Page 61 of Free Fall

“Yikes,” I said, catching Seren’s eye.

She pulled a face of agreement and stood with me. Together, we left the men to stew and headed to the kitchen. I expected the conversation to turn straight to Cole and what his behavior meant, maybe some laughter about him and Avery, or why Jesse had been so quiet, even though he always was. But instead she whirled on me, angry and accusing.

“What are you doing with Luca?” she asked, her face a mix of emotions. Concern, curiosity, resignation. “I don’t want to be all interfering, but I’m worried, Zel.”

With a weak smile, I shrugged. “I have no idea.” The plates clattered as they landed in the sink. “I won’t do anything drastic. He kissed me earlier and I stopped it. We’re not sleeping together any time soon.”

She studied me, her eyes flickering between mine. “Well, I’m not your mother, so I won’t force advice on you, but—”

“I promise, Seren. I have no intention of sleeping with him. He’s in Leo’s life, not mine. He’s a by-product.” Even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t true, knew they were only to placate the woman before me who didn’t believe it, anyway.

She nodded, accepting my lies for what they were, and shooed me off so she could finish tidying up in peace. When I slipped back into the small dining room, Jesse stood and slid past me, no doubt going to help in my stead.

Cole and Avery were drinking in silence, looking anywhere but at each other.

I snuck away to change a little while later, packing my flashy underwear and my comfiest clothes to come home in. The tension at the table had decreased to normal levels, and we’d spent the last hour sharing childhood stories. Mine and the twins had almost all featured each other, but it was fun to reminisce. We spoke of taking Leo to our favorite childhood vacation spot and my belly warmed.

“What are you doing?” Luca asked, appearing at the doorway, strolling right on in and sinking onto my bed. “Staying somewhere else?” His eyebrow quirked as he nodded to my bag.

I shook my head. “Gotta get to work.”

Luca’s jaw tightened with tension and he went to sit more upright, so I shot him a glare. “Don’t even.”

“I’m saying nothing.” He showed me his palms, but his face was a soft scowl. “Leo’s all settled. The shitheads at the table have the baby monitor.”

“Good,” I nodded. “Seren’s on duty tonight.” I paused. “Did you fall asleep with him? It’s been like an hour.”

“Maybe.”

I grinned at his admittance, that annoying belly clench returning, making my smile falter.

Luca dipped his head. “It won’t always be like this,” he told me. “No ‘on duty’, no outsiders. It’ll just be the three of us.”

I looked down at him as I tied my hair in a ponytail. “I hope so,” I confessed. “But not yet.”

Being alone with him was dangerous. I could so easily slip into his embrace, his heat, and live there. It would be so very simple. It had been too easy before, like sinking to the bottom of the ocean, I would need to do nothing to be swept up by him. Actively fighting it was harder.

He sat in silence with the weight of our words between us while I finished gathering all my shit. It only took a minute, but the air felt lighter after the pause.

Giving him a tense nod, I turned to leave him on my bed, but he stood.

“I’m coming with you,” Luca said, following me to the door.

I sighed, unsurprised. He’d been there for so many before, why change that now? Would I perform differently knowing it was for him? “You gonna watch from the shadows this time?”

“Front and center, baby.”

I rolled my eyes, biting my lip to stop the laugh threatening to bubble out. Shit. So easy to forget myself. “Won’t you get bored?”

“Nah,” he replied, ghosting his touch down my arm, following it with his gaze. “I’ve got business there.”

“What business?”

He grinned at me. “There’s always business at a strip club.”

Dragging myself to work the next morning was hard going. I didn’t try to schedule myself to have an early class the day after a night shift at the club, but on the occasion it did happen, it was a pain in the ass. Coffee and sugar got me through, then a long afternoon nap.

Leo was squared away with Avery, who had a day off and was planning on taking him on an errand jaunt that would for sure end in fast food and the toy shops, so I only had to worry about myself.

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