Chapter 17
The mood changed instantly.
One second the air between them felt dangerously close to something real.
The next Claire's name glowing across Lucas's phone dragged everything back into reality hard enough to leave bruises.
Sabrina looked away immediately.
Of course.
Because why wouldn't the universe interrupt the one moment Lucas Cooper almost admitted something emotionally devastating?
Lucas stared down at the phone with clear irritation before declining the call without answering.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Still, the damage had already been done.
The tension from seconds earlier dissolved into something awkward and fragile.
Sabrina reached for her water glass mostly to give herself something to do besides spiral internally.
"You can answer it," she said carefully.
Lucas looked up at her immediately. "I don't want to."
The answer came too quickly.
Too honestly.
Dangerous.
Sabrina forced a shrug anyway. "Could be important."
"It's not."
His phone buzzed again almost instantly.
Claire.
Again.
Lucas muttered something under his breath before silencing the phone completely and tossing it onto the seat beside him.
Sabrina watched him carefully.
"You seem annoyed."
"I am annoyed."
"That sounded personal."
A humorless laugh escaped him.
"Claire doesn't understand boundaries."
Something about the way he said it made Sabrina pause.
Because underneath the irritation, she heard exhaustion.
Not lingering feelings.
Not affection.
Just tiredness.
Lucas rubbed a hand across his jaw slowly before looking back toward her.
"Where were we?"
Sabrina nearly choked.
Because unfortunately she remembered exactly where they were.
Right on the edge of emotional disaster.
"You were psychologically tormenting me," she answered lightly.
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"You started it."
"I absolutely did not."
"You accused me of acting like a real boyfriend."
Sabrina looked down at the table immediately.
Traitorous memory.
Lucas watched her quietly for a second too long.
Then:
"You still didn't answer me."
Her heart stumbled painfully.
"Answer what?"
"You asked if I act like that accidentally."
The air between them tightened again instantly.
God.
He wasn't letting it go.
Sabrina looked anywhere except directly at him.
The restaurant suddenly felt way too warm.
"I think maybe we should discuss literally anything else."
Lucas leaned back slightly in the booth.
"That nervous, huh?"
"I'm actively trying to survive."
That finally earned a real laugh from him.
Warm.
Low.
Dangerously attractive.
And somehow the laughter loosened something between them again.
Not fully.
But enough to breathe.
For now.
The waiter arrived with their food a minute later, accidentally saving Sabrina from complete emotional collapse.
Unfortunately Lucas kept looking at her like he knew exactly what he'd been doing moments earlier.
Which honestly felt unfair.
Sabrina stabbed aggressively at her pasta while avoiding eye contact.
"You're glaring at ravioli."
"I'm processing."
"That sounds serious."
"It is."
Lucas smiled faintly before finally letting the subject drop.
At least outwardly.
Still, the atmosphere stayed different after that.
More aware somehow.
Every glance lingered too long.
Every accidental touch felt loaded.
At one point Lucas reached across the table to wipe sauce from the corner of Sabrina's mouth without thinking.
The movement happened naturally.
Automatically.
Both froze afterward.
Lucas's hand hovered there for half a second too long before pulling away slowly.
Sabrina's brain completely stopped functioning.
"You really need to stop doing that," she muttered weakly.
Lucas looked suspiciously calm considering he'd just shortened her lifespan by ten years.
"Doing what?"
"Acting domestically."
That pulled another quiet laugh from him.
Then his expression softened slightly.
"I like taking care of you."
The words hit so hard Sabrina nearly forgot where she was.
Oh no.
No no no.
Because nobody had warned her Lucas's emotional vulnerability came disguised as simple statements spoken quietly across restaurant tables.
And worse?
He probably didn't even realize how devastating he sounded.
Sabrina looked down immediately before her face betrayed her completely.
"This feels manipulative," she muttered.
"You're smiling."
"I'm in distress."
"Bad distress?"
The teasing in his voice returned slightly, but softer now.
Gentler.
Sabrina risked looking back up at him.
Big mistake.
Lucas was already watching her.
And there it was again.
That look.
Warm.
Intent.
Too real.
Her heartbeat stumbled violently.
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed yet again.
Lucas's jaw tightened instantly.
Claire.
Again.
This time Sabrina sighed dramatically.
"Okay, now I'm irritated."
Lucas looked genuinely apologetic for the first time all evening.
"Sorry."
"Does she know phones work both ways? You can stop calling after no answer."
A surprised laugh escaped him.
Then he finally grabbed the phone and stood abruptly.
"I'll be back."
Sabrina watched him walk toward the back hallway near the restrooms, already rubbing a hand across his face in frustration.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because Lucas didn't look like a man secretly in love with his ex.
He looked like a man one inconvenience away from launching his phone into the nearest river.
Still, Sabrina couldn't stop the uncomfortable twisting feeling low in her chest.
Because regardless of what existed between her and Lucas right now, reality remained complicated.
Lucas had history.
A public life.
Exes.
An entire world Sabrina still didn't fully fit into.
And maybe part of her still struggled believing someone like him could genuinely want someone like her.
The thought irritated her immediately.
Because Lucas himself never treated her that way.
If anything, he acted like she was the only person who made him feel normal anymore.
Which honestly might've been more dangerous than anything else.
Lucas returned a few minutes later looking deeply exhausted.
Sabrina raised an eyebrow.
"You survive?"
"Barely."
He slid back into the booth and grabbed his water immediately.
"She wanted something for the press," he explained before Sabrina could ask.
Interesting.
"You didn't have to tell me that."
"I know."
But he wanted to.
Again.
That dangerous warmth spread through Sabrina's chest before she could stop it.
Lucas looked at her carefully across the table.
"You're thinking too much again."
"You notice that a lot."
"You get quieter."
The way he said it felt oddly intimate.
Like he paid attention constantly now.
Sabrina looked away toward the restaurant windows where snow drifted softly outside beneath glowing streetlights.
"You know what's weird?" she said quietly.
Lucas leaned back slightly. "Probably a long list."
"This."
His gaze returned to her immediately.
"This?"
She gestured vaguely between them.
"The fake dating thing stopped feeling fake somewhere and nobody addressed it."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Lucas stared at her for a long second.
Then another.
And suddenly Sabrina wanted to throw herself directly through the nearest wall.
Because apparently tonight was the night she lost all self-preservation instincts.
Finally Lucas exhaled slowly.
"You want me to address it?"
The question came softly.
Carefully.
Sabrina's heartbeat pounded violently against her ribs.
"No," she answered immediately.
Lucas's mouth twitched slightly. "Liar."
She groaned and dropped her forehead briefly against her hand.
"This is your fault."
"How?"
"You keep saying emotionally devastating things in a calm voice."
"That sounds subjective."
"That sounds manipulative."
Lucas laughed quietly again.
Then, softer:
"You make me forget to filter myself."
The honesty in the sentence stole the air directly from Sabrina's lungs.
God.
That was it exactly.
Around everyone else, Lucas sounded controlled.
Careful.
Polished.
Around her, things slipped out.
Real things.
And maybe that scared him as much as it scared her.
Neither spoke for a moment after that.
The restaurant around them blurred softly into background noise while something quieter settled between them.
Not awkward.
Just honest.
Terrifyingly honest.
Then Sabrina's phone buzzed.
Both looked down automatically.
Chloe: ARE YOU ALIVE OR DID HE FINALLY CONFESS HIS LOVE
Sabrina nearly choked on air.
Lucas noticed immediately.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're smiling."
"I hate my friends."
Lucas leaned slightly across the table. "Now I'm curious."
"No."
"Sabrina."
She narrowed her eyes. "You're enjoying this too much."
"A little."
The warmth in his expression nearly killed her again.
At this point she deserved compensation.
Eventually they left the restaurant sometime after ten.
Snow still fell lightly across the city while paparazzi waited outside near the curb.
Lucas noticed them immediately and sighed under his breath.
"Can we fake our deaths?"
"Honestly tempting."
The cameras started flashing the second they stepped outside.
Lucas's entire posture shifted automatically into public mode again.
But Sabrina noticed something now she hadn't before.
Even when the mask returned, he stayed closer to her than necessary.
Like instinct.
One photographer shouted questions while they walked toward the SUV.
"Lucas, are wedding bells next?"
"Is Sabrina meeting the family soon?"
Sabrina laughed awkwardly under her breath.
Lucas opened the SUV door for her first before answering casually:
"She already met my mom."
Sabrina froze halfway into the car.
The cameras exploded louder instantly.
"What?" she whispered sharply once inside.
Lucas climbed in beside her looking suspiciously unbothered.
"You have met my mom."
"That is not the point."
"She liked you."
"Lucas."
Now he was definitely amused.
"You should see your face right now."
Sabrina stared at him in horror.
"You're insane."
"Probably."
But he was smiling again.
Relaxed.
Real.
And somehow Sabrina realized something terrifying during the drive home.
She couldn't remember the last time Lucas looked genuinely happy before her.
And she definitely couldn't remember the last time she felt this terrified of losing someone who technically was never hers to begin with.