By the next morning, I had built an entire prosecution against myself.

Reckless. Unprofessional. Selfish.

I was halfway to another courtroom when I saw Luca leaning against a pillar at the end of the hall.

I stopped.

His case was over. He had no hearing. No paperwork. No reason to be there.

Except me.

"You ignored my call," he said.

"I was thinking."

"That looked painful."

I almost laughed, which felt unfair.

"Luca, yesterday—"

"Was not something you did to me."

The words stopped me.

He stepped closer, but not close enough to touch.

"I was calm. You asked without asking, I stopped us, and you told me what you wanted. Do not turn me into somebody who could not make that decision."

Some of the pressure in my chest loosened.

"That does not make the rest of it smart."

"No." His mouth twitched. "It was an objectively terrible location."

This time I did laugh.

Then his expression softened.

"Last night was the first night in months I slept until morning. Maybe that was the verdict. Maybe it was you. Probably both."

I looked down.

He waited until I looked back.

"I woke up wanting you again," he said. "I have not had enough of you. If that makes you uncomfortable, tell me and I will leave you alone."

He let the silence sit between us.

"But if it does not, Bellamys. Eight."

"Luca—"

"You do not have to answer now."

And then he walked away.

At eight, I pushed through the restaurant doors and immediately regretted every thought I had ever had about Luca looking good in worn clothes.

He was in a dark suit.

His wavy hair was actually behaving. Mostly.

The shadows beneath his eyes were still there, but lighter. When he saw me, he stood.

For the first twenty minutes, we attempted a normal date.

Luca asked about me instead of his case. I learned he hated olives, had a sister who sent him terrible memes, and apparently owned one shirt with buttons.

I tried very hard to be interested in my dinner.

Unfortunately, I already knew what his mouth felt like.

Every time our eyes met, I lost another piece of the argument for staying in public.

Eventually I put my fork down.

"We are leaving."

Luca blinked. "Did I do something?"

"No."

"The restaurant?"

"Also no."

I leaned forward.

"We can finish dinner at home."

For once, Luca Donovan had absolutely nothing clever to say.

He reached for the check.

I smiled.

This time, there was no case waiting for us tomorrow.

Where did Luca finally win you over? Tell us your favorite moment. ❤️