meeting with Claire?"
"Are they getting back together?"
"Was your relationship fake?"
The questions hit fast enough to make her flinch.
Oh.
That was new.
Usually the cameras focused on Lucas.
Now they were targeting her directly.
A car door opened beside the curb before she could respond.
Lucas.
Of course.
He stepped out quickly wearing dark jeans and a black coat, his expression cooling immediately when he noticed the paparazzi crowd.
"Get in," he said quietly.
Sabrina slid into the SUV without argument.
The second Lucas climbed in after her, the doors shut out most of the noise outside.
Silence filled the car instantly.
Heavy silence.
Lucas looked toward her carefully.
"You saw the pictures."
Not a question.
Sabrina crossed her arms loosely. "The entire internet saw the pictures."
His jaw tightened faintly.
"It wasn't what it looked like."
There it was.
The classic line.
Sabrina looked toward the window instead.
"I genuinely don't care."
"Bad lie."
"Why are you here?"
Lucas frowned slightly at the question.
"You stopped answering my texts."
Sabrina blinked.
Texts?
She grabbed her phone from her bag and froze.
Three unread messages.
Lucas: You surviving work?
Lucas: Paparazzi outside your hotel. Don't leave alone.
Lucas: Sabrina?
Oh.
Right.
Because her phone had died earlier during shift.
Embarrassing.
"I didn't ignore you," she admitted reluctantly. "My phone died."
Some tension visibly left his shoulders.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then Sabrina remembered the photos again.
Unfortunately.
"So," she said carefully, "you and Claire looked cozy."
Lucas leaned back against the seat with a tired exhale.
"It was dinner with producers."
"That sounds fake."
"It's literally true."
"She was touching your arm."
"You notice a lot."
"I observe."
"That line needs retirement."
Despite herself, Sabrina nearly smiled.
Then stopped immediately.
No.
Stay focused.
Lucas studied her face for a second.
"You're upset."
"I'm not upset."
"You look upset."
"I look tired."
"You looked tired yesterday. Today you look angry."
The accuracy irritated her further.
Sabrina looked away again.
Outside, Manhattan blurred past beneath glowing streetlights and dirty snow.
"You know what the worst part is?" she muttered finally.
Lucas stayed quiet.
"The reporters asking if our relationship was fake."
The second the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Because suddenly the atmosphere inside the SUV shifted sharply.
Lucas looked at her carefully now.
"Sabrina—"
"I know what this is," she interrupted quickly. "I'm not stupid."
His expression tightened faintly.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Lucas ran a hand slowly across his jaw.
For once he actually seemed unsure what to say.
Interesting.
"I had dinner because the studio requested it," he said finally. "Claire's attached to the project."
Sabrina stayed quiet.
"And?"
"And nothing."
"You expect me to believe there's no history there?"
Lucas laughed softly then.
Not amused.
Tired.
"There's history everywhere in this industry."
The answer somehow made things worse.
Because suddenly Sabrina realized how many women probably existed in Lucas Cooper's life.
Exes.
Models.
Actresses.
Public relationships.
People who fit his world naturally.
Not waitresses from tiny apartments who still alphabetized spices during emotional crises.
The insecurity hit harder than she wanted to admit.
Lucas must've noticed something change in her expression because his own softened slightly afterward.
"Sabrina."
"What?"
"You're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"Getting stuck in your own head."
She looked toward him sharply. "You don't know what I'm thinking."
"No," he admitted quietly. "But I know you."
The words landed directly in her chest.
Too intimate.
Too natural.
Dangerous.
The SUV stopped at a red light while silence settled between them again.
Lucas looked exhausted suddenly.
Not annoyed.
Not defensive.
Just tired.
"I'm not good at this," he said quietly.
Sabrina frowned slightly. "At what?"
His gaze flicked toward her.
"This."
The answer hung between them.
Heavy.
For a second Sabrina forgot how to breathe.
Because suddenly she realized he wasn't talking about publicity anymore.
Lucas looked away first this time.
"I spent years making sure nothing got personal," he admitted softly. "That was easier."
The honesty in his voice hurt.
Mostly because she understood exactly what he wasn't saying.
And maybe because she was starting to realize she'd become personal to him anyway.
Which terrified both of them.
Neither spoke for the rest of the drive.
But when the SUV finally stopped outside Sabrina's apartment, Lucas reached for her hand before she could leave.
The movement felt instinctive.
Warm fingers wrapping lightly around hers.
Sabrina looked back toward him immediately.
Lucas's expression had gone quiet again.
Open in a way that still shocked her sometimes.
"I'm not getting back together with Claire," he said softly.
Not defensive.
Certain.
And somehow that mattered far more than it should have.
Sabrina's heartbeat stumbled painfully against her ribs.
Because for the first time, Lucas sounded like someone trying to reassure her instead of manage a situation.
And that was infinitely more dangerous.