51
~ Alex's POV
Bella's silence stretched on for a long moment. I tried to read her face, wondering if she would laugh at me or turn me down, but she didn't do either. Instead, she looked at me cautiously, her eyes still a little sad but also curious.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said softly, almost as if she was uncertain about how to react. I could tell she was trying to keep her guard up, but something in her voice told me she wasn't entirely closed off to the idea.
Luca cleared his throat, finally breaking the awkward tension that had settled between us. "Boss, are you serious about this?" he asked, his voice filled with surprise and maybe a little amusement.
I could feel the heat rising to my face. What the hell was I doing? Why had I said that? I wasn't supposed to care about her like this. I wasn't supposed to be thinking about taking her out.
"I'm serious," I said, forcing myself to sound confident, though the doubt was creeping in.
