"You can't be serious right now, Lucas!" Nina gasped, taking an aggressive step toward the sofa, her hands thrown wide in absolute, unadulterated disbelief. Her heart hammered against her ribs, part fury, part something else she refused to name.
She had imagined a hundred ways this arrangement might go sideways, but never once had she pictured him simply refusing to leave her apartment like an oversized, entitled cat.
Lucas didn't budge an inch. He rested his hands behind his head, his dark eyes locked straight on hers with unshakable, heavy amusement, as though her outrage were the most entertaining show he'd watched in months. The corner of his mouth twitched, betraying just how much he was enjoying himself. "I am as serious as the word itself can ever get."
