Page 82 of His Kidnapped Queen
Luca swings his legs to one side of the bed and panic rises in my throat.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to take care of some things.”
I swallow hard. “Be careful."
Luca smirks at me, turning his head slightly to look at me.
“Are you worried about me, pixie?”
“N-no,” I lie. “Just don’t want to be stuck here if something happens to you.”
“Lovely,” he murmurs, but he doesn’t look hurt. He looks…happy, really.
But why would me worrying about him make him happy? He hates my guts. Doesn’t trust me.
And really, he has no reason to. Everything I find out is going into a report to send to my superiors. Right? I’m still working.
But my mind hasn’t been on the job since I got taken. When I’m not worried about Rosa, the only thing I can seem to think about is Luca.
He gets dressed and I pout up at him, but he leaves nonetheless, giving me a slight half-smile that makes him look a decade younger.
I keep staring at the door after he leaves, blowing my bangs out of my face.
Now I have to figure out how to occupy my time all alone. As if he read my mind, Diego slides a worn paperback under the door.
“Mansfield Park?Really? Wouldn’t have pegged you as an Austen fan,” I call through the door.
“M’not,” he mutters. “More of a Bronte sisters fan, but this one was pretty good.”
It’s one of the only Austen books I haven’t read, so I sit in the middle of the bed, cross-legged, and try to lose myself in the pages.
“She really should have ended up with the other guy,” I complain through the door after I finish a few hours later.
Diego barks out a laugh. “Who, the womanizer?”
“She could have changed him.”
“Oh, you’re one of those ‘I can fix him’ types,” Diego drawls and I huff, taking offense to that.
“Not exactly. I think all people are broken.”
“That’s a pretty nihilistic way to look at the world. You hungry?”
I don’t answer and the deadbolt clicks open and he swings wide the door.
“Why am I asking? You’re always hungry.”
“Are you calling me fat?”
“No,woman, I’m not calling you fat,” he groans, and I can’t help but grin.
Diego is fun to be around after you get to know him a little.
Reminds me of Scott, in a way, except a lot more, well, straight.
“You and Luca grew up together, right?” I ask once Diego has me sat at the island, watching him cook.
