The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception #2)(71)

She cackled. “I don’t blame you. Lucas is an amazing cook. He’s somehow elevated Abuela’s recipe book to a whole different galaxy. Tía Carmen is always trying to get him to audition for one of those cooking shows.”

I smiled at the idea of Lucas on TV. God, he’d win the damn thing and everyone’s hearts in a heartbeat.

“Oh.” She caught my attention with a waving hand. “Before I forget. Do you have plans for Halloween?”

I grabbed my jacket from the back of my chair. “You know I don’t.”

Lina joined me at the side of the table, her lips twitching with a devious smile. “Well, you might now.” She grabbed her own jacket and slipped her arms in. “Aaron was invited to a—brace yourself—Masquerade Ball. Next Saturday.”

My eyebrows shot up my forehead. “Fancy.”

“It’s really a costume party, but you New Yorkers have a sexy name for everything. Anyway, it’s one of the charity things he gets invited to every year, but never attends. You know Aaron.”

“Yeah, I can imagine how dressing up is not his thing.” Or socializing, in general. “But I’m guessing Aaron is going to RSVP yes to this one? For you?”

“And it barely took any convincing,” Lina bragged, a glint in her eyes. “My husband is kind of the best.”

Her face brightened. Just like it always did when she talked about him.

That sharp bite of longing returned. It was quick but threw me off balance all the same.

Unaware, Lina continued, “The organizing committee was so happy he was attending, that they sent him two extra invitations.”

Oh. “I don’t know, sweetie. I’m—”

“You’re under a deadline, I know.” Lina seemed to consider something. “Did you re-download Tinder? Like I suggested?”

The tips of my ears turned warm. “No, I didn’t. I somehow found a different… method. It’s a long story that I can tell you tomorrow because we’re in… er… a rush now.”

She looked skeptical. “Is it working?”

“Yes,” I confirmed without thinking. Because it was. It so was.

“Then,” Lina pointed out with a smile, “maybe you can afford to take this one night off? Have a little Halloween fun? Fun is good for the mind.”

We started for the exit of the café, and I heard myself say, “You have two tickets, right?”

Lina sighed. “Does that mean you want to bring my cousin?”

I pinned her down with a hard look.

“Are you sure you two are not… doing smoochies? You know you can tell me if you are, right? Even after everything I told you, and even if he’s my cousin and that would be a very gross conversation.”

“We’re not,” I quipped. “And where are you learning all these expressions and euphemisms? They’re either old-school or… weird.”

“I have my ways.” She shrugged. And before getting to the door, she gave me one last glance. “So, Lucas and you are not an item. Right?”

“No,” I answered as casually as I could. “That’s never been in the cards for us, Lina.”



* * *



The first thing I noticed as I walked into the apartment were the two women fussing over Lucas at the stove.

“Hello… everyone?” I greeted the room, getting three head turns—Lucas, our neighbor Adele, and her daughter, Alexia. “This is a surprise. A good one.”

“You’re back,” Lucas said. “Finally.”

Ugh. That finally made me feel so… hopeful, that it almost distracted me from the confident way he strolled in my direction.

When he reached me, he leaned down slightly and said just for my ears, “We have company, as you see. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” I answered, taking notice of how close he was standing. How he towered over me. I swallowed. “Adele is always welcome, you know that.”

His brows furrowed momentarily. “Did my cousin give you a hard time?”

I shook my head. “No, she’s just…” Worried. About me, about you, too. “She means well but the whole thing caught her by surprise. I set her straight, and I didn’t… I didn’t really tell her about the experiment.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say dates. Lucas seemed to notice my hesitation, because a thoughtful expression dimmed the lightness in his eyes.

I watched his gaze trail down my body in almost an absentminded way, as if he wasn’t aware of what he was doing.

“All right,” he said, grabbing the grocery bag I had forgotten I had in my hand. “You’re just in time. I needed to throw these in the pan right now.”

Oh.

That was why he was looking down. That was where the finally came from.

He’d texted me to get some parsley and fresh red chili peppers if I had the chance. He’d been waiting for the ingredients. Not for me.

And that was okay. I didn’t have a reason to be disappointed. I—

Lucas brushed a quick kiss on my cheek, my thoughts coming to a halt at the contact. “Thanks for picking these up,” he said. “Now, come on, dinner will be ready in a minute.”

One moment his lips had been touching my skin, right there, barely an inch from my mouth, and the next, he was striding away leaving me… dumbfounded.