What if there was more?
“I think the thing is,” she said, forcing herself to meet Luc’s eyes, “I’m afraid I’m sort of like that villainous career woman you see in the movies. The one that has no husband, no serious boyfriend, no baby, few friends…the one who’s got the good clothes and the perfect hair but is completely hollow.”
He opened his mouth, but she pushed on.
“Luc, if I died tomorrow…if I got hit by one of those annoying tour buses in midtown, what would people say at my funeral?”
He looked at her. “You’re messed up.”
“I’m serious!” she said, scooting closer, her fingers finding the fabric of his shirt and clinging. “Would anyone have anything to say about me that wasn’t related to my career?”
“Yes. They’d also mention your unpaid parking ticket.”
“Luc,” she said on a little laugh, shaking him.
“Okay, okay…you want to play this creepy, morbid game, let’s play it. Are you driven? Yes. Ambitious? Sure. Have you maybe let your parents push you in a direction that isn’t you? Maybe. But Sims, none of that makes you a bad person. Not even close.”
“But—”
“Your dad is an ass,” he interrupted. “Frankly, your whole family sounds like a bunch of smug jerks. Family is meant to boost you up, not tear you down, and you got the short end of the stick on that front.”
“But my eulogy…”
Luc groaned. “You’re such a weirdo. Okay, you want to know what I’d say if someone asked me to sum up Ava Sims?”
She nodded and started to reach for her wine, but his hand grabbed her wrist. He tugged her forward until she was almost on top of him, leaving her no choice but to lift up and straddle him on the couch.
The cat, in turn, had no choice but to hop to the ground, and Ava was pretty sure she was just on the receiving end of the feline equivalent of the stink eye.
Ava refocused on Luc, assuming he was trying to distract her with sex, and she was all for it, but then she saw his face and froze.
He looked…tender.
His eyes were warm in a way she hadn’t seen before, and he gently reached up to straighten her glasses before his big hand rested against her cheek, before stroking along her messy ponytail with a gentle smile.
“Sims,” he said quietly. “I haven’t known you long. I don’t even know that I know you well. I don’t know your favorite ice cream, or whether you love or hate scary movies. I don’t know if your first kiss was a total dud, or whether you prefer lazy beach days or checking out prissy museums while on vacation. And while I do know that you love sushi and hate high heels and tend to be bossy, none of that’s what I’ll remember about you when we’ve parted ways.”
Ava’s eyes were glued to his, mesmerized by his quiet words.
“What will you remember?” she asked, her voice husky.
His hands slid up to her face, cupping her cheeks. “I’ll remember the way your lips feel against mine. I’ll remember the way you trust me enough to take off your high heels around me. I’ll remember the way my chest squeezed when I first saw the real you, in the sexy glasses and messy hair. I’ll remember the way you wiggled your way into my family in record time, managing to make Vincent smile, Anthony laugh, and remind Elena all the reasons she’s always wanted a sister. Mostly, I’ll remember the way that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the moment I saw you in Brinker’s office.”
“Liar,” she said with a smile, trying to lighten the moment.
He narrowed his eyes before wrapping an arm around her waist, shifting forward so his other hand could pull his wallet out of his back pocket.
Ava frowned in confusion as he fished out a piece of paper, holding it out to her.
She took it, her fingers faltering just slightly as she recognized it.
“The parking ticket.”