Page 12 of Luca (Big Hot Alphas 3)

And on and on it goes.

I know it shouldn’t affect me. I know they’re just stupid comments. But each one feels like a little stab to the chest.

I thought I was stronger than this. But the truth is that nothing prepares you for two thousand comments from other women lusting over the guy you’re dating.

“Quinn?”

When I look up at Dani, she frowns at me.

“Hey,” she says. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I say. “I’m glad the photo’s so popular.”

She squints at me. “No. Something’s up.”

I close the browser tab and sigh. “I have to get back to work, Dani.”

“Nope,” says Dani, swiveling my computer chair for me. “Come on. Let’s go get a coffee and talk.”

Chapter Five

Luca

I’m walking out of a lecture hall with some classmates when my phone goes off.

“See you guys later,” I say, giving them a quick wave as I part from the group. I press my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Luca?” a voice says. “This is Dani Harlow. The producer from the photoshoot you recently did?”

“Oh, hey,” I say.

“Is now an okay time to talk?” she asks.

“Sure. Everything turn out fine with the photos?”

“Yeah. The photos are great. I’m actually calling for another reason. A personal one.”

My footsteps slow. “Is Quinn okay?”

“She’s fine,” Dani says quickly. “I mean, she’s not hurt or anything. But…look, normally I never get involved in other people’s relationships. But in this case, I feel like I need to say something. Because it’s obvious to me that you and Quinn have something really special.”

“We do,” I say. I’ve slowed to a complete stop. “What’s going on, Dani?”

She sighs. “Okay. So. We uploaded one of the photos from your shoot on our company’s Instagram account this morning. And it went viral.”

“Okay…” I say, unsure where this is going.

“The photo didn’t just get a bunch of likes. It got a ton of comments, too. And when Quinn started reading those comments…well, it really affected her. She and I had a long talk about it, and I guess the comments made her feel really insecure. I tried to reassure her that what the two of you have is solid, but she just kept spiraling.”

“Fuck,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck.

“I know this is between you two, but…is there anything I can do to help?”

I look around, feeling at a loss for once in my life.

Then it comes to me.

“Actually, there is a way you can help,” I say.

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