Tempt the Hookup (Tempt 3)

“Perfect,” I tell him and grab his hand to walk down the stairs. I hear Luca talking, but I don’t know what he is saying until I get closer.

“I know, Lauren, but it’s the only thing I can do right now,” he says, then listens to whatever she says. “Yeah, we’ll discuss it later and see what we can come up with.” His eyes lift to see Aiden and me standing here. “I have to go,” he says, disconnecting.

I try to ignore the thumping of my chest. Obviously, he’s with someone. It’s been seven years. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just …” I say, looking around. “Are you ready?”

“I am,” he says, getting up and coming over to us. “You guys look nice,” he says, and Aiden sits on the floor and puts on his shoes.

“Ready.” Aiden jumps up and runs over to us. “Look at my shirt,” he says to us, flattening it down. “It’s a dinosaur.”

“That’s cool,” Luca says. “Do you like dinosaurs?”

“Yeah, but I like Batman more,” he says, and I go to turn off the coffee maker.

“Okay,” I say, grabbing my purse and the keys to my mother’s car. “Let’s go.”

“Are we not going to go in one car?” Luca asks, following us out. “It would be silly to go there in two cars. Plus, we have a meeting with your father at noon,” he tells me, and I lock the door and walk down the steps to him and Aiden.

“What do you mean, we have a meeting?” I ask, shocked and surprised, but he just walks ahead with Aiden by his side.

“It means that I called and told him I had to meet with him,” he says over his shoulder. “I wanted to make sure that he was free.”

“Oh my God,” I say under my breath. “I should call my mother,” I tell him. “She is the only one who can talk him down.”

“Do what you need to do,” he says, stopping by his car, not worried in the least. He doesn’t even seem fazed by any of this. “Does he need one of those car seat things?” he asks right before he opens the back door.

“Yes,” I say, slapping my forehead. “It’s in my mother’s car.” Turning around to walk over to the car, I press the button in my hand and hear the car beep.

“Okay,” he says, coming over to me. “I’ll get it.”

“That’s silly. I can get it,” I tell him, and when he tries to walk in front of me, I block him.

“What’s silly is that had you just given me the keys, I could have been halfway back already,” he says with a smile on his face. Moving me to the side, he opens the door and grabs the booster seat. I watch him walk with the booster seat to his own car.

He opens up the back door of his car, putting the booster seat down and then holding out his hand for Aiden to get in. Aiden gets in, and I hear him telling Luca how to fasten his seat belt. I watch Luca maneuver everything and follow Aiden’s direction in making sure the seat is properly secured. When Aiden is finally in, he closes the door and opens the front door for me.

“Oh.” I shake my head and walk toward the door. “Thanks,” I say, stepping in and watching him walk around the car to his side. I look over at Aiden who is looking outside.

“Mom, can I have my iPad?” Aiden asks, and I grab it from his little schoolbag that I always carry with me. The bag usually has the essentials. Change of clothes, snacks, and iPad.

I’m handing Aiden the iPad when Luca gets in, and I’m suddenly consumed with his smell all around me, especially when he leans over and puts his arm on my seat to pull out of the driveway. When he slides on his aviator sunglasses, all this man is missing is a catwalk, and it’d look like he stepped out of GQ magazine.

“Okay, where to?” he asks and looks over at me. I pretend not to be staring at him, but I’m for sure failing miserably. I open my phone, avoiding his stare. After I give him the address, he pulls out of the subdivision. The drive there takes us only ten minutes, and I look around, familiarizing myself with the area. When we pull up to the school, Aiden claps his hands together.

I get out of the car and open the back door to help Aiden down. His hand goes into mine right away. Luca walks around the car, grabbing Aiden’s other hand. Anyone looking at us would think we look just like a family, and I guess we are in our own unconventional way. “Shall we?” he says, and I look up at the two-story brick school. Three steps lead you to the front door, where you have to be buzzed to be let in. “Is this a private school?” Luca asks.