door startled me as heat trickled through my veins. Luca was flirting with me—at least, I think he was.
When he climbed inside, he ran a hand through his thick, dark hair and flashed me another blinding smile. “Coffee? It’ll be a five-minute detour.”
“Sure, I have five minutes.” I enjoyed his company, the easy banter, and those warm smiles.
Luca—
“What’s your surname?” I blurted out, realizing I didn’t know.
“Luca Bianco. And you are?”
“Nora.” I smiled. “Nora Abato.”
“Well, Nora Abato,” he fired up the engine, “let’s get you coffee and then to class.”
Luca insisted on driving me to the parking lot right beside my building. I’d arranged to meet Arianne and sure enough there she stood with Nicco and Matteo.
A deep frown crossed her expression as she made her way over to us.
“That’s… the Capizola—”
“Arianne,” I corrected Luca who looked a little starstruck.
Dejection flashed through me. It was silly. Arianne was somewhat of a local celebrity and I was no one. But I knew that starry-eyed look Luca was wearing. He was already bewitched by my best friend and they hadn’t even officially met yet.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice. Shouldering the door, I climbed out, expecting Luca to stay put. Only, he didn’t.
“Nora, what’s going on?” Ari asked me.
“I was running late, so Luca gave me a ride,” I said.
“Luca? The new neighbor.”
“Hey,” he joined us. “I’m Luca. Luca Bianco.”
“And she’s married.” Nicco wrapped his arm around Arianne, moving her behind him ever so slightly.
“Whoa, man. I know, I was just… okay, that sounded all wrong. I apologize. I’m Luca.” He thrust out his hand at Nicco. “Nora’s new neighbor.”
“You give all your neighbors a ride to class?” Matteo asked, and Nicco ignored his hand.
I shot them both a hard look, Luca let out a strained chuckle. “I can see I’ve got my work cut out for me. It’s okay though, I like a challenge.”
“And just what are your intentions for our… Nora”.
“Matt,” Ari scolded him.
“What? It’s not like we aren’t all thinking the same thing.” He shrugged.
I wanted to be pissed at him, and part of me was. But I couldn’t deny it felt nice witnessing his big brother routine. It made me feel like a part of their inner circle.
“You guys know I just moved into La Stella, right?” Luca’s gaze flicked to mine and I gave him a weak smile.
“They know.”
“So, I’ve been vetted.”
“Okay, okay.” I threw up my hands in exasperation. “This is just getting weird now. Luca offered to give me a ride because I was late for class and MU was on his route.”
“Where do you work?” Nicco asked, still holding Ari protectively at his side.
“At VC Marketing Solutions.”
He frowned. “Isn’t that on the other side of the neighborhood?”
“What?” I looked up at Luca, feeling my cheeks heat. “You said it was on your way.”
“I… uh, I may have told a tiny white lie.”
“But why would you do that?” My brows knitted.
“I—”
The blare of Nicco’s cell phone cut the air like a knife and I averted my gaze, feeling stripped bare sharing this strange moment with Luca… in front of my best friend, her overprotective husband, and his best friend.
Nicco barked into the phone before kissing Ari and stalking off to give himself some privacy.
“I should go.” Luca touched my arm, startling me.
“Uh, yeah… sorry.” My eyes flicked over to where Nicco was shouting into his cell phone. “Thanks for the ride,” I said, finally giving Luca attention.
“Anytime.” He smiled. “It was nice to meet you all, even if slightly weird.”
“You too,” Ari said, but Matteo simply frowned.
He was especially grumpy today, which was weird, because the guy was usually a hoot.
I went to walk Luca back to his car, but he held up his hands. “I’ll see you around, Nora.”
With a wink, he jogged back to his car, climbed inside and drove off.
“I don’t like him,” Matteo said the second he was gone.
“Funny, I didn’t ask.” I poked my tongue out at him.
“So what’s his deal?”
We began to walk toward the building, leaving Nicco on his call.
“Who Luca? He moved in across the hall.”
“So he’s interested?”
“Interested?” I balked. “I hardly know him.”
“Matt, stop.” Ari laced her arm through mine. “He seems… nice.”
“But?” My narrowed gaze slid to hers.
“He’s…”
“An outsider?” A derisive sigh escaped my lips. “You know, I’m not exactly part of the gang either.”
“Nora, that’s not—”
Just then, Nicco came back.
“Everything good?” Matteo asked.
“It will be.”
The air turned thick with the dark cloud circling Nicco.