Page 72 of The Billionaire Mismatch

“You’re in Miami at a fancy ass hotel with Luca Laurent. I think that does constitute as lucky,” she grumbles.

“I thought you hated him,” I remind her.

“Oh, I do. Trust me, I loathe the man, but I’m still jealous,” she says. “And on that topic, how are things going? Have you snapped his ego like a potato chip yet?”

“That I have not,” I tell her.

“Why the hell not? You’re there with his friends and colleagues. It’s like the perfect place to crush him like the cockroach he is,” she says. I can literally see her clenching her fists and her teeth.

“You know, Sadie,” I say carefully. “I’m not entirely sure cockroach is the right word.”

“So worm. Or snake. Whatever he is, I’m sure he’s laying it on thick. Just do me a favor. Don’t fall for it. And don’t get distracted,” she says.

“I won’t,” I tell her. “But I need to go. I’m about to hop in the shower.”

“Promise me,” Sadie says. “Promise me you won’t let him fool you.”

I hold my breath for a moment before letting it out skeptically. “I…”

“Olivia…?” Sadie pleads.

“I won’t,” I give in. “I promise.”

Unmatched Dating 101- Rule #93: Never lie to your friends about your feelings. If you’re lying to your friends, you’re probably lying to yourself.

* * *

Two, four, six, eight.

I said I wouldn’t be distracted by Luca. But as I count his abs in my head in an internal cheerleader chant, I can’t promise that because I do appreciate them.

Yes. Luca has eight impressive sets of ab muscles, rivets in his hard, marbled torso that lead into the perfect V which tapers into his gym shorts. It’s not that I haven’t noticed his body like this before, but I’ve also never watched Luca at the gym before either. From pull-up bar, to bicep curls, to deadlifts,every movement showcases a new set of muscles. All equally distracting.

“Aren’t you going to work out?” he asks as he drops from the pull-up bar to his feet, running a hand through his glistening hair.

“I’m on the stair climber,” I tell him.

“And you’ve been standing on the same stair for a solid three minutes,” he says. He’s right. I have literally been in a freeze frame as I watch him go through his circuit.

“Oh, right,” I nod, my cheeks hot. “I think it’s broken or something.”

“Broken?” he asks.

“Or…something.”

Luca walks over to the stair climber and stands on the floor right behind me. I look back over my shoulder at him.

“Go ahead,” he nods. “I’ll see if there’s anything wrong.”

“Right,” I nod again, turning to face forward. Then, slowly, I take one step at a time. And suddenly, I become very aware of my body. I am wearing purple leggings and a matching sports bra. It’s neither revealing nor unflattering. If I had to guess, he is thinking about my purple leggings too.

“Faster,” he says, and I pick up the pace a little. I’m not sure if there’s a point to this, but I bet he’s enjoying the view.

“Very good. It looks great from where I’m standing,” he says. I roll my eyes and smirk.

“What looks great?” I ask.

“Everything…” he says and I bite back a grin.