Riley POV
Elena returned three days after the disastrous cooking experiment.
By then, most of the flour had been cleaned from the kitchen, the twins had hidden the evidence of their so-called operation, and Luca and I had silently agreed to pretend the moment near the stove had never happened.
Pretending should have been easy.
It was not.
Every time I entered the kitchen, I remembered his hand around my waist. Every time he stood too close, I remembered the way his laughter had stopped and his eyes had dropped toward my lips. The memory followed me through ordinary moments, turning simple conversations into something uncomfortable and dangerous.
Luca seemed affected too.
He watched me more often.
Sometimes I would look up and catch his eyes on me, only for him to turn away as thoug
