ELLA

“Lucian?” I asked and looked around. “He’s here?” I added, then turned back to her.

“No, well—yes, he’s here in La Derte, but we didn’t come together. He thinks you wouldn’t want to see his face,” she replied, and I shrugged.

“He’s not wrong about that, but I’m surprised he came at all and brought you here. With the way things ended between us, I could swear he never wanted to see my face either.”

“Well, he thought you’d like to see mine. And no, he didn’t do it because he cares so much about our relationship—he had his own selfish reasons.”

“I’m not surprised,” I responded, and we...