Chapter 44
“Luca,” Amber called out as she found her ex-husband in his study, sitting at his desk, absorbed in his laptop. The afternoon sun spilled in through the windows, casting soft light across the room, but she couldn’t shake the tension between them. “Could you watch Nico for the afternoon, please? I have to run an errand. I was going to take him with me, but I’m going to the hairdresser, and he might get bored just waiting for me.”
Luca didn’t immediately look up, but when he did, his gaze was playful. A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, and he tilted his head with that familiar glint in his eyes. “Getting a new style?” he asked, his voice low and teasing.
Amber’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of that look—the same one he’d given her three years ago when they first met, when he’d swept her off her feet with that flirtatious charm. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory, and she forced herself to focus.
“No,” she replied, trying to sound casual, though her pulse was quickening. “I was thinking of chopping it off, up to my ears. It’s easier to manage that way when….” And there it was once again, the open ended sentences and the never ending following silences, that had started to scare him like nothing had scared him in his life.
But he knew the answer now. He knew what to do when his heart ached like this. When his heart felt like it would burst open with pain and fear. He just needed to stop thinking of what could happen, and make something beautiful happen instead. He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor, and in one smooth motion, moved toward her. Amber froze for a second, her breath catching in her throat.
Before she could react, Luca was right in front of her. His hand reached for her face, cupping her cheek with a tenderness that contrasted the intensity in his eyes. Then, without warning, he leaned in, his lips crashing against hers. The kiss was nothing like what she expected. It was urgent, filled with longing, and yet there was something raw and desperate in it, as if he needed this to survive.
Amber’s mind went blank.
For a moment, Amber was lost. She felt herself sinking into the kiss, swept away by the intensity. The world around her faded; Luca’s touch, the warmth of his hands on her face, the familiar taste of him—it was all she could feel. Her resolve crumbled, her mind growing hazy as the barriers between them dissolved. Just for a second, she wanted nothing more than to give in, to forget everything that had made this feel so wrong.
But then, like a shock to her system, a small voice pierced through the haze.
“Mummy! Someone’s ringing the bell!”
Nico’s voice jolted her back to reality, shattering the spell Luca had cast over her. She pulled away abruptly, pushing him back as if she’d been burned. She stepped back, her cheeks flushed, her heart racing, and she could hardly believe herself. She was torn between embarrassment and frustration, every rational thought rushing back with an overwhelming wave of shame.
What was she thinking? This was Luca. The same man she’d promised herself she’d never fall for again, the one she’d vowed to keep at a distance for the sake of her own sanity—and for Nico. Yet, in a single moment, she had nearly thrown all of that aside, letting herself slip into a place she had no business returning to.
Damn! She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to facepalm as she felt the shame and frustration seep into her. She wanted to sink into the floor, to just sit down and bury her face in her hands. The air between them felt heavy and charged, but she wouldn’t look at him.
Amber barely held herself together, gathering the shreds of her composure before turning on her heel and practically fleeing the room. Behind her, Luca wore a smug grin, as if he knew the effect he’d had on her. She didn’t dare look back.
The hallway felt suffocating, but the sight awaiting her beyond Luca’s study was somehow even worse. Just when she thought the morning couldn’t unravel any further, there, clustered outside the door, stood the entire De Santis clan.
A rush of cold swept over her. For a brief second, her hands trembled as they reached for the door handle. The familiar, icy intimidation of the family she'd once been part of loomed over her. She took a steadying breath, forcing herself to push away the fear and shame still lingering from that kiss. Her mind was spinning, replaying the moment, the weakness she’d shown, the compromise she’d almost made. But she forced herself to focus, to put on a hardened front.
What could they possibly take from her now? She’d already lost her dignity at the hands of this family, her dreams of a family, her husband. She felt stripped down to nothing, hollow, and that made her oddly invincible. They could take nothing more. There was no ground left for them to pull out from under her.
Amber crouched down to Nico’s level, her voice soft but firm. “Nico, sweetheart, go to your room, okay? Stay there until I come get you.” The little boy, oblivious to the tension building in the house, nodded with a smile and bounded up the stairs. She watched him disappear, her heart sinking, knowing what was coming next. It was about to be anything but pleasant.
She muttered under her breath, “Nothing involving more than four De Santises ever ends well. It’s a circus.”And she had had plenty of experience of that.
Amber steeled herself and opened the door just in time to see Luca approaching, his expression shifting from surprise to one of determination. One by one, they all began filing in: not only the De Santises but the Forentinos as well. A whole battalion. Amber’s pulse quickened. Suddenly it was all clear: all hell was about to break loose.