Luca watched Nadia devour her food. He couldn't stop the grin from spreading over his lips as she ate each bite with pure satisfaction written all over her face.

"Are you enjoying that?" He chuckled.

Her cheeks swelled as she sat her fork down and dabbed her mouth with a napkin, "I am, I told you I was hungry."

"You did, I just didn't expect you or your friend to be this animated about diner food."

Minerva burst out laughing as she set her fork down, "We don't play when it comes to good food. I can't believe we've never been to this diner either. This is a nice spot."

"Yeah, Luca and I have been coming here for years now, but we've never had the pleasure of such good company before."

Luca watched Minerva blush while Nadia burst out laughing, "Real smooth, Cameron."

"He's not lying, it's been a long time since I've had a good time like this." Luca shrugged.

"Yeah and it would be a shame to let this day go to waste, what are you ladies doing after this?"

Minerva smirked, "Nadia is going home," she smiled, "but I don't have any plans for the rest of the day if you want to do something."

Cameron's face lit up and a smile graced his features, "I'm sure we could figure out something to do together."

"You're just going home?" Luca asked, he was a bit disappointed by that even though he was going to do the same thing if she didn't show up. But now that she's here he just wants to spend more time with her.

"Yes I have a date with my couch and a book." She nodded and his heart sank a little more. He has to find a way to spend more time with her than this brunch. God why does he feel like this? He should know better than to want to spend more time with a woman.

"Well that's too bad, I'm actually going to a novel exhibition after this, I was kind of hoping you'd want to come with me. Cameron isn't into that kind of thing." He chuckled and felt a blush burn over his cheeks. What is he doing? he should just leave it alone....he should just leave her alone. He shouldn't have invited her to this brunch or the damn exhibit.

"A novel exhibit? The one at MFA?"

"So you've heard of it?"

"Well yeah," She smirked, "any novel enthusiast has heard of it, but the exhibition has been sold out for months, you can't even get a ticket to the damn museum until the exhibit is finished."

A grin spread across his lips, "I have an extra ticket if you want to come with me?" She stared at him as if she didn't know what to say or maybe she really didn't want to spend any more time with him, "Or... you can have the ticket and go whenever you like, y-you don't have to come with me, Nadia."

He watched her wince and glare at Minerva. She took a deep breath and bit her lip, "No, I-I'll go with you, I think it'll be nice, my date with my books can wait. I'm sure Niklaus will survive without me."

Luca chuckled, "So you're smitten with the God Niklaus, I'm pretty sure he's in love with Miri, though."

She gasped, her eyes grew wide, "There has been no mention of a love interest between them, don't ruin the book for me! What chapter are you on?!"

The shock and anger in her eyes made him laugh even harder. This is why he wants to spend more time with her, she makes him feel so light. "I'm only on chapter four, but come on, it's pretty obvious he's going to fall for her."

"That's the same chapter I'm on and it's not obvious! Miri doesn't even like him, she doesn't even trust him and I don't blame her."

Minerva laughed, shaking her head, "Holy shit, you two are nerds."

"Yeah, you two have fun at that exhibit, I think Minerva and I are going to head out and find something to do in the city today." Cameron grinned.

"Do you...want to get going too?" Luca asked and suddenly felt his nerves bubbling over. He hasn't done anything like this in years, going on a pseudo day with a gorgeous woman like Nadia. His heart thumped in his chest, the last time he did this was after he broke up with Ciara and that didn't end well.

A slow smile spread across her lips, "Yeah, we might as well."

He let out a breath as they slid out of the booth. It's been a long time since that incident and Ciara hasn't spoken to him since Friday at the office. So far, so good. He's just being paranoid.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Nadia started digging through her purse next to him and brought out her wallet. He shook his head, placing his hand on the small of her back, "Cameron and I got this. I'll meet you outside." He said, gently pushing her towards the door.

She frowned, "But this isn't a -"

"Come on, Nadia you heard the man." Minerva grinned as she slipped her arm through hers and led her out the door. Luca couldn't help watching the way the dress swayed around Nadia's hips, his eyes trailed from her behind down to her toned legs and back up again. That woman is an absolute beauty.

"I'm honestly surprised you invited her to the exhibit, thought you were just going home after this huh?" Cameron laughed, nudging him in the side.

"Well I...changed my mind. I had a private viewing booked for today anyway..." He grumbled, pulling out his wallet to pay for the meal.

"Mm-hm, well I like whatever this is. It's good to see you wanting to spend time with someone other than me." He chuckled and looked out the window and the two ladies waiting for them, "We got mighty lucky last night didn't we? Minerva is something else, I'm definitely not wasting this opportunity and neither should you. Try not to be so paranoid when you're with her, okay?"

Luca let out a breath, nodding his head, "Yeah, I know but what if - "

"Don't you say that woman's name. Has she messaged you since work on Friday?"

"No, she hasn't."

"Then don't worry about it. Don't let her ruin this for you. Everything is fine, Luca. Your guards are around, just enjoy getting to know someone new." Cameron said, patting him on the shoulder as they walked out of the diner towards Minerva and Nadia.

"Just enjoy yourself, girl. You already agreed to go, stop trying to get out of this now." He heard Minerva grumbled to Nadia who sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is everything alright?" Cameron chuckled.

A bright smile burst across Minerva's face as she slipped her arm through his, "Everything's fine," She said, looking back at Nadia, "I'll catch up with you later, have fun and call me when you get home."

"Yeah, I will. You too." She murmured.

Luca looked at the annoyed scowl on her face, the way her arms were crossed over her chest and he chuckled, "We don't have to hang out, Nadia. I can take you home if you want?"

She looked up at him and the annoyance in her eyes dissipated, she let out a heavy sigh, "No, Minerva is right, I need to enjoy myself today and not lock myself up in my apartment. I'm sorry, I'm happy to go to the exhibit with you."

Luca's heart thumped in his chest and a smile spread over his lips. He thought for sure she'd want him to take her home or not want to spend any time with him. He knows the feeling and he's so nervous about doing this, he wants to go back and hide away in his apartment too. But...it's comforting to know that she wants to spend time with him. He slowly held out his arm to her, "Shall we go then?"

She raised her eyebrow at him, she slid her hand to the crook of his arm, "We shall." She laughed softly, "Very 'Old World' of you, sir."

He blushed, sliding his hand in his pocket as they carried on down the street, "I-I'm a bit weird like that sometimes." He's so awkward! Why did he say that? He's lost the ability to flirt! It's been too long since he's done this and it doesn't help that he doesn't have alcohol to give his confidence a boost.

She laughed, squeezing his arm, "I kind of like it, it's cute." She shrugged, smiling up at him. His breath caught in his throat at the joy sparkling in her spring green eyes. Dear God she's gorgeous. She looked away from him and a frown knit her brow as she looked behind them.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, where are your bodyguards?"

"They're around, I know you don't like them following so closely so I told them to blend in a bit better."

A dazzling smile graced her lips and his heart was thumping in his chest again. How can she make his body react like this with just one look?

"Thank you."

'Anything for you, Nadia' is what he would've loved to tell her, but that's absurd. He hardly knows this woman. Besides being his employee, an amazing dancer and someone he feels completely comfortable with he knows next to nothing about her, so why does he feel like he'd do anything for her? Instead of blurting out he'd attempt to move the sun and the stars for her, he mumbled, "You're welcome."

He has to calm down. He needs to keep his cool, he's just a bit infatuated with her for some fucking reason. He's not one to date anymore, he doesn't do these things with women. Ciara beat the debonair man out of him and reduce him to a hermit who shies away from the opposite sex. He looked down at Nadia's braided auburn hair and couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips, but she's different. There's something about her that he can't help but feel drawn to her. He wants to know everything about this woman and he intends to do just that.