Chapter 7: From The Top

Kit hovered outside Luca's front door with a bottle of Chardonnay in one hand and the other poised to knock. She hesitated and gnawed on her bottom lip gently. This 'date' made her feel more nervous than she was comfortable with, even if they'd be discussing charity work.

She had to begrudgingly admit that his charity gala had been amazing; the kind of event she'd want to throw one day. The cause was surprising, she never would have pegged him as someone who thought of others. Maybe she had misjudged him, but she wasn't ready to come to a final conclusion just yet.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door firmly, her hand tightening on the bottle of wine as she heard footsteps approaching.

Luca pulled the door open and smiled at Kit warmly. "Hey, please come in."

Kit smiled back at him tentatively and stepped past him, into his home. It wasn't what she'd expected for a bachelor pad as it was tastefully furnished and had a warm, homey feeling to it.

"Please follow me," Luca instructed as he led the way into his living room.

Kit followed behind slowly, taking everything in. She noticed that there were lots of pictures of family and friends as well as art hanging on his walls. Luca was patiently waiting for her near the doorway to the lounge.

"No tequila today?" he asked while gesturing to the wine.

Kit grinned and handed him the bottle. "Even those of us in our 20s can only handle so much tequila."

Luca chuckled and nodded, "Thank god. I'll get us some glasses. You make yourself comfortable."

Kit watched him walk into the kitchen before making her way to his balcony. She opened the door and stepped outside to the cacophony of blaring car horns; the view of the city was breathtaking from her vantage point.

"It's a great view," Luca announced as he joined her on the balcony, wine glasses in hand.

Kit accepted a full glass with an appreciative smile and nodded her head. "It's definitely a view people pay millions for."

Luca shrugged easily and took a sip of wine. "It's been in my family for a very long time. It's been remodeled frequently."

"So, you inherited it?" Kit asked curiously.

"No, it's a family-owned home," Luca explained. "I'm just lucky enough to live in it right now. Anyway, why don't we come back in?"

"Eager to impart your wisdom?" Kit asked teasingly as she walked back into his living room.

Luca laughed from behind her as he entered the room. "Something like that. I actually thought we might stray from the agenda."

Kit shot him a curious look as she sat on his couch gingerly. "What does that mean?"

Luca cleared his throat nervously and sat next to Kit while leaving some distance between them. "I was actually thinking we could get to know each other better. Being more comfortable with each other can only help, especially if we have to be close for six weeks."

Kit was silent for a moment before drinking more wine. "So, this actually is a date?"

Luca smiled playfully. "It's more of a reintroduction. Maybe we'll get off on the right foot this time."

Kit mulled it over as she sipped on her wine while Luca waited patiently, his eyes trained on her.

"I think it'll be easier to fake a relationship and be around each other if we know each other a little better," he elaborated after a beat.

Kit finally met his eye and nodded slowly, with an uncertain expression on her face. "You're right. I'm open to it…where do you want to start?"

Luca grimaced and looked at her determinedly. "Let's start with the meeting I don't remember."

Kit smiled. "Okay then. We met last year in Vegas at Rachel Chu's 30th."

Luca's eyebrows shot into his hairline, causing Kit to give him a questioning look.

Luca smiled. "I don't know. You don't seem like a Vegas kind of person to me. I'm also surprised you know Rachel."

"There's lots to learn about me," Kit responded. "Back to our story, I was there with Gem and a few other friends. You were there with James. Is any of this ringing a bell yet?"

Luca smiled sheepishly, "I don't remember most of that night. I had more than too much to drink."

Kit frowned slightly, "Is that a regular occurrence?"

Luca sighed heavily and reached for the wine bottle. He spoke as he topped up his glass, "I don't know if you'll believe me at this point, but I don't usually get that drunk. That night was an exception."

Kit studied him silently before continuing, "I'm not too sure about this next part but James knows Gemma through mutual friends. So you two joined our group and we ended up sitting next to each other."

"And then I said something that offended you?" Luca guessed with a rueful smile.

Kit laughed and shook her head. "Actually, we really got along. We were flirting quite a bit. So I'm surprised you don't remember anything, you seemed coherent."

"I was fine up until the party, I think the drinks there tipped me over the edge," Luca said thoughtfully before smiling.

Kit shot him a skeptical look. "Just drinks?"

Luca winced and took a swig of his drink. "I'll admit there was a little more than just drinks at play. That's also not something I do often."

Kit's face remained blank as she spoke again, "So you do partake sometimes?"

Luca nodded. "Nothing heavy or crazy though. And sometimes is maybe thrice a year, if at all." He nodded and Kit sipped her drink before offering him a smile.

Luca's lips quirked into a slight smile before he decided to move the conversation along. "So, we were flirting?"

Kit gave him a coy smile. "Yeah, we were flirting. Hard. You were telling me that you're not how you're portrayed in the media."

"Rip the band-aid off," Luca pleaded. "Please get to the part where I make an ass of myself."

Kit cocked her head and smirked, "I'm really enjoying watching you squirm though."

Luca chuckled, "While I hate to stop your fun, I do need to know."

Kit sighed, "Okay, so after a few drinks we hit the dancefloor. It was nothing explicit but we were definitely very close to each other. Anyway, I went to the bathroom and when I came back you were licking some random woman's tonsils."

Luca covered his face with his hands and groaned. "I'm such an a*ss."

Kit nodded and smirked evilly. "You are and it doesn't end there. I left you and your new paramour to it and went back to the table. You reappeared a little later and immediately started flirting with me as if nothing had happened."

"F*ck me," Luca cursed lowly. He looked at Kit apologetically. "I'm really sorry. I'm surprised you even agreed to do this."

"I'm surprised too honestly," Kit agreed. "This is really a last resort situation."

Luca winced playfully and chuckled, "I deserve that. No wonder you don't want to be around me."

Kit chuckled, "Look, it's water under the bridge. You were remorseful and you've been on your best behavior."

"Thank you," Luca said sincerely. "So, what are you willing to tell me?"

Kit tapped her nearly empty glass with her nail. "I'm going to need a little more wine first. And definitely some food at some point."

Luca laughed and poured what was left in the bottle into her glass. "We're probably going to need another bottle then. I'll be right back."

He sauntered to the kitchen while Kit took a fortifying sip of her wine. She was glad he was out of the room so she could have a moment to decide what she was going to tell him.

Luca was back and dropping to the floor, with his back against the couch, before Kit could come up with anything.

"Okay," Luca clapped and grinned devilishly, "Let's hear it."

Kit giggled slightly, as she felt herself relax and a giddy feeling started to rise within her. "Honestly, I have no idea what to tell you."

Luca chuckled as he watched Kit start to feel the effects of the wine. "I have something I want to know."

Kit shrugged and sipped her wine again. "Go ahead."

"If I hadn't made out with that girl, would I have had a chance?" Luca asked as he met Kit's gaze.

She laughed and gave him a saucy grin. "Would you have had a chance at a night with me? Not at all. Would I have said yes to a date? I don't know."

Luca smiled slightly and nodded before sipping his wine. "Good to know. I have another question for you, are you in the mood for Chinese?"