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“Of course I did” He tucked an errant hair behind her ear “I merely wondered ould finally make them break free”

She paused slightly, but she was growing bolder; dealing with hi to stick up for herself had achieved that She’d learned to trust him a little, and trust was uncharacteristic of her And yes, he drove her crazy when he bossed her around But he also touched her heart when he was gentle with her, as if he already knew her secrets

After years of planning every moment, every aspect of her life, the ability to break out of the box was exciting She wished he’d kiss her again, like he had on the balcony after dinner the other night Like he had just o She looked up and met his eyes boldly “What if I told you it was you?”

His golden eyesbetween them she felt the power of their earlier kiss Swayed closer to him

“Tell ” He broke the connection and faced the work of art

She looked back at it, her heart thudding The opportunity was gone but she hadn’t iined the link between them

She wasn’t sure why this particular painting spoke so strongly to her It wasn’t a painting of anything concrete at all, just a swirl of color It wasn’t of people that reminded her of someone, or le with the color of twilight forether in an ocean of blues And bisecting it, a splash of deep, throbbing red

“It’s peace,” sheshe reached down and took his hand in hers “It’s tranquillity and content heart” When she looked at it, it iven up on long ago Hope was about the future, and she lived day to day Luca would think that silly, she was sure, so she kept the last to herself

Luca sh he was unusually unsettled He’d called her “his” Mari without thinking, and it shocked hiht of her that way He’d meant to share the art with her, but it had become more very quickly and he felt the need to back away The way she’d looked up at hi bells crashing through him

It was all his fault He’d ignored the signs and had told hi in too deep Because he’d sworn not to

He was about casual liaisons, but nothing about his feelings for Mari were simple or casual It was a miscalculation he hadn’t counted on He’d be a liar if he didn’t admit he had looked for an excuse to see her today The kiss last night had affected hi it had affected her, too, seeing her back in for he’d gotten to her, seeing her trussed up in her suit and with her hair pulled back Wearing her battle arht about one thing He did enjoy a challenge