Page 82 of Love Arranged

Everyone starts to dig into their food. One taste of mine has me shutting my eyes with a quiet groan, while Lorenzo clutches his fork like it might break free from his hand and make a run for it.

I expected him to socialize with everyone in a setting like this since it’s the perfect natural opportunity, but he seems uncharacteristically quiet.

Underneath the table, I nudge him with my thigh. “You good?”

His Adam’s apple bobs from his swallow. “Yup.”

I take another bite of my food while he watches me out of the corner of his eye.

“What?” I ask when he doesn’t break his stare.

“You feeling okay?”

“Me?” I forget my manners and laugh in the middle of chewing. “Yes. Thankfully it’s not poisoned.”

Between breaks in the conversation with other couples, he shifts some of his dinner around on the porcelain plate without taking a single bite. I’ve spent enough time around Rafa to recognize unique eating habits, although Rafa’s compulsory need to finish everything on Nico’s and his plates is completely different compared to Lorenzo’s inability to touch his food.

I want to ask him more about it, but I’ve experienced enough of Rafa’s embarrassment to understand now isn’t the time nor place.

At one unfortunate point, I accidentally lock eyes with Richard in the process and immediately wish I hadn’t. Lorenzo’s gaze might be cool and detached most of the time, but I’d choose that any day of the week over Richard’s unwanted leer.

Lorenzo seems to sense my discomfort, and his hand reaches for mine underneath the table. After spending the better half of ourdatereminding myself that this is all a show for the town, all it takes is him holding my hand to have my stomach swooping again.

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.” His eyes glance at something over my shoulder, and I turn to find him staring at Richard.

“Ignore him.”

Lorenzo readjusts his hold on my hand and slides his fingers between mine. “Why is he so interested in you?”

I swallow a panicked laugh.

Lorenzo presses his mouth to my ear. “Is he someone you dated?”

I can’t help the incriminating flush that blooms across my cheeks.

A small, hardly noticeable vein appears in his jaw. “When?”

“After the Eros situation.”

He releases my hand and plays with a strand of my hair, teasing my shoulder with the tips of his fingers in the process. “I see.”

My answer appears to spur on Lorenzo, and he packs as much PDA into our date as humanly possible.

He even makes a show of feeding me a bite of panna cotta, and a woman from down the table gushes about it. My taste buds are overwhelmed by the flavors of strawberry and cream, and the custard-like texture practically melts in my mouth as Lorenzo drags the spoon away.

I’m still recuperating from the way he stares at my mouthlike he wants to kiss it, only to be tested yet again when he reaches for the linen napkin and wipes the corner of my mouth with it. My bottom lip tingles when his thumb accidentally brushes over it instead of the napkin, but the feeling fades when I catch Lorenzo winking in the direction of the swooning group of women at the other side of the table.

They’re not the only ones.

We’re only one date into our arrangement and I’m already struggling, so I can’t imagine how I’ll feel once we’re months into fake dating.

I can only hope I escape with my heart still intact.

When Lorenzo doesn’t return from the bathroom after a few minutes, I excuse myself and seek him out. I want to make sure he is okay since he has been tense all night, but all my worries come to a screeching halt when I find Richard and him in a standoff.

The only reason they’re eye level is because Lorenzo is holding Richard up against the wall by the material of his T-shirt. His feet dangle beneath him, the toes of his fancy shoes scraping the tiled surface beneath.

My heart beats wildly in my chest as two people from my past collide. “What’s going on here?”