Page 40 of Amore
“I think that answers my question about how you feel.”
“It’s always been you, Franks.” He cupped my cheek and rubbed his thumb across my skin softly.
“Then figure it out. You know I leave for Canada in a couple of weeks. Take this time to deal with work and Candace because I don’t want to jeopardize your career.”
My phone dinged with a text. Luke dropped his hand, and I pulled my phone out of my purse to see it was from Emily.
Emily:I see you were out with the hot cop again.
I groaned, clicking on the link that had a picture of me with my head on Luke’s shoulder at the beach.
“What?” Luke asked.
“Candace might break up with you instead.” I handed him my phone, not needing to read the article because I knew it would say something about me with themystery guyagain.
“Well, shit.”
I sighed, remembering my world was different from his. “This is my life, Luke. I get photographed all the fucking time, and it sucks. How about you take the next six weeks and decide if you can be a part of that world, okay? If you can’t, I get it.”
“The only issue is if they use my name. It’s why I don’t have social media or any shit like that. If I were ever to work undercover, having my name connected with family members could be fatal.”
“And me?” I asked.
Luke blew out a breath and leaned his head against the headrest. “Being with you is a whole other ballgame, Franks. I’ve wanted you since I saw you pull up to the house next door when I was twelve.”
“I still want you,” I admitted.
He smiled, making my belly, my heart, my entire world flip. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, but we can’t do anything because of Candace. I won’t do that to another woman.”
“I understand.”
“So, take this time and figure it out because your name will eventually be linked with mine.”
I wanted to kiss him. To have his lips pressed to mine again. To remember what it was like. But instead, I opened the car door and went to my door. After punching in the code for the lock, I opened my front door and stepped inside. I gave Luke a little wave before shutting the door and disabling the alarm.
Once he was gone, I fed Amore and went to my bathroom to shower off the sand and salty air that had stuck to my hair. When I got out, I dried off, wrapped a towel around my naked body, and opened the door.
Only to come face to face with a masked man.
12
LUKE
I never thoughtI would tell Frankie how I felt, only to have it be that we couldn’t be together. It wasn’t fair to Candace, and I knew it. It made me feel like shit, knowing I would break Candace’s heart, but Frankie was the one I’d always wanted. I’dliterallywanted her since I was twelve years old, and knowing she wanted me too meant I had to pull the trigger with Candace so I could be happy with Frankie.
For the past four days, I tried only to have a working relationship with Candace. We used to spend a few nights together and went to work separately, but I felt I needed to distance myself. I expected her to say something, to call me out and accuse me of cheating on her again, but she never did. She acted as though everything was perfectly fine between us. I found it strange and out of character for her, but maybe she knew it was time we moved on from each other.
Or that my heart belonged to another woman.
Stopping at a light, I reached for my phone to text Candace that we needed to talk, only to see notifications for Frankie’s cameras had come through.
There is motion at your Backdoor
There is motion at your Right Side of House
There is motion at your Front Door
