Her face lets me know she doesn’t think I’ll be back, and, if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think so either.
Adrian grabs my hand and leads me back to his car. We don’t speak the entire drive, but my heart pounds rapidly anyway. Nothing is going to happen between us, so why doesn’t my body understand that? The drive to his apartment in Monte Carlo is short. There are lights all around us, and we pass the famous casino. I’ve never been a big fan of gambling, but since I’m moving here, I doubt I can get around going at least once. The city is buzzing with life. People are everywhere, enjoying the spring evening weather as it slowly turns to summer.
Adrian drives into the parking garage of his building, and we walk by a row of expensive cars. Grenzenlos, Porsche, Maserati, any luxury brand can be found here. I let out a low whistle when we pass by a baby blue Bugatti.
“No way,” I blurt out and study the car more closely. Adrian stops and turns toward me, pointing at my camera bag.
“Do you want to take a picture?” he asks with a teasing grin, and I narrow my eyes before giving him a playful glare.
“No, I’ve just never seen a beauty like this one in real life before,” I reply, and he lets out a hurt huff.
“You’ve met me,” he defends, and I stop myself from face-palming my forehead.
“I stand by what I said,” I assure him, and he lets out a groan that makes my heart skip a beat.
“Let’s go before you frustrate me even further,” Adrian points out while we’re walking toward the elevator.
“How am I frustrating you?” I ask as the doors open and we step into the small confinement.
Adrian presses his floor, causing the machine to start up and take us there with a rumbling noise.
“The list is long. Would you like all the reasons or just the top two?” My jaw almost drops, but I manage to catch it before it hits the ground.
“Why are there so many?” I twist my head to study his face, but he’s covering it with his hands.
“Okay, bottom of the list? You’re stubborn in a way that makes me want to shake some sense into you sometimes. You pretend you’re okay when you’re unbelievably overwhelmed. You tease me even though I told you it turns me on. You have so much talent but doubt yourself anyway. And you didn’t talk to me about how much it bothered you to see me with Melanie at the club,” he says, and I struggle to find the breath he knocked out of me.
Adrian leads me out of the elevator and opens his apartment door. We walk inside while I wish I could focus on anything other than his words. He grabs my shoulders before his hands slide onto my neck, causing my eyes to close from his touch.
“Melanie and I slept together once, Nevaeh. She’s very nice, but a little touchy, and thinks she might have another chance with me. She doesn’t. I don’t want her,” Adrian explains, rubbing his thumbs along my cheeks.
My eyelids flutter open so I can look at his sincere expression.
“You don’t have to justify yourself, Adrian. You’re free to sleep with whomever you want. We’re just friends,” I say, but he cocks a brow, not believing me.
“It bothered you anyway, didn’t it?” he asks, and I step out of his embrace. He watches me like a hawk, and my emotions spill out of me before I can stop them.
“Yes, it bothered me. I hated that she touched you. It made me jealous.”
There is no anger in the way he looks at me. If anything, there’s understanding, and that only frustrates me more.
“It bothers me, Adrian, so much, because I have no right to be jealous. We’re friends. That’s all we can be. There you go. All my secrets laid bare for you so you can hate me or be upset with me,” I say and run my hands over my face.
“I also don’t want you to touch anyone who isn’t me, let alone have someone else touch you,” he admits, his hands lifting to my hips to drag me closer.
His mouth falls back down to mine, his lips almost brushing mine when we’re interrupted by the sound of my ringtone filling the room. I take it out of my pocket to turn off the jerk who destroyed what could have been the moment Adrian and I first kissed when my heart sinks into my stomach.
Lincoln’s name flashes on my screen, causing Adrian to step away from me.
“Answer it. He’ll be worried if you don’t,” the Monegasque says before leaving the room.
I hit Answer, concern stretching through me. We haven’t spoken in a long time, and now he calls me. Something’s not right. What if it’s Elena? What if something happened to my parents? Anxiety spreads through me, taking me captive until I’m wheezing out a breath.
“Lincoln? What’s wrong?” I ask, covering my stomach with my hand.
The silence on the other side makes me nauseous.
“‘What’s wrong?’ I’ll goddamn tell you what’s wrong, Nevaeh. You’re in Monaco looking at apartments because you’re moving there and didn’t tell me? Are you kidding me? We don’t speak and you decide to fucking leave the country to avoid me?”
