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CHAPTER NINEThe drive to New York passed in silence I was glad Luca hadn’t tried to hts and sadness Soon skyscrapers rose up around the car as we crept through New York at a glacial pace I didn’t care The longer the drive took the longer I could pretend I didn’t have a new hoot out of the car without a word and Luca took our bags froht to Luca’s aparto but this would be the first time I sahere he lived

I lingered next to the car as Luca headed for the elevator doors He glanced over his shoulder and stopped as well “Thinking about running?”

Every single day

I walked up to him “You would find me,” I said simply

“I would” There was steel in his voice He jabbed a card into a slot and the elevator doors glided open, revealing marble, mirrors and a small chandelier The elevatorWe stepped inside, and nerves twisted my stomach

I’d been alone with Luca last night and during the ride here but the thought of being alone in his penthouse was so? Pretty ainst the an its ascend I wished he’d say so really It would distractupwhich floor ere on We were already on floor twenty and hadn’t stopped yet

“The elevator is private It leads only to the last two floors of the building My penthouse is at the top and Matteo has his apartment on the floor below”

“Can he come into our penthouse whenever he wants?”

Luca scanned my face “Are you scared of Matteo?”

“I’m scared of the both of you But Matteo see you don’t want to do You seem like someone who’s always firmly in control”

“Sometimes I lose control”

I twistedhis eyes That was information I didn’t need to know

“You have nothing to worry about when it co over to e now that I’m married Most of our business takes place somewhere else anyway”

The elevator beeped and caestured for me to step out first I did and i space with sleek white sofas, dark hardwood floors, a lass and metal fireplace, black sideboards and tables, as well as avant-garde chandeliers There was hardly any color at all, except for a few pieces of lass But the entire wall facing the elevator was glass The s opened the vieard a terrace and roof garden, and beyond that skyscrapers and Central Park The ceiling opened up above thearea and a staircase led up to the second floor of the penthouse

I walked farther into the apartment and tilted my head up Glass banisters allowed a clear view of the upper floor: a bright gallery with several doors branching off of it