Page 143 of Knights Game

“It does sound like something I would say.”

“Hmm.”

He kicks forward, and the chair starts rocking again.

“I like it up here,” I say.

“This is my favourite spot.”

I look up at him. “You know, I think most mafia crime lords have a swinging egg chair surrounded by fairy lights.”

“My life is crazy, full of scheming and death. Always looking over your shoulder, always thinking about thewhat ifs. Even the most fucked-up people need a place they can sit with their own messed-up thoughts.”

“Are you happy?”

He lets the question hang in the silence that stretches between us.

Finally, he says, “I’ve spent my life in darkness, and then I found you. And you are everything that I wasn’t looking for, and everything I was missing. You have this amazing fire in you, and I want to burn in your flames until there’s nothing but light left.”

I sit up and position myself so that my hands rest on his chest, and I look up at him, both our bodies slouched down in the chair.

“Do you know something, Luca Knight?” My eyes burn into his. “You say you’re surrounded by darkness, but you’re not. Roman, Henry, Emily, Emma, James, even fucking Isla. They all care about you. They will do anything for you, follow you anywhere.” The fairy lights twinkle in the darkness of his eyes. “You hide behind the bad, because it makes it easier, it’s the persona you want to portray. But you’re not a bad person.”

“Sunshine, you really do have me on some pedestal. I—”

“Oh, you make bad decisions, for sure. Your profession could be something slightly more legal.” He grins. “But you protect the ones you love; you fight for what you believe in. You do anything for your family. You sir are a good person.”

“My mission’s complete, you’re officially brainwashed.”

“Shut up.” I whack his chest. “I just see through the web of deceit. You’re an arsehole, but you’re my arsehole.”

“You know calling me an arsehole really won’t get me to fuck you.”

I laugh and rest my head on my hands, his chest rumbling as he laughs too.

“Aren’t you tired of it? The bad decisions, the plotting, the looking over your shoulder, the responsibility of it all. Aren’t you tired of it?”

“It’s all I’ve ever known.”

“But does it have to be?”

His phone starts vibrating in his pocket and I push off his chest, giving him the space he needs to answer it. I want nothing more than to launch the phone over the side of the building.

“Anything?” He says into the phone as he shifts underneath me, and I crawl off to let him stand. He begins to pace.

“I’m coming.” He puts the phone back and takes a deep breath.

“Quiet time over?”

“Quiet time’s over. Come.”

“Can I stay here for a bit? It’s so peaceful.”

His lips turn down and I already know the answer. “No, sunshine.”

I shut my eyes, letting the last beats of calm wash over me, basking in the light from the fairy lights, enjoying the cool breeze on my skin.

The calm before the storm.

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