Watching Luca on the couch with Eva, she saw nothing but sharp contrast between him and Jeff. It wasn’t just the difference between Luca’s darkness and Jeff’s All-American good looks. It was a difference on the inside at a biological, maybe even cellular, level.
She’d spent almost no time with Luca at all, but she reacted to him like no other man before. There was an intensity in the way he watched her that got under her skin and made her cheeks turn flame hot. Everything from his commanding presence to his sharp sense of style caught her attention. Even the smell of him was enough to send an unwanted spike of need through her.
Luca was everything she shouldn’t want. He was dangerous. Not in the traditional sense, but she knew she had to watch herself around him. He was a man who was used to people doing whatever he wanted and was willing to take whatever measures were necessary to make it happen. He also seemed like the kind of man who left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Claire was determined that she wouldn’t be one of those women no matter how he made her feel.
They would come to a co-parenting arrangement that suited them both, but that was it. That’s all there could be. Claire would shelve any attraction she had for Luca, and maybe in time she would find a more suitable man to be in her life. Suitable hadn’t done her much good the last time, but she wasn’t about to throw caution to the wind because Jeff decided to stray. He was just one man with his own issues to cope with.
Claire took a deep breath to center herself and looked up to notice Luca was watching her as he held Eva. His gaze flicked over her casually, and yet she could feel the knot inside her belly tighten. She wasn’t misinterpreting this. Luca made it plainly clear that he was attracted to her, as well. It might just be a negotiation strategy to soften her up, but when he looked at her that way, it almost made her feel like resistance was futile.
Luca was a man who got what he wanted. What would she do if he decided he wanted her?
* * *
Two days later, Luca rang the doorbell of Claire’s brownstone and waited for her to answer.
“One second!” he heard her shout from the depths of the house. A pounding of footsteps got louder as it came across the hardwood floors to the door.
“You can take these bags and the playpen,” she started as she whipped open the door, then stopped cold. “Luca?” She flushed that becoming rose color and covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry. I thought you were sending a driver.”
Luca shook his head. He occasionally used one around town to simplify the issues of parking and traffic in Manhattan, but he wanted some privacy and control over how today went. They’d need a car at the beach, and he certainly didn’t want a chauffeur loitering around and interfering on their time together. He was fully capable of driving them and actually looked forward to it. He didn’t get out of the city as much as he’d like these days.
“I changed my mind.” Luca reached down and picked up the bags she had closest to the door. “I’ll go put these in the car.”
She nodded at him, still not quite recovered from his unexpected appearance. “I’ve got Eva’s car seat here. It will take a few minutes to install it.”
“That’s not necessary. I have one in the car, ready to go.”
Claire frowned at him, but Luca simply turned away and headed down the steps with her bags. He knew he shouldn’t enjoy surprising Claire, but he did. She made far too many presumptions about him, and he liked shattering them one by one. As he loaded the bags into the back of his Range Rover, he noticed Claire approaching the car with Eva in her arms. Without saying a word, she opened the back door to investigate the car seat.
She wouldn’t find any flaws with it. It was a top of the line model for Eva’s age and weight. She was facing the proper direction with all the correct support. It was installed per the manufacturer’s specifications. He even added a little mobile that hung overhead from the handle to occupy her while they drove.
Luca didn’t say any of that, though. He simply loaded the bags, returning to the house to pick up a few more before waiting on the sidewalk for her judgment. “Will it suit?” he asked at last.
Claire turned to look at him with a sort of befuddled expression on her face. “Yes, it’s perfect.”
“Don’t look so surprised, Claire. I manage a billion-dollar corporation. I can buy and install a car seat.”
Her mouth dropped open in protest. “I didn’t— I mean, I don’t think that—”
“Are there any more bags that need to go?” he asked, saving her from herself.
“No, that’s all of them. I’ll put Eva in the car seat, and then I’ll lock up.”
From there, it wasn’t long for them to get on the road. Once they got out of the city congestion and onto I-95, it was a smooth, albeit longer, drive. He’d been tempted to book a charter flight out of the heliport, but he knew better than to spring something like that on Claire. She said she didn’t want to fly with Eva, and that meant she certainly wouldn’t want to take a helicopter.
Claire spent the first part of the trip in the back with Eva. When they stopped for a break and some food, Eva had just fallen asleep, so Claire moved to the front. They passed the time chatting about his restaurants and her exhibits at the museum. By the time they drove off the ferry onto Martha’s Vineyard, Luca was anxious to be there already.
“Finally,” he said as he turned into the driveway and stopped to let both of them get a good view of the house. It was a two-story gambrel-style home with strong Dutch influences on the design. It had gray shake siding with white columns and a deck that extended off the second floor. It was charming for a beach cottage. He pulled up beside the front walkway and they got out of the car to investigate further. “Well, what do you think?”
Claire’s mouth was agape as she took in the house, then turned to admire its views of Katama Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. “It’s beautiful. And huge. I can’t believe this is just for us. Your friend doesn’t need it for a whole month?”
Luca shook his head and opened the back of the Range Rover to start unloading. “Gavin works as much as I do. He bought the place so they could spend some time here in the summer. This is early season for the Vineyard, so he wouldn’t be up here for at least a month anyway.”
Claire returned to the car to unlatch Eva’s carrier and take her toward the front of the house. Luca followed with a piece of luggage and the keys to the front door. He unlocked it, swinging the door open for her to go inside ahead of him. They stepped into a small den area with a fireplace and an office. To their left was a staircase. “Gavin says the main living area and master bedroom are upstairs to take full advantage of the views.”
They climbed the stairs ahead of them until they revealed an open concept living area. It really was a stunning place. It had arched white ceilings with wooden beams and windows that gave floor-to-ceiling views of the bay. The furniture was soft and comfortable with the rustic sort of country charm that city people gravitated to while on vacation. While someone in Manhattan wouldn’t think of having a pillow with a rooster on it in their trendy Greenwich Village loft, it was somehow more acceptable out here.
Claire wandered through the large, bright living room to the kitchen that was big enough for a large family to pile in and cook a feast. Six barstools lined the kitchen island, with copper pots hanging overhead. Beyond it was a dining area with French doors that opened out onto the deck and showcased the view of the water.
“I’ll be right back.” Luca headed downstairs and made several trips to bring all the bags inside before parking the car in the garage. By the time he came back upstairs, Claire had Eva out of her carrier and perched on her hip. They were standing on the deck, enjoying the sunshine and letting the cool spring breeze blow over them.
Luca wanted to join them, but he was hesitant to interrupt this moment between a mother and her child. There was an expression of absolute joy on Claire’s