Page 29 of Tempting Me

I can’t lie to her. I just said best friends are hard to find and I refuse to be a bad one.

“Luca only agreed to help me if I put in a good word with you so that he can ask you out, and I told him I would. I was desperate. Please don’t hate me.”

Grace grins. “I wondered how you got him to agree so easily, but outside of our career ethics, I have nothing in common with Luca.”

“That’s what I told him.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said that you might have more in common if you knew more about him.”

She grins and keeps eating.

“I know plenty, and although I think he’d be a catch for any girl, that girl is not me. But you should know that he asked me out a couple of nights ago and I turned him down.”

“He did? You did?” I ask both questions so quickly, my voice squeaks.

Grace nods.

“Why did you turn him down?” It’s a stupid question after the conversation we just had, but I blurt it out anyway.

“Because he’s not my type. We just established that. Plus,you’re my best friend and your family hates him. It would be weird.”

I frown.

“Don’t let me stand in your way of dating someone.”

Grace lets out a laugh.

“I’m not dating Luca.”

“But if you wanted?—”

“I don’t.”

I nod and then scrub my hands over my face and groan again.

“Why does desperation make you do stupid things?”

“Because if you did smart things, they wouldn’t call it desperation.”

I sit up and tap her nose.

“Exactly, but what do I tell him now? What if he backs out when I tell him I couldn't hold up my end of the deal? Or maybe I should just pretend that I’m still talking him up to you.”

“Yes. That one. The Marina cannot suffer. Just say you’re holding up your end of the deal, and every morning you can tell me one nice thing about him. You’d never be lying that way.”

I chuckle. “Do you think I can come up with something daily?”

I ask it as a joke, but even I know that it’ll be easy. Aside from what I will from here on out refer to as “the moment,” he really was professional. He listened to me and what I wanted. He was very active in making a plan. I gave him crap about double-checking the measurements, but I loved that he did.

Hiring Luca was well overdue, but I won’t be telling a single person that thought.

Especially not Luca.

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. I’m glad one of us believes in me.”

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