Take Your Time (Boston Love #4)(10)

I swear, everyone in the building was screaming at the top of their lungs, but in that moment, just before someone clapped Luca on the back in congratulations and he finally looked away, my world went totally quiet. Everything in my existence narrowed to a single, ludicrous thought. A sole, insane desire.

I want this man.

I made up my mind right then, to go after him. To do what I always do — reel him in, chew him up, then spit him out as soon as I’d had my fill. Just looking at him, I knew it would be the most satisfying meal of my life…

Or, it would’ve been.

If not for the fact that, ten minutes later, he walked straight up to my gaggle of girlfriends to say hello to Nate and Phoebe… and I felt my heart plummet like a stone as I learned he was already a part of my extended friend group. One of the Knox Investigations “boys” who worked security for Nate, not to mention best friends with Zoe, the girl Phoebe’s brother Parker just so happened to be in love with.

Luca Buchanan was intractably intertwined with my life before I ever met him.

Just my luck.

My plans of seduction flickered and died faster than my middle school goth phase because, if there’s one unbreakable dating rule I live by, it’s that you never, ever, ever date someone you’re friends with. (Also, that no one can pull off that excessive-eyeliner look except Avril Lavigne.)

Still, my point remains: dating a friend — or a friend of a friend — never ends well for either of the parties involved. In fact, it pretty much contradicts my entire philosophy — that a typical Lila Sinclair relationship should never exceed the lifespan of a common house fly. Or the shelf life of a gallon of milk.

When you hook up with a friend, there’s no way to extract yourself gracefully after that blissful, month-long honeymoon phase starts to wane. It makes the latter part of love him and leave him damn near impossible to pull off without serious collateral damage.

So, though it damn near killed me… I shoved my dreams of Luca Buchanan into the farthest, darkest corner of my mind, and did what any logical girl would, in this situation: avoided him like the plague in any and all social situations where our paths might cross.

It’s simple enough, in theory. If I know in advance that he’ll be at a party, I stay away. When we do wind up in the same room, I quickly make my excuses and disappear, before he can say so much as hello or do something crazy, like look at me directly with those damn intense eyes of his.

Like I said… simple enough in theory. Despite my best efforts, sometimes seeing him is unavoidable. Especially these days, since he seems to be popping up more often than ever.

Last month, for instance, when Gemma and Chase invited everyone over to their penthouse for a game night, Luca showed up unexpectedly… and I knocked over the entire Jenga tower while scrambling to find my car keys and get the hell out of there before someone could suggest a round of Twister. Everyone yelled their goodbyes as I practically bolted for the elevator…

Except Luca.

He stared at me in total silence, something dangerous simmering in his eyes as I skirted around him, leaving enough space between us to fit Phoebe’s bachelorette party bus. As though he just knew those Jenga pieces scattered all across the floor were somehow correlated to his presence.

Smooth, Lila.

Then, two weeks ago, at one of Phoebe’s dinner parties, Luca actually managed to corner me in the kitchen when I got up to refill my glass. One minute I was innocently pouring water and the next, every molecule in my body was buzzing because someone standing far too close to my back muttered just one word in a tone full of dark promise.

“Delilah.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I whirled around to find Luca leaning against the kitchen island, arms crossed over his chest, staring at me like one of those indecipherable IKEA instruction manuals. Pulse pounding, I did the only thing I could think of — shoved the pitcher of filtered water in his direction with a snappy, “Oh, did you need a refill, too?”

Without waiting for his response, I promptly turned away… and walked straight into the still-open refrigerator door.

So, so smooth.

Of course, I fell flat on my ass in a puddle of water with a bang loud enough to bring the entire party running. Luca helped me to my feet in silence while the rest of our friends laughed uproariously at the sight of me, half-soaked and full-humiliated. Pulling quickly out of his grasp, I mumbled a thank you in his general direction without making eye contact, then went home to change my pants… and gather my what little remained of my dignity.

I didn’t think things could possibly get much worse between us… until last night. Most of which I don’t remember, though that may honestly be for the best given my track record when it comes to Luca. I’m not entirely sure what I said to him in my highly intoxicated state, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d say the interaction likely didn’t earn me any goodwill points.

He already thinks I’m the rudest person alive after the way I’ve treated him. Hell, I am the rudest person alive after the way I’ve treated him. But it’s not like I’ve had any other choice. Because, no matter how much I wish things were different…

Luca is off the table.

Absolutely.

Indefinitely.

Irrevocably.

I just have to try to remember that when he arrives to rescue me from jail in a few minutes like my goddamned personal guardian angel.