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“I didn’t.”
“You... You didn’t?”
“No. Not at all. I only say things that I mean, Polly, you should know this about me.”
“You mean, you weren’t being a less evolved version of yourself to get your way?”
“Of course I said things in order to get my way, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t mean them.”
“I... Never mind. I’m not sorry.”
“You were quite hurtful.”
“I don’t care.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine. You’re not the first person to say such things to me.”
That, she found, was more bothersome than it had a right to be. That he found her basic, and like everyone else. What a horror.
“I... Let’s go. Let’s just get this over with.”
“You are angry with me,” he said.
“Well spotted.”
She stood up, and just stood there for a moment. “I should change.”
“You don’t have to.”
She was wearing a soft pair of black pants and a matching shirt. “I should.”
“Because it’s a wedding?”
He was wearing a suit.
“No. Because I don’t want to look shabby next to you.”
It was a silly thing to say, because anyone or anything would look shabby standing next to him. Luca Salvatore was nothing if not spectacular at all times.
With that in mind, she disappeared into the bedroom, and procured one of the items of clothing that he had set there. It was a soft blue dress, knitwear, and forgiving. But it was nice, and it flattered her figure, even as it changed. She put on some makeup. A bit of nude lipstick and some shiny eyeshadow. Some blush, because otherwise she was going to look like the corpse bride.
She was marrying him.
And as she walked back out to the living room and saw him standing there in that dark suit, it was like a truth rang inside her, clear and bright as a gong. It wasn’t even that weird that she was marrying him. Because if she was going to marry somebody it almost had to be him.
Because Luca was the single most defining relationship of her life. He had been, even before she had slept with him. He was a man that she was singularly preoccupied with. A man unlike any other. She shouldn’t want to touch him again.
It would be the worst thing in the world to love him.
She reminded herself of that. She didn’t feel quite as much conviction as she had before.
“Now we can go,” she said, eager to move past the moment.
She noticed that Luca’s tie was crooked. Out of habit and impulse she moved forward to straighten it. But when her hands made contact with the fabric, she was far too aware of the heat emanating from his body. The scent of him. The sound of his breathing. She saw about her task, and moved away from him quickly. “There. Everything is right.”
“Yes,” he said, his dark eyes fathomless. “It is.”
They did not touch one another as they departed from the penthouse, and made their way down to the lobby. He opened the waiting car door for her once they got outside, but she managed to avoid his touch even then.