Page 7 of Mine Again
He always knows.
The corner of his mouth curves, slow and dangerous.
“Careful,farfalla,” he says, his voice a promise and a warning all at once. “Wishes like that have a way of coming true.”
Chapter Two
Isabella
Mari glances at Luca across the table. Their eyes meet, and he gives her a quick, subtle look toward the door. She catches the signal instantly and responds with a barely perceptible nod.
The thrill of anticipation is making it hard to sit still. I can’t wait to see what Luca has planned.
My pulse quickens, ripples of excitement fast becoming waves.
There’s only a small, quiet part of me that wonders what would happen if someone caught us sneaking out.
If Father believed I was compromised, would he bring the wedding forward? That might be worth it.
But knowing him, I’d just end up with a long lecture on proper decorum, and worse, he might restrict Luca’s visits.
Definitely too risky.
I steal a glance at Luca. He waves off the waiter standing in the corner, and the man slips out through a side door.
Luca’s eyes flick to mine and lock on. There’s something wicked in his gaze, a glint of mischief that coils heat low in my core.
Without a word, he reaches into his bag and pulls out an iPad, handing it to Mari. She takes it from him with a wide grin, herexcitement palpable.
It’s clear he’s got a plan, and every step, every detail is mapped out. It’s part of his charm, this methodical precision, like nothing is left to chance.
“Are all the movies I wanted on there?” she asks, her fingers almost trembling with anticipation.
“Of course,” Luca responds with that edge of competent self-satisfaction I’ve come to recognize. Mari’s smile stretches impossibly wide, and Mia, sitting beside her, claps her hands together.
Father doesn’t allow us to watch movies. Something about not wanting us to have unreasonably high expectations. More likely, he doesn’t want us to see what a normal life outside the Mafia could be like.
With my sisters distracted, Luca stands, his chair scraping softly against the floor.
“Let’s go,” he murmurs, his voice barely more than a breath. Yet, it’s enough to send a jolt of electricity through me.
My heart skips, then stumbles into a faster rhythm. He takes my hand and I follow him, my feet moving of their own accord, my body already betraying me.
I make sure my steps are quiet and careful, like we’re both shadows slipping away unnoticed. There’s a heady rush in the secrecy of it, in the knowledge that for the rest of our time together tonight, it’s only us.
His hand tightens around mine as we slip out of the dining room. Luca leads the way through the dimly lit corridors of the restaurant that spill into the adjacent small hotel.
His presence is commanding, his eyes darting to every shadow, every flicker of light, as if he’s scanning for danger, but it’s more than that. It’s how he moves through the world… observant, calculating, never missing a thing.
No one will see us leave; he’ll make sure of it. He throws a quick glance upward as we enter the hotel hallway, a casual assessment, a check for cameras or prying eyes. There are none.
Luca doesn’t slow. He’s focused. He’s leading us somewhere, and I’m following, glued to him as he entices me into the thrilling unknown.
At the elevator, his fingers hover over the button, pausing for a beat as if savoring the moment. The doors slide open silently. It’s like he summoned it with his mind alone.
We step inside, the doors closing smoothly behind us. He doesn’t let go of my hand. Not now. Not ever.
The button for the top floor glows under his touch while the elevator hums to life with a low vibration I feel deep in my chest.
