Page 44 of Savior

Luca’s eyes drop to his plate, and I know I’ve said too much.

But hell, if my life is too much for him, then I’m too much for him.

“I wish he’d have gone another direction in life, you know? But then…”

I’m genuinely curious about what he’s going to say. Leaning forward, I motion with my hand for him to go on.

“But then there wouldn’t be you,” he says.

It’s like time stops, and the air around us stills.

He’s thankful for my birth. For my life. Even if he can’t have me in his.

He’s so unselfish, and something about that knowledge makes hope bloom in my stomach.

Luca lifts his napkin from his lap and wipes his lips before dropping it beside his plate.

“If we’re going to see the sunset on the beach, we’d better go.”

The bubble of awkward, warm tension around us pops, and I stand and push into my jacket again.

The hostess from before is standing just beyond the door as if she’s been waiting there the entire time, and she leads us back through the kitchen and into the SUV, where John is likewise waiting.

During the entire ride to the beach, I contemplate everything between us. All the brief moments stringing together to become a monumental attraction that can’t be allowed to fester.

If it does, it’ll ruin Luca and all he stands for.

Part of me wishes I were back with Barone. I would have survived, escaped. Somehow.

Even if I’m thankful to be here with him, the growing pull to him is becoming something I can’t deny or look away from.

And even with all the things I’ve done in my past, I think that being the reason Luca Russo falls from grace would be the one thing God wouldn’t be able to look away from.

“We’re here,” Luca tells me, brushing his hand over mine.

Forgetting everything I just told myself, I flip mine and entangle it with his as he opens the door and leads me out.

It doesn’t hurt to enjoy it while it lasts, right?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

LUCA

The waves roar ahead. John parked us directly on the beach, the back of the SUV open. Some blankets and pillows tell me he might’ve gotten the wrong idea about Sloane and me, but I ignore that awkward fact as I hop up beside her.

She’s gazing wistfully at each wave that dances over the sand, seeming to reach closer each time. It’s like she’s here with me, physically, but she’s far away mentally.

The glistening emotion in her eyes wasn’t what I was going for when I planned this trip. I wanted her to have fun. To get away from the heavy aspects of everything bearing down on her.

“Are you alright?” I ask. I nearly reach for her, but I don’t want to overstep.

A single tear runs down her cheek, and she sniffs it, wiping it away. “I swear to God, I never cry this much.” She giggles as if to run away from whatever’s haunting her with the dismissal.

“Well—” I start, and she realizes what she said and cuts me off.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean I swear to God in a bad way. It’s just an expression. Jesus. Fuck, sorry.” Her spiraling is actually pretty cute, and my smile lifts as she continues.

“It’s fine, Sloane. No harm done. I don’t think God is going to drop out of the sky and smite you for spouting a random fact in his name.”

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