Her pace quickened, her sneakers slapping against the floor with increasing urgency. By the time she reached her apartment door, her breathing was shallow. She fumbled with her keys for a moment, then unlocked the door and pushed it open.
The moment she stepped inside, her purse dropped onto the small table by the entrance, and her eyes immediately caught something that made her freeze. Two people were in the living room: Luca, sitting casually on the couch, and a woman in his arms. A crying blonde woman.
Amber’s chest tightened as recognition hit her like a freight train. Carlotta Forentino.
Her brain momentarily blanked. Carlotta was clinging to Luca as though her life depended on it, her sobs muffled against his chest. Luca’s hand was resting awkwardly on her shoulder.
The room seemed to tilt for a moment before Amber’s anger and disbelief surged to the forefront.
What the hell is going on here?
Chapter 58
Amber froze, blinking rapidly as if the scene before her might vanish if she just willed it hard enough. But no, it remained painfully vivid: Carlotta Forentino, leaning into Luca’s broad shoulder, his arms encircling her protectively as she cried.
“Oh, Luca, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Carlotta whimpered between sobs, her voice trembling.
Amber’s stomach churned, her initial shock quickly giving way to a white-hot anger. Before she could think better of it, words spilled out, laced with bitter sarcasm. “I’m sure Luca will tell you exactly what he wants you to do... once you’re inside the bedroom.”
Her voice cut through the air like a whip, startling both Luca and Carlotta. They jumped apart as though burned, their startled gazes snapping toward her. Carlotta hastily wiped her tears with the sleeve of her blouse, looking embarrassed, while Luca’s expression darkened instantly.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Amber,” he said sharply, his tone laced with irritation. “There’s nothing going on.”
Amber let out a dry laugh, though the sound cracked slightly at the edges. “Not yet, clearly,” she shot back, each word dripping with disdain. She crossed her arms, trying to keep her trembling hands hidden as she forced a mask of sarcasm over the raw ache swelling in her chest. “But could you kindly keep your nothing out of my house?”
The room was thick with tension. Amber couldn’t even look at them for long, her gaze flickering to the door as if she might bolt at any moment. She felt like a stranger in her own space, an unwelcome intruder in a scene she had no desire to witness.
“Amber, stop,” Luca said, his voice tight with anger now. “You’re being rude and obnoxious for no reason. Carlotta is here because she’s my friend.”
Amber scoffed but bit her tongue. She didn’t want to engage anymore, didn’t want to prolong this unbearable moment. The thought of arguing with Luca, or worse, hearing whatever explanation he thought might justify this situation, made her stomach twist painfully. She needed him out of her sight. Both of them.
“Hi, Amber,” Carlotta’s voice cut through the charged silence, soft and tentative, but steady. Amber turned slightly, her expression guarded, her fingers curling tightly around the edge of the kitchen counter. “I’m sorry for coming to your place uninvited. I... just needed someone to talk to—a shoulder to cry on—and…” Carlotta hesitated, glancing nervously between Luca, who still looked visibly irritated, and Amber, who wore an expression so closed off it might as well have been a wall. “I understand this may have caused even more problems.”
Her words hung in the air for a moment, a quiet apology in a room heavy with tension. Then, as if deciding it was best not to linger any longer, Carlotta said, “I’ll leave now. Excuse me.”
She moved quickly, slipping out the door with an air of quiet determination. The door swung back, left ajar as neither Luca nor Amber cared enough to close it. For a moment, the apartment was filled only with the sound of the soft breeze creeping in through the open doorway. Amber didn’t bother to speak; instead, she headed to the kitchen.
Amber’s hands moved methodically as she prepared a cup of coffee, though what she really wanted was something much stronger—a stiff drink to dull the edges of her simmering anger and confusion. But she couldn’t. Her doctor had strictly forbidden alcohol. Coffee would have to do.
As the coffee machine hummed, she felt Luca’s presence behind her before he spoke.
“You really had no business doing that,” he said, his voice low but firm, the words crackling with anger. “Carlotta is in a tough position right now—because of me. She came here for help, Amber. And you treated her like she was some sort of... scarlet woman caught doing something illicit.”
Amber let out a humorless laugh, her grip tightening on the counter as she spun to face him. “Next time she needs a shoulder to cry on—or decides to do something ‘illicit,’ or whatever you’re calling it these days—take her somewhere else. Not here. Not in my home. Not where my little boy lives.”
Her voice was sharp, cutting, the words laced with a bitterness she couldn’t quite suppress. She couldn’t believe how easily Luca always managed to twist situations until she was the one at fault, the one painted as unreasonable or cruel.
“For God’s sake, Amber!” Luca snapped, throwing up his hands in frustration.
Before he could continue, the sound of someone entering through the still-open door stopped them both. They turned, surprised, as Carlotta stepped back into the apartment.
“I’m sorry,” Carlotta said, her voice steady but her gaze determined as she looked directly at Amber. “I don’t think I want to leave before speaking to you.”
Amber blinked, taken aback. So was Luca, who opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, unsure of what to say.
Carlotta’s eyes softened as they met Amber’s. “Do you think you could step outside with me for a moment? Alone? I really need to talk to you.”
Amber hesitated, glancing toward Luca, who looked just as startled as she felt. The last thing she expected was for Carlotta to want a private conversation. But something in Carlotta’s expression—earnest, almost pleading—made her pause. After a moment’s consideration, she nodded stiffly.