Page 74 of The Billionaire Mismatch

“No, but your sports bra and panties do,” he says as he leans back, his eyes closed.

And as I watch him relax in the hot water, I realize that this is officially the second un-Luca Laurent thing Luca has done today. I don’t hate it.

I look around, questioning one last time who might see or if we could get in any trouble. And then I realize that if Luca doesn’t care, why do I?

I peel off my leggings, leaving on my lavender purple sports bra and black cheeky panties, then I step into the water.

“Oh my god,” I say as every muscle in my body begins to melt. Despite it not being particularly cold, I am very sore from…all the things…and this is heaven.

“Nice, huh?” he asks, his words relaxed and fluid.

“Nice doesn’t come close to the right word…” I say as I sit down on the step, leaning my head back against the edge.

“What is the right word?” he asks.

“I’m not sure. But right now it might be better than sex,” I say. Luca snorts out a chuckle. Immediately, I am mad that my eyes are closed because I would have loved to have seen him make that noise.

“Careful,” he warns me. “I might take that as a challenge.”

I am watching him now, and his eyes are also closed. He does peek out of one, probably to see if I can see his smirk. I can, and I love it.

“This really is nice,” I admit. “I think I needed this.”

“Stressful trip?” he asks.

“Stressful life,” I sigh.

“Surely podcasting isn’t that wild,” he says.

“Surely the dating app world isn’t that unpredictable,” I say, and both his eyes pop open.

“Alright. I have to ask,” I go on. “Why dating apps?”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“I mean…the obvious,” I say. “You aren’t exactly known for being romantic.”

“Interesting. What am I known for?” he asks.

I should tread lightly. I should see the warning signs because the way I answer that question could threaten this entire situation. And yet…would it really be so bad if the sand castle we’ve been building crumbled?

Would it really be that bad to start over?

“You have a reputation for casual dating,” I choose the wording as delicately as possible.

“I see. So I’m a man whore,” he states, and honestly, it catches me so off guard I nearly choke on my own spit.

“I didn’t say that,” I shake my head.

“But people do say it. I know they do,” he says. “Honestly, I don’t really care.”

I study Luca for a moment. It’s kind of funny. The way he says it, his easy expression and relaxed body, all of it tells me his words are true. He doesn’t care. And anyone that nonchalant about an accusation as aggressive as that must be pretty confident in who they know themselves to be.

In other words…not a catfish.

I nod thoughtfully. “You still haven’t answered my original question though,” I say. “Why dating apps? You admitted that your parent’s relationship made you lose faith in romance.”

Luca studies me with a small smile. “You’re right. I chose online dating because my parents didn’t have access to it when they met,” he says.