Rooftop Drinks
1838 Words
The rooftop bar overlooked nearly all of Monaco.
From twenty stories above the marina, the city glittered beneath them in waves of gold light and reflected ocean. Music drifted softly through the warm night air while conversations blurred together around elegant groups of people pretending not to stare at Luca Moretti every time he walked past.
Sienna was beginning to understand that being seen with him meant becoming visible by association.
Which was unfortunate because she preferred invisibility.
“You’re brooding,” Luca observed lazily from across the table.
“I’m people-watching.”
“You’ve been glaring at that man in a white blazer for six straight minutes.”
“He looks like he owns cryptocurrency.”
“He does. And an obscene amount of it too.”
Sienna smiled faintly around the rim of her drink.
Three days had passed since the flower invasion of her apartment and somehow things between them had become even worse. Worse in the sense that Luca now texted her constantly, stole pieces of her attention throughout the day, and looked at her like she was something precious instead of temporary.
Which was a serious issue for someone supposedly committed to “no strings.”
“You’re thinking loudly again,” Luca said.
Sienna looked up.
The rooftop lights cast soft shadows across his face, catching the sharp line of his jaw and the expensive black shirt he’d rolled to his elbows. He looked unfairly attractive tonight. Scrap that. He always looked unfairly attractive. That was part of the problem.
“I’m deciding whether you secretly own this building too.”
“I don’t.”
“You answered too quickly. Suspicious.”
Luca laughed quietly, leaning back in his chair.
“I only own the hotel downstairs.”
Sienna stared at him.
“You’re joking.”
“It’s convenient.”
“For who?”
“For me. I like the rooftop cocktails.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You brought me somewhere you own?”
“I take you everywhere I own.”
“That sounds threatening when you say it like that.”
His grin widened slowly.
“Wrong party girl,” he murmured, “everything sounds threatening to you.”
A server appeared beside the table carrying another round of drinks neither of them had ordered. Sienna watched suspiciously as the fresh cocktail settled in front of her.
“I didn’t ask for this.”
Luca lifted his own glass calmly. “I did.”
“That feels controlling.”
“You drank the first one too fast.”
“I was thirsty.”
“You were stressed.”
“That’s because you exist.”
His laugh slipped out before he could stop it and Sienna hated how much she liked that sound now.
The breeze lifted strands of hair across her face and Monaco shimmered below them in impossible luxury. Somewhere behind them, soft jazz drifted through the rooftop lounge while couples leaned together beneath low golden lighting.
“So,” Luca said casually, “Theo threatened to interrogate me.”
Sienna groaned immediately.
“Oh my God. How and why are you even talking to him? Is this in person or over the phone?"
“He says I’m emotionally destabilizing you."
“That’s unfortunately accurate.”
Luca looked pleased by that.
"And I emailed him from the magazine website about whether to get you white or pink roses and his reply had his number on it, so it's texting at the moment. He also informed me that if I break your heart, he knows several journalists willing to destroy me publicly.”
“That’s also accurate.”
“I like him.”
“Because he threatened you?”
“Because he loves you.”
The words landed softly between them. Sienna looked down at her drink briefly, caught off guard by how easily Luca said things like that now.
“You make everything weirdly sincere lately,” she muttered.
Luca tilted his head slightly. "And you hate sincerity?”
“No,” she admitted quietly. “I just don’t trust it.”
For the first time all evening, Luca’s expression softened completely.
“You know what your problem is?” Luca asked after a moment.
“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“You expect disappointment before anything even starts.”
Sienna laughed softly without humor.
“That’s called life experience.”
“That’s called fear. And you’re too young to already expect disappointment.”
She turned back toward him immediately.
“You don’t get to psychoanalyze me because you bought me expensive alcohol.”
“It’s technically my alcohol.”
“That’s worse.”
Luca smiled faintly but didn’t back down.
“Sienna.”
Something in his voice made her chest tighten. He wasn’t teasing anymore.
“You throw barriers up the second something feels real,” he said quietly.
“That’s not true.”
“You literally fled a ballroom because I almost kissed you.”
Heat rushed instantly into her face.
“That was different.”
“Tell me how.”
"I'm scared." she whispered.
"You can tell me anything Sienna. Please trust me."
Sienna looked down into her drink and heaved a sigh before speaking.
"I wanted it too much. And I still think about it. And because every time you touch me, my heart does something stupid." she admitted quietly.
Luca watched her carefully for a long moment.
“You know what’s embarrassing?” he asked.
“What?”
“I’m actually trying very hard with you.”
That startled a laugh out of her.
“You sent me enough flowers to qualify as environmental damage.”
“And you still looked unconvinced.”
“That’s because normal people don’t apologize like mafia princes.”
“I’m not in the mafia.”
“That sounded rehearsed.”
Luca grinned despite himself before his expression shifted again into something quieter.
“You make me nervous.”
Sienna blinked.
“What?”
“I know. Horrifying for my reputation.”
She stared at him in genuine disbelief.
“You don’t get nervous.”
“I do around you.”
The honesty in his voice stole every sarcastic response directly out of her mouth. Luca leaned forward slightly against the table now, eyes fixed steadily on hers.
“You matter to me,” he said simply.
Sienna’s heartbeat stumbled painfully against her ribs.
“Luca—”
“I know.” His voice softened instinctively. “You don’t want promises. I’m not asking for them.”
“Then what are you asking for?”
His eyes bored into hers and she could see the sincerity shining there.
“A chance.”
The rooftop noise faded strangely around them after that.
Sienna suddenly became hyper-aware of everything - the warmth of the night air, the soft music drifting across the terrace, Luca’s hand resting near hers on the table close enough that she could reach for him if she wanted to.
“You say things like that,” she whispered carefully, “and then act surprised when women fall in love with you.”
Something flickered across his expression.
“Maybe I only want one woman to.”
Sienna looked down immediately, pulse racing hard enough to make her dizzy.
The terrifying part was that Luca didn’t even look smug after saying it. He looked honest.
“You can’t say things like that casually,” she muttered.
“Who said it was casual?”
Sienna swallowed softly as Luca’s fingers moved slightly closer across the table until they brushed lightly against hers.
Electricity shot straight up her arm.
“You’re staring again,” she whispered.
“I always stare at you.”
“That’s concerning.”
“You’re beautiful. Staring is how I cope not touching you.”
Despite herself, she laughed quietly and Luca’s entire expression softened at the sound like he’d won something important just by hearing it.
“You know what I realized today?” he asked.
“What?”
“You’ve stopped pretending you dislike me.”
“That can't be true.”
“You were wearing my hoodie when I gave you the roses.”
“It was comfortable.”
“You kept it.”
“You forced emotional support clothing onto me.”
Luca laughed softly.
“You’re adorable when defensive.”
“I need you to stop enjoying my suffering.”
“Impossible.”
The breeze shifted again, cooler this time, and Sienna rubbed absentmindedly at her bare arm. Luca noticed immediately and without a word, he pulled his jacket off the back of his chair and held it out toward her.
“You’re shivering.”
Sienna took the jacket reluctantly and slipped it over her shoulders. His smell enveloped her and it should not affect her as much as it did. Luca watched her quietly afterward with that same softened expression again. Like seeing her in his clothes did something dangerous to his brain too.
“You need to stop looking at me like that,” she said softly.
“Like what?”
“Like you already know something I don’t.”
“I think,” he said carefully, “you’re waiting for me to become the version of myself everyone warned you about.”
Luca glanced out over the skyline briefly before continuing quieter this time.
“I know what people say about me.”
“That’s not—”
“They’re not entirely wrong either.”
That surprised her enough to silence her completely. Luca looked back toward her again, expression unreadable now beneath the city lights.
“I’ve spent years making sure nobody expected too much from me,” he admitted. “It was easier that way.”
Sienna studied him carefully. “And now?”
A slow smile touched his mouth.
“Now I’m sitting on a rooftop trying to convince a woman I’m worth trusting.”
Something vulnerable cracked softly open in her chest. Luca was trying to reach her, not impress her.
Neither of them spoke for a little while after that. Sienna barely noticed the music that drifted softly around them or the people laughing a few tables away because Luca’s hand was still beside hers on the table. And this time, when his fingers brushed hers again, she didn’t pull away. Slowly, carefully, Luca turned his hand slightly beneath hers until their fingers intertwined naturally against the tabletop. Warm and steady and intimate enough to steal the air from her lungs.
Sienna looked down at their hands briefly before back up at him. Luca was staring at their intertwined hands like he couldn’t quite believe she’d let him.
“You look shocked,” she whispered.
“I am.”
“Why?”
His thumb brushed slowly against her knuckles.
“Because you’re finally letting me.”
And for the first time since meeting Luca Moretti, Sienna realized the most dangerous thing about him was never going to be his reputation.
It was how safe he was starting to feel.
- Writer
