Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“It’s not lunchtime yet,” Luca said, kissing her neck. “Not that I have a problem with you being here.”
Tillie chuckled, and it even sounded nervous to her, which wasn’t good. “I know, I just wanted to see you, and of course I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Luca pulled away from her and she saw the frown on his brow as he looked at her.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, everything is fine.” At least, after she showed him the two surprises, she hoped everything would be fine.
Luca didn’t like to talk about his past. When she asked him questions, he always told her the truth, but she knew it made him uncomfortable, and she did in fact do everything she could to make him as relaxed as possible.
“Do you want to go back into your office?” Tillie asked, hoping for privacy in case he wasn’t happy with what she was about to tell him.
He frowned, looking past her shoulder. “Yes, of course.”
Tillie didn’t take a chance to look behind her at Luca’s new male PA. His name was Ryan, and according to Luca, he was a damn good PA. He’d gone through four other personal assistants, and she knew it had been annoying to him trying to find someone who fit the mold of what he wanted.
Two of the women he hired had been more interested in flirting with him than actually doing any work. It had gotten so bad that they had even tried to lie to her, to stop her from seeing her own husband. One of the women had nearly succeeded, as Tillie had been on the way to the elevator when Luca came out of his office after finishing a call. He’d seen the time and was waiting for her. That PA had been fired immediately. Tillie had fallen in love with him a little more that day, because he told her that anyone who kept his wife from him didn’t deserve to work for him.
It was his little comments over the past three months that had started her falling in love with him, and she couldn’t help it.
Stepping into his office, Luca shut the door. Even though she brought him a homemade lunch nearly every day, there were some days they didn’t get to eat together.
Tillie had lost count of the number of times they had made love on the desk, or the floor, or his sofa. There were days they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and in truth, that was all the time, but today she had something she wanted to tell him.
Luca pulled her into his arms, and when his lips touched hers, she felt like she was melting for all the right reasons, and she didn’t want him to stop.
Tell him.
It would be so easy for her to chicken out, but she refused to do that.
“There is something I’ve got to tell you,” she said.
“Tillie, is everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, everything is fine, and hopefully after what I tell you, you won’t hate me.” She held onto his hand and walked toward his desk, letting go, and missing his touch the moment she did so.
She waited until he was sitting down, and then she reached into her bag. Gripping the folder, tightly, she couldn’t help but feel a little sick. She took a deep breath and smiled at him.
“I want you to know that … I have fallen in love with you.” This hadn’t been part of her plan. Tillie hadn’t told Luca how she felt, and it hadn’t exactly been on her mind to do so, but now that she had started, she really couldn’t bring herself to stop. “I know we didn’t have a conventional relationship, and we’re kind of just making the most of everything, and I accept that. I don’t mind at all. I think our marriage is good, but I just wanted you to know that I did this from a place of love, and I also felt you needed to, well, you know, get some closure, or at least know the truth.”
His frown was deepening. “What’s going on?”
“I did some digging, and I know that even though you didn’t need to know any answers, I did.” She licked her lips and tried not to panic, even though she could feel it rising inside her. She refused to give in to it. Instead, she kept a smile on her face, and then placed the file she’d accumulated over the past few months on the desk. She couldn’t help but wonder if her smile looked a little demonic.
You did this because you loved him and you want the best for him.
“What is this?” Luca asked as she slid the file toward him.
“It’s a file about your parents,” Tillie said.
He jerked back without picking it up. “I told you, Tillie, I don’t care about them. They didn’t love me enough to keep me, and this is all nonsense.”