Page 125 of Can't Always Get What You Want

“You remember that?”

His thumb brushes the inside of my wrist, sending sparks straight to my ribs. “You’re hard to forget.”

I laugh softly, burying my face against his neck because the heat creeping up my cheeks feels ridiculous.

“That was the worst night. Gio was sulking the entire time. We got stuck at a table next to a defensive lineman who wouldn’t stop talking about his protein powder endorsement deal.”

“You were sitting two tables away from us during dinner. I kept hoping you’d turn around.”

There’s a beat of stillness.

“I would see you in the stands at games—don’t think for one second I didn’t know where your seats were. At events. You were always in the room, lighting it up, and I never stopped wondering what it would be like if?—”

He stops.

“Tell me something else about that night,” I whisper. “Something you remember.”

He doesn’t hesitate. “You were wearing heels you hated. You took them off halfway through the after-party.”

My jaw drops. “How did you know that?”

“I saw you dancing barefoot in the corner with some girl in a sparkly yellow jumpsuit.”

“Sadie.” I grin. “That was Sadie Spellman.” NFL player Jack Spellman’s wife—and her jumpsuit was gold.

Luca’s hands cup my breasts. “You were laughing so hard you almost spilled your drink.”

“Ididspill my drink. All down the front of my dress. It stained.”

He runs his hands down my ribcage. “Still the most beautiful girl in the room.”

God.

How am I going to survive him?

Emotion rises in my throat, thick and hot. Because he’s not just good with words—he remembers me. The pieces I thought were forgettable. The details no one else kept.

He never had me, and yet he didn’t stop wishing.

Is that creepy?

Who cares.

He cups the back of my head and presses our foreheads together. “This isn’t just sex, Nova.”

“I know.”

“I want all of you.”

I know that, too.

26

luca

Every inch of her, bare and beautiful and mine—for however long I get to keep her.

I have no idea how long that will be.

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