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But his lips are inches from mine, and I can feel his breath on my face, and—
The sharp ring of his phone makes us both jump. Crystal’s name flashes on the screen.
Reality crashes back like a harsh wave. I step back quickly, putting the kitchen island between us.
“You should get that,” I say, proud that my voice only shakes a little.
He looks at the phone, then at me, conflict clear on his face. “Lila—“
“It’s fine.” I force a smile. “Really. Thank you again for fixing Agatha.”
He answers the phone reluctantly, still watching me. “Hey, Crystal... Yeah, I’m just leaving Lila’s. The band had dinner...”
I turn away, unable to watch as he talks to her. My hands shake slightly as I finish wrapping thepie.
After hanging up, he says, “I should go. Crystal’s father is having some kind of emergency meeting.”
“Of course.” I keep my voice light and casual. “You should leave.”
Luke freezes, his expression unreadable. I think he might object for a second, but then he nods, stepping back. “Yeah,” he says, his voice quieter now. “You’re right.”
The air between us is thick, with everything unsaid, and I feel like I’ve just escaped something dangerous and intoxicating all at once.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I say, forcing a lightness I don’t feel.
“Yeah,” he says again, offering me a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Tomorrow.”
After he leaves, I sink onto my couch, pressing my hands to my burning cheeks. I almost forgot about Crystal—his gorgeous, successful—thin girlfriend.
One thing’s clear: I need stronger boundaries. I can’t trust myself around him, not when my heart races whenever he looks at me.
I can still feel the touch of his fingers on my cheek and see how he looked at me right before Crystal called.
Yep. Stronger boundaries. Starting first thing tomorrow.
Six
Luke
The new song’s coming together nicely, but something’s still not quite right. I run through the chord progression again, tweaking the timing while Cass works out vocal harmonies with Vince.
“Maybe if we—“ I start but stop when I notice Nate checking his phone again. “Hot date?”
He shakes his head, eyes still glued to the screen. “Market’s volatile today.”
“You mean more than usual?” Vince sets down his guitar. “What’s happening with that tech stock you were watching?”
“Down six percent.” Nate’s fingers fly over his phone. “But the fundamentals are solid. They’re about to announce something big—I can feel it.”
I shift on my stool, curious despite myself. Nate’s always been the quiet one, more likely to be reading financial reports than partying after shows. But his investment track record speaks for itself.
“Is that the same company you mentioned last month?” I ask.
He looks up, surprised I remembered. “Yeah. They’re developing some revolutionary technology. The stock’s been beaten down because of missed deadlines, but...” He trails off, already back to studying his charts.
“Nate’s got that look,” Vince finishes, grinning. “The same look he had before Tesla split and Amazon exploded.”
“You really think it’s going to pop?” I try to keep my tone casual, but something in my voice must give me away because Nate actually puts down his phone.