Chapter 10 #6
“What do you think of having lunch with us? We were about to order something before you arrived.”
Aurora’s voice is loud, and I know that she wants me to hear, maybe to say something. I go into the living room, stepping quietly, and I feel Henry’s eyes on me as if he’s waiting for me to agree.
“That would be fun. Do you want to stay?” He smiles at me, a beautiful smile, his eyes seem to sparkle, and I really wish I was in love with him.
“Yes, that would be great!”
Henry seems really happy to be having lunch with us; the conversation flows in such a good way that it makes me smile; he really seems to have won the girls over.
“How long have you known each other?”
Henry’s question makes us smile at each other, but Leticia takes the lead and answers first. I think our parents have always been friends and partners.
“We became best friends when we were ten years old, I think, around the time my family moved to Portugal.”
“From that day on, we became inseparable!” Aurora says with a smile on her face.
Our conversation is interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. I quickly get up to open the door, but Aurora gestures for me to stay with Henry and heads for the door.
“So you went to live in Portugal when you were ten, until that age…”
Before he could finish, I answered. “I used to live in Italy, my home country.”
“Chiara, can you come here?” I frown at Aurora’s question and only then realize that she is lingering at the door.
I gesture for Henry to wait a moment and go to meet Aurora, stopping just a meter awayandnoticing Luca towering over her.
Aurora stands in front of him, preventing him from entering, which we both know, if he really wanted to, wouldn’t work.
She looks annoyed at him and says something quietly, which I take to be an insult.
“Chiara, can we talk?” his husky voice makes my whole body shiver, and I hate him for having that power over me.
“I told you have nothing to talk about; she broke off the engagement; you shouldn’t even be here!”
“I didn’t ask you anything, Aurora; I’m here to talk to Chiara, not to listen to your annoying voice!”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that, or I’ll…”
Before she has time to continue, I approach the two of them and gesture for her to stop.
She looks submissivebut doesn’t leave the room and stands by the wall with her arms crossed.
Now that she’s out of the way, I have the full picture of Luca in front of me, and he looks as handsome as ever in his black three-piece suit; the bouquet of peonies in his hand makes me want to smile.
And I wonder if he knows that these are my favorite flowersor if it was just a coincidence; my brain says it was a coincidence; after all, Luca doesn’t know anything about me; he’s never shown any interest in anything that concerns me.
But my damn heart, which may be in love, insists that he just knew.
“What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk…”
I let out a dry laugh and don’t let him finish. “We’ve talked, Luca, it’s over!”
“That wasn’t a conversation, Chiara, and you know that as well as I do.”
“You should be in Italy, just like Paolo and Francesco; they’re still here, right?”
“I wouldn’t leave you unprotected, even if it does end, at least for a while; I wouldn’t leave you unprotected!”
“Even if it did end… It’s over, get over it!”
Aurora’s words make me look annoyed at her. I know she wants the best for me, but this matter is between me and Luca. Luca seems really annoyed by her intrusion but doesn’t say anything in her direction.
“Can we talk alone?”
I didn’t have time to answer. Suddenly, the whole situation became chaotic. Leticia appeared with Henry by the door to find what was delaying us. Henry looks at Luca and then at me, ignoring him; he walks up to me and lets his hand touch my shoulder, making Luca clench his jaw immediately.
“Are you okay? Do you need help?”
His question makes me want to laugh. I’m not the princess in trouble he thinks I am; I don’t need to be saved by him; I’m perfectly capable of saving myself.
Unlike me, Luca doesn’t seem to want to laugh; he wants to crush Henry with his bare hands, and the worst thing is that I know he could do it.
“I’m fine, Henry. This is Luca; Luca, this is Henry!”
After realizing that nothing bad is happening to me, Henry returns to his friendly, smiling face, holding out his hand for Luca to shake.
Luca squeezes his hand in what looks like a small demonstration of his strength.
Henry looks annoyed, but his face doesn’t show it; the friendly smile remains on his face, even if it issmaller.
On the other hand, Luca remains as closed and cold as ever, maybe a little frowny.
“Can we talk?” Luca’s eyes are on me, and he seems to ignore everyone around us.
“As you can see, we have visitors!” I say, trying to appear calm and unaffected by his presence.
“I came all the way from Italy to talk to you; I know you can spare me some time!”
Now, his eyes are on Henry, sending a clear message that he must go. Henry doesn’t seem to be intimidated; he moves closer to me, making Luca follow his movements. He plants a kiss too close to my lips, looking at Luca with a smile straight after.
“You can talk to your friend; after all, he’s come a long way. You know I’m nearby; you can always call me if you’re bored.”