Sophie sat on the edge of Luca’s bed, her mind racing with everything that had just happened. The kiss. The way his hands had held her, like he was trying to convince her she wasn’t a dream, like she was something worth fighting for. The way his lips had felt against hers—gentle, but with an urgency that mirrored the chaos inside her.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this way—alive, vulnerable, but most of all, terrified. Terrified of what it meant, of what this could become. But more than that, terrified of how much she already cared.
Luca had stepped away after the kiss, his gaze never leaving her, his breath still ragged. They had both stood there, unsure of what came next, caught in the silence between them.
“I didn’t expect this,” she had whispered, her
