“For our own safety, isn’t that why they’re here?” Luca looks away from the road and stares at me as if he’s trying to read my mind. “Can you please look at the road? You’re making me nervous.”
Luca turns his gaze to the road without saying a word. I look out of the window, watching London pass me by. “You don’t need security.” I look at Luca in confusion, and although he’s not looking at me, he seems to feel my gaze on him. “Not when you’re with me. I’ll keep you safe, Chiara. Maybe safer than you’ll ever be. When you’re with me, you don’t need to be afraid because nothing will happen. I’ll keep you safe.”
Luca stops in front ofThe Wolseley,and as soon as he’s finished talking, he gets out of the car and makes me follow him.
“You know they don’t have valet parking, right?”
“For me, they do!” He says with an arrogant smirk on his face. Then, an employee comes out of the store and walks toward us. Luca hands him the car key and gets in, followed by me.
We sit down at the indicated table and place our orders. “Why are things like this with you?” Luca looks at me, clearly waiting for me to continue my train of thought. “People are always at your disposal. What just happened doesn’t generally happen.”
“People know who I am, and they respect that!” I look around and see several people looking in our direction, several whispering, and I feel my cheeks burn.
“Do they respect you or fear you? What are they saying?”
“Either one works for me! And It doesn’t matter what they’re saying. It’s not relevant. They’re just people, people you don’t know. What difference does it make?”
“It doesn’t, I think, it’s just uncomfortable!” I feel Luca’s gaze burning into me. I raise my head and look in his direction. He’s serious and cold.
“I can sort it out right now if you want. No one will dare to comment or look at you. I’ll make sure of that.”
I feel a shiver run down my spine at the tone of voice used. “You sound really scary when you talk like that!”
“I’m scary. You should know by now that I’m not Prince Charming!” he says, taking a sip of his black coffee, just like his heart, I presume.
“I think you’re more suited to the role of the villain!” I say, waiting for a reaction from Luca, who looks at me with his usual cold, expressionless face. And I wonder if that face is capable of carrying warmth.
“I’ve never denied it or will deny it. It’s who I am, and I won’t apologize for it.”
“I didn’t ask you to!” I grab my cappuccino and take a sip, feeling Luca’s gaze on me. I ignore his stare and grab a piece of pancake.
“You should learn self-defense!” I finally raise my gaze, putting all my attention on him.
“I know how to use a gun perfectly!”
“A gun may not be enough. You need to know how to fight in case you become unarmed.”
I rolled my eyes and saw him clench his jaw, probably irritated by my gesture. “I’m going to find a combat academy.”
“They are useless. They don’t prepare you for a real fight!”
“So, should I learn from Paolo or Francesco then?” Luca looks into my eyes, trying to read me.
“No, I’ll take care of your training during your school break.”
“Why? They can at least start preparing me!”
“I won’t let anyone get any closer than necessary to my future wife!” He says with a possessiveness tone that I didn’t know existed in Luca. Then I realize that I know nothing about him.
“Luca, how old are you?” I ask quietly, feeling his eyes onme.
“Twenty-one, Chiara!”
I nod and continue to enjoy my brunch without being able to stop glancing furtively at him. After we’d finished, we went home without saying a word to each other. We get into the elevator, and for a moment, it feels like the air has evaporated; Luca is looking at something on his phone and isn’t remotely interested or paying attention to me, and I find myself wondering if this is a glimpse of my future life.
I enter the apartment to see my friends sitting on the sofa eating pizza; both of them look at me with a strange expression and suddenly freeze, looking in my direction. I stop to look back and see Luca staring at the whole situation with a disgusted face.
“Ladies, this is Luca, my fiancé,” I say uncertainly, not knowing if this is the right way to introduce him. “Luca, these are my best friends, Aurora and Leticia.”
