Dirty Letters(27)

My heart nearly stopped at the sight of her. Her beautiful, gigantic eyes seemed to be staring through to my soul, causing me to completely blank on what to even say. I had to think quickly and opted not to out her just yet. I wanted to see where this would go if I didn’t immediately come clean—namely whether she knew “Cole” was me.

“You realize it’s illegal to park here, don’t you?” I finally said.

She swallowed and forced out words. “Who are you?”

While I couldn’t be 100 percent certain she knew it was me, I suspected based on her apparent nerves that she did.

“I’m Cole Archer.” I pointed behind me. “My property is right over there.”

Her eyes seemed to be examining every inch of my face. “Oh.”

Beautiful, beautiful Luca.

Wow.

It’s really you.

I wanted to pull her into my arms and devour her plump lips, swallowing up all of those nerves. Instead I said, “You should move the vehicle before someone calls the police.”

She shook her head. “Oh yeah . . . sure. We can do that.”

“Going right now,” the old man said as he jumped up from his spot in the back. I hadn’t even noticed him until he spoke.

He moved into the driver’s seat.

I’d only told them to move as my excuse for coming out here. I didn’t want them to actually move, because then what? I could lose her.

Before he was about to turn the ignition, I held out my hand to stop him. “Wait.”

He looked over at me, expecting more.

Think.

“I . . . suppose there’s no harm in what you’re doing, just parking here. I can’t guarantee that no one else will call the police, but you’re good with me. Stay here as long as you like.”

Luca blew out a relieved breath. “Thank you. We really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Our eyes were stuck like glue to one another as I nodded. “Very well, then.”

I turned around and headed back toward my house, shaking my head at this predicament.

Although I’d wanted so badly to take her into my arms and tell her I knew who she was, it was easier said than done. I was also hoping she’d fess up to me, but she never did. While I was now fairly certain she knew who I was based on the way she looked at me, I also couldn’t be 100 percent sure.

I had a lot of questions. Did she maybe recognize me as Cole Archer and not know that it’s really me? Could that also explain the reaction? Was she still looking for Griffin? Or worse, did she realize that I was Cole and then decide that she wanted a piece of me just like everyone else? That didn’t sound like Luca, but honestly neither did this entire road trip she’d embarked on. I was so goddamn confused. I felt like the only way I could really learn if she wanted me for me was to continue this charade a little longer. If I told her the truth too soon, I might never really know her true intentions.



I spent the rest of that afternoon looking out the window at the RV parked in the distance. I’d made a few calls to ensure the cops didn’t have them removed. I couldn’t understand why she’d come all the way to California if she didn’t plan on telling me who she was. Then again, I’d completely blown my own opportunity to bare all.

If I knew Luca, she was second-guessing everything, stuck as to how to handle this just as much as I was. I needed to draw her out, make it easier for her to open up to me. There was no way I was letting her leave California before getting to explain myself properly. Jesus. She’d come all the way out here, despite her agoraphobia. That really spoke volumes about how much she needed to find out the truth.

I had to go out there before she made a rash decision and left. It would be nice if I took off my damn bathrobe this time.

After replacing the robe with a halfway decent shirt, I once again passed my very confused security guard and headed down the road to where the RV was parked. She’d never agree to go anywhere in public with me, and given her issues, I wouldn’t put her through the hell of having to deal with paparazzi. But I needed to get her alone, maybe even have a little fun before I pulled the lid off everything tonight.

There was only one way to handle this clusterfuck and that was to wing it.

I knocked on the RV and waited.

Luca opened the door, once again looking flustered.

I waved. “Hey. Me again.”

She blew out a breath. “You again . . .”

“I just wanted to apologize if my knocking on your door earlier was intrusive.”

“Oh . . . uh . . . not at all.”

“What brings you to the neighborhood?”

She looked back at her friend, then said, “He and I are on a road trip. This looked like a nice, safe place to stop.”

“I’m sorry, I was so rude earlier that I didn’t even get your name?”

“My name? I’m . . .” She hesitated, then looked to her left. “Mirada. And this is my friend Chester.”

“Mirada . . . ,” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you. Welcome to California. I’m Cole.”

I held out my hand, and she took it. Touching her for the first time felt electric.

“Nice to meet you, Cole.”

“What are your plans while you’re here?” I asked.