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It’s my turn to shake my head as I take the chair across from her. “Nothing he said would keep me away from you, Luciana.”

The catch in her eyes and the heat that flows from them is enough to have me planting my feet firmer against the floor. I want to grab her again.

“Chase can be very convincing.” Now she’s coy, but I get it. She needs to hear the words from me.

“He can be, but this is not the first time I have had a talk with one of your brothers about you. Last time, I was willing to stay away because I didn’t know where you stood. Now, we are on the same page.”

“Physically, anyway.” Her gaze sharpens as if she’s weighing my reactions and responses.

“Yes, physically, but I think it’s more than that. Don’t you?”

She nods. “I just wonder what more means to you, Ollie.”

“It won’t be just sex with us. I like you more than that.”

“Me too, but we have to talk about Ayla.”

My stomach drops because this is where the recipe typically falls apart. “What do you feel about her?”

She frowns. “She’s the sweetest and smartest girl I know, along with my niece. There’s not a drop of malice in her. Who wouldn’t love her to pieces? I know I have since the moment I met her.”

And God, there’s nothing else she could have said to make my heart feel this way. “Is there a but?”

She shakes her head and smiles. “Just that I don’t want to hurt her or Bron.”

The relief is so fast I smile. “Then we see eye to eye. How about we take it slow to see how things go at first, and when we are finally ready, we can tell her and everyone that we are seeing each other?”

She doesn’t say anything in the beginning but then nods. “What do we tell her in the meantime? Won’t she notice we are hanging out?”

“We don’t have to say anything. We can just see each other and get to know each other better and get her familiarized.”

“How is she supposed to get to know me better if she’s not spending time with me?”

And this is where I’m stumped, because normally, women are so relieved not to have to deal with her up front, but Lux is different. I want her to be different.

“We can hang out with her and Bron, and you can keep seeing her like you do.”

She says nothing, but I can almost see her thoughts clicking. “Yeah, that’s a good way, and I also don’t want the world to know I’m seeing anyone for a bit. After last time, I’m so sick of everyone knowing all there is to know about my relationships.”

“I need to know, Lux. Are you still hung up on Mateo?”

Her eyes lock on mine as she answers, “No. That’s been over for a long time. I want to give myself a new chance with you.”

Something shifts in my chest. “Yeah?”

She smiles, this time brighter than the sun itself. Then, it vanishes as a cloud passes over her eyes. “What about you? Are you still hung up on Ayla’s mom?”

“No.”

“What about any other woman? You were talking to someone on the phone at one point. The day I fired you.”

She didn’t miss that.

“Not talking to that person anymore. We broke up, and she was regretting how things ended. There’s no baggage from that brief relationship.”

Her face is impassive. She’s studying me, trying to gauge if I’m being honest. Her gaze stays on me, and I don’t move, flinch, or break eye contact.

She nods. “Okay, then, let’s give ourselves a chance.”