Chapter Four

Alessia was so engrossed in her phone that she didn’t notice where she was going until she crashed into something hard.

Solid —warm, with the unmistakable feel of taut muscles beneath a shirt. An arm wrapped around her shoulders to steady her—someone, then. Taking a step back, she rubbed her forehead as she looked up at the person she’d bumped into.

Noah raised an eyebrow, a frown already forming on his face. Alessia mentally groaned. Of all the people she could run into, it had to be Noah.

“Sorry about that,” she muttered, but Noah waved it off.

“Not necessary,” he replied curtly. She nodded and moved aside to let him pass. His eyes lingered on her for a second before he made to walk away.

Screw it.

“Noah?” she called after him, taking a step forward, only to hesitate and step back again.

“Yeah?” Noah turned around to face her, and she bit her lip. She was about to ask him something she’d already turned down yesterday, and now she regretted it.

“About yesterday... I’ve been thinking, and—” she trailed off as Noah’s frown deepened.

“I’d like you to come with me to Italy,” she said quietly, hoping he wouldn’t turn her down.

Noah looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. “No,” he muttered and walked away.

Alessia blinked, stunned.

“What? Noah, what do you mean, ‘no’?” she asked, hurrying after him. She didn’t know where he was headed, but judging by the direction, it was probably his office.

“What does ‘no’ mean?” he said without glancing at her as she fell in step beside him.

He couldn’t say no. Not after she’d described him to her mother, not when she’d dug herself into an even deeper hole.

She moved in front of him, blocking his path. He stared down at her, unimpressed.

“Just hear me out, okay?” she asked but got no response. “I know I turned you down, but you asked me to reconsider, and I did,” she said, her voice growing softer. He only blinked at her.

“I’m no longer interested. That’s as simple as it gets,” he replied dryly. Alessia swallowed hard, trying to suppress the rising panic.

He sidestepped her and continued walking. Alessia hurried after him again.

“Noah! Noah, please,” she pleaded, and this time, he stopped so abruptly that she almost ran into his back.

What was it with crashing into him today? She caught a whiff of his cologne, warm and masculine.

“I need you, okay? Please.” Desperation crept into her voice. She could already imagine the disappointment on her mother’s face when she realized Alessia had lied. They’d all look at her like she was broken.

Noah turned around, his blue eyes softening slightly as he gazed at her. A flicker of curiosity and something else she couldn't place a finger on flashed in his eyes.

“Okay,” he said, his voice low and deep, causing a flutter in her stomach. She nodded quickly.

“What? You don’t want anything? I can pay you,” she added, suddenly uneasy at the thought of him doing this without any conditions. She still didn’t fully trust him.

“You’d owe me a favor,” he muttered. She shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to owe Noah anything.

“I can pay you. Name your price.” She didn’t have much, but her savings were enough.

Noah’s eyes hardened, the softness vanishing.

“I don’t want your money,” he stated flatly. “I’ll let you know what I want.”

Alessia pressed her lips together, stepping back.

“Okay,” she nodded, her eyes darting to the floor as a strand of hair fell over her face. “Will you... uh... back out on me?” Despite trying to sound confident, her voice wavered.

“No. You have my word. I’m not ditching you,” Noah said, and the conviction in his voice made her look up.

She gave him a weak smile.

“Uh, can I have your number then?” she asked awkwardly, scratching her head. “So I can send you the flight details.”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “I’ll text you,” he said before walking into his office and slamming the door shut. She blinked at the door for a moment before turning away.

He’d text her—but how?

---

“So, it’s Noah then,” Brielle grinned like a Cheshire cat as she made herself comfortable on Alessia’s bed.

“Well,” Alessia shrugged. “That’s what you wanted,” she muttered, folding clothes into the bag she was packing for the trip. The week had passed in a blur, and before she knew it, the weekend had arrived.

She didn't see Noah the whole day after their encounter in the hall. She'd have said he was avoiding her, except Noah wasn't such a guy.

Her phone beeped, and she glanced at the screen. It was a text message.

**UNKNOWN: Am I supposed to pack more than a suit?**

Alessia stared at the message for a moment before remembering—oh.

**LESSIA**: Unless you plan on wearing it every day. How did you get my number?**

“Who is it?” Brielle asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Noah,” Alessia replied, zipping her bag shut and crossing her legs under her.

“Oh, yeah?” Brielle smiled as if she knew a secret Alessia didn’t. Before Alessia could respond, her phone beeped again.

**UNKNOWN: I have my ways. And nice sarcastic comment 😐**

Alessia huffed, typing quickly.

**LESSIA: See who’s using emojis now. Glad to see you’re learning and catching up with modernity.**

“You know, you two look great together. You both could pull off this fake date thing,” Brielle said, gesturing with her hands. Alessia shot her a glare.

“Nice sarcastic comment, Elle,” she muttered, cringing inwardly as she realized she had echoed Noah’s words.

She glanced at her phone, but there was no reply yet. She quickly saved Noah’s number and smiled to herself.

“He’s hot. I bet the women in Italy will be all over him when you arrive,” Brielle said, and Alessia felt an unexpected pang of protectiveness.

“Not that I care,” she lied. “He can sleep with all of them if he wants,” she added, quickly diverting her attention back to her phone, hoping to ignore the tightening in her chest at the thought of Noah with other women.

**DEVIL REINCARNATE: Buonanotte, piccolina**

Alessia stared at the text for a long time, wondering how to get back at him. She had to find a way to get even, though the thought of Noah speaking Italian was insanely hot.