I swiped my card, trying my best to give the saleslady a genuine smile. That was hard to do nowadays. I fought for happiness that didn’t seem to want to be found.

“You’re going to look beautiful in that—” Thunder interrupted her. She reached under the counter and pulled out a plastic cover with a zipper. “Let’s make sure it doesn’t get wet, shall we?” She put the dress carefully within the garment bag and zipped it closed.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the hanger from her.

“Did you want to call a cab?”

“Nah. I love the rain. I’ll walk. I don’t live far from here.”

Her mouth dropped, but she didn’t say anything else. She only looked toward the entrance at the downpour now happening on the other side.

I smiled and gave her a small wave as I left the store.

Why did everything feel so different? This was my home, but it felt empty, as if I didn’t belong here anymore. Getting back into the groove of things had been hard. I had gone to Destin to get over Russ, but I had returned home with my heart even more broken than when I’d left. That couldn’t be normal. Normal people didn’t have their hearts broken again and again in such a short time frame. It was grounds for becoming a hermit, right? I deserved the right to stay hidden from everyone else to keep it from happening again. It only seemed fair.

The rain poured over me as I walked to my apartment. I loved every minute of it. Storms were one of favorite things now. I rounded the entrance and took the elevator to the third floor. After unlocking the door, I discovered Russ sitting on the couch.

He didn’t look in my direction. “We need to leave in less than an hour, so make it snappy.”

I didn’t bother responding. I crossed the room and went to the bathroom for a shower.

After stepping out, I quickly dried off and started getting ready. A sound came from the other side of the door. I sighed. I should have been happy. Russ had come back to me. He was my reason for being, wasn’t he? The entire cause for my self-discovery trip to Destin. My lower lip trembled as I thought back to everything I had been through. No doubt it was the hardest thing I had ever done. I’d found myself.

But I could feel my reunion with Russ slowly trying to rip through the confident shroud that had newly covered me.

I forced my feet to move. I didn’t want to attend this thing tonight. Work was hard to focus on now. Crunching numbers used to take my mind off anything. I could lose myself in the task. It was something I knew I was good at. But not now. Nothing seemed to help.

I stopped at the door with my fingers wrapped around the handle. The noise had stopped. Russ must have left the bedroom. I twisted, peering out to make sure he was gone. Air rushed from my lungs when I found it empty. I crossed the room with a few steps and held up the dress draped across the bed. It was beautiful. Something I would have never worn before. The towel I had wrapped around me crumpled to the floor, pooling around my feet. I slipped into the silky fabric and turned toward the mirror.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at my reflection. The saleswoman had been right. This dress made me look like a different person. One who had been through hell and come out on the other side standing tall. It fit like a glove, flowing down to the floor. I took a step forward, my leg coming out from the slit that reached the top of my thigh.

“You almost ready to go? You never use to take this long to get ready,” Russ complained, coming into the bedroom. He focused on securing the button at his cuff.

I twirled, stopping to face him. “What do you think?”

He looked at me thoughtfully for a few seconds before answering. “Great.” He snatched his jacket off the bed. “Now can we get going? I was really hoping to make a good impression tonight, and being late isn’t going to get me that.” He eyed me once again as he pulled his arm through the black blazer. “Even if my date is wearing an inappropriate dress that shows off too much.” Without another word, he left the bedroom.

I stared after him, unable to blink. My hands roamed the soft material, and I spent a moment second-guessing wearing it. Maybe it was too much. I realized there were tears in my eyes when I turned to face the mirror again. My reflection was blurred and watery. I dabbed the corners, trying not the mess up the make-up that had taken me so long to apply.

“Should I just leave you here?” Russ asked, popping his head back into the room.

I looked at him questionably. “Should I change?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s fine. Really. Now can we please get going? The party started about thirty minutes ago.” He looked down at his watch, grunting. “It’s going to take us at least another fifteen to get there. And that’s if traffic isn’t backed up.”

I forced a smile, even though I wanted to claw his eyes out for making me feel this way, and followed him to the car without saying a word. Time apart from him made him appear different to me. It was like the veil had been lifted for me to see all the true ugliness that really lay within him.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. Our company had been purchased by someone who needed to outsource their accounting needs. Apparently, it had become too much for their department to take on. This party was a meet and greet for us to basically rub elbows and impress our new owner. Russ disappeared shortly after we got there to talk with a group of men. I roamed around until I found a bar and ordered a drink. Somehow, I managed to find a vacant table and took a seat.

Condensation dampened my fingertips as I held onto the glass, staring at its watery contents. Scattered groups of businessmen and their fake trophy-wives gabbed around me. Their voices and boisterous laughter blended, making a single white noise.

It had been a hell of a month here since I’d been back. No matter how much work I buried myself under, I couldn’t get Destin or him out of my mind. Who knew I would grow so fond of the beach? I silently chuckled. Who was I kidding? Luca was every reason I loved that place.

“Not going to make contacts if all you do is sit there and stare at your drink,” Russ said, standing near me, but not bothering to join me at the table I had been at for the last hour.

I didn’t bother to turn in his direction. I could picture what he was doing. Throwing a hand up, waving at people when he had no clue who they were, smiling like a jackass.

I stood and pushed the chair back. I took a few steps toward the side of the room. “I’m not worried about looking good here. The only reason I came was because you made me,” I said.

“You know what this party needs is a little karaoke from someone I know can rock the hell out of some Cher,” a voice from behind us said.

I froze. Had my mind officially jumped off the deep end? I’d replayed our time together on repeat, so maybe I was hearing things. It wasn’t until Russ turned around that I knew it was real.

Luca was here. Behind me.

I stood there for a few seconds trying to wrap my head around it. My heart pounded as my knees trembled so bad I touched the wall for support. I drew in a shaky breath before I finally turned around. Starting at his feet, my eyes trailed up his muscular frame. A tux had never looked so good before. I stopped when I reached his face and fixed my gaze on his.

“You look breathtaking, Tiny Dancer,” he said with a smile. A hand ran over his mouth. “That dress is something else on you.”

My heart beat harder and melted all at the same time.

“What the hell are you doing here? Don’t you know this is a private event?” Russ spat in his direction. He twirled, his eyes roaming over the crowd. “Where’s security when you need them? I swear, nowadays you can’t get good help. They just let anyone in to events that have a list.”

Luca laughed.

Russ stopped his rant and stared at him. “What’s so funny?”

“You,” Luca said. His smile faded as he took a step in Russ’s direction. “Meet your new owner. Didn’t you even bother finding out who owned the company that purchased yours? Belle Boating Company. Ring a bell? If you enjoy your job, you better leave.”

Russ’s eyes widened and without another word, he stalked away, disappearing in the crowd.

Luca’s attention shifted back to me with an intensity that practically felt electric. In that moment, we were the only ones in the room. I had never seen anyone so clearly. Everything I wanted was in front of me. He licked his lips, staring at me as if I were his prey. I held my breath as he started forward.

He stopped a foot from me and held out his hand. “Can I have this dance?”

I nodded, placing my hand in his. His fingers locked between mine as he guided us across the room and onto the dance floor. In one fluid motion, his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me tightly to him.

I rested my cheek against his chest. “I thought you didn’t dance.”

He ran his nose through my hair as a small laugh reverberated in his chest. “I didn’t. At least not until you.”

I pulled back and looked up at him. “Why me?”

“I finally found someone I want to hold the rest of my life,” he said.

His words shocked me. They collided with any doubt I had about how he had felt regarding us. His hand left mine and found my chin. After pulling it up, he brushed his lips against mine.

I stepped back, coming to my senses. He’d pushed me away at one of the most vulnerable times in my life. How did I know he would stay this time?

“Leigh… what is it?”

He reached for me, and I recoiled.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think it was a good idea for you to come here.”

I ran. I shoved bodies out of my way. They were blurs, figures that hindered my escape. At the lobby, I slowed and bent forward to catch my breath. Without turning around, I knew he was there. A shift in the air occurred the way it always did when he was around. “Go back to Destin,” I said without turning.

His footsteps echoed on the marble tile as he closed the gap between us. “I can’t do that.”

I twirled around, coming face to face with him. “Why not? It wasn’t so hard to leave me the first time.” My voice rose, earning stares from others around us. Tears welled up. I blinked, and they ran freely down until dripping to the floor below. Rage filled me. I wanted to hurt him like he had done me. I fisted my hands and pounded against his chest. “You left me. Why?”

He grasped my wrists, and before I knew it, I was in his arms shaking. He pushed me back into a hallway shrouded by darkness.

“I was a fucking idiot, Leigh. The whole time I was helping you get rid of your fears to become a stronger person, I never stopped to think I had my own demons to face. One, being able to let myself fall in love with someone.” He pulled back, trailing his hand down my face. “But I did, and it scared the shit out of me. I can’t run away from it anymore. I don’t want to. I came to tell you I’ve fallen in love with you.”

All my defenses went down. The militia that was prepared to go to war and battle to keep my heart safe threw in the white flag. Hell, they were all standing there clapping for his speech.

“Lu—” I started, but he obliterated the space between us, and his mouth consumed mine.

My legs almost gave away as he deepened the kiss, coaxing my lips apart with his. His tongue flicked against mine, teasing it playfully. I moaned against his mouth.

He growled, pinning me against the wall with his hips. “You were mine the second I met you.” His kiss dropped to my chin and tapered off down to my neck. “Does that scare you?”

Warm lips traced my collarbone. Words. I needed to speak words. He was making it hard to remember how to speak.

“Absolutely,” I breathed, arching my back.

“Are you ready to face this fear, Leigh?”

“Fearlessly.”

“We’ll see about that.” He drew away from me. Instantly, my body felt chilled in the absence of his heat. His eyes burned into me as he took my hand and led me to the elevator. Once the doors slid closed, our kiss resumed as if it had never been broken. My chest heaved as he pressed against me. I wanted him more than anything.

When the doors finally slid open, I was breathless and almost on the verge of exploding. My hands slid from his shoulders to his neck as he reached under my thighs and jerked me up. My legs wrapped around him as he carried me into the hallway. For a moment, he fumbled with a door and then kicked it the rest of the way open. My back hit the wall, and a second later, my hands were pinned to my sides.

His mouth explored my heaving chest, running his tongue through the crease of my cleavage. His fingers twisted around the straps of my dress and slowly pulled down. He placed feather-light kisses over my bare skin.

“Ohhhhh,” I breathed.

He came back up and ran a finger over my tender bottom lip.

I shuddered.

“Are you okay with this? Are we moving too fast?” he asked.

I blinked, trying to rationalize what was happening. It was the last thing I expected to happen tonight. Him. Here. With me. I was in love with this man.

Every moment spent with him.

Every touch.

Every laugh.

Everything we had been through together.

“I want this.”

A small smile graced his lips before he captured my mouth in a hurried kiss. My feet left the ground as he wrapped me up in his arms. We fell back onto the bed. My fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt but finally managed to push it from his body. My tongue ran across his neck.

A guttural growl escaped from his throat as the thick line of muscles along his midsection tensed.

I trailed my fingers lower and unhooked his pants. Then I pushed them down and wrapped my hand around his length.

His mouth dropped open with a moan. He leaned over, touching his forehead to mine. I tightened my grip, moving it painfully slow. His body bucked. A second later, he slammed into me and rocked back.

In that moment, I knew nothing else mattered but us. Luca was my world now.

* * *

I woke up to the sun streaming across the tangled sheets. My legs were wrapped through his. For a second, I had no idea where my body stopped and his began. My eyes wandered up to his face, which was half-buried in the feather pillow. I pushed his hair away, tucking it behind his ear.

“Mmm…” Without opening his eyes, he smiled, putting an arm around my lower back and pulling me closer to his naked body. “This is how every morning should be. Waking up with you beside me.”

I squeezed my eyes together wondering how that was even going to be possible. He couldn’t stay here forever. In the light, everything became clearer. He would have to go back, leaving me here without him. I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to muster up the courage to ask.

“You don’t live here, Luca. You have a business to run back in Destin. Your life is there with your family and friends. How are you planning on this happening every morning?”

His eyes crinkled in the corners as he opened them. “You always like this in the mornings?”

“Like what?”

“So intuitive about life. The first thing I think about is sleeping for about five more minutes.” He ran a hand along my spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake.

“You haven’t stopped to think about it?” I asked.

“Yes. If you don’t want to move to Destin, then I’ll move here. I’m fine with whatever as long as you’re with me. Now don’t worry about anything.” He closed his eyes again.

“You know there’s one more thing we’ve got to do before that happens.”

His brows pulled inward. “What?”

“You have one last fear to conquer. Small spaces, remember?”

“With you, I have no more fears,” he answered with a smile.