Page 120 of The Sweet Spot

“I fucked up, Wren.” He brings his worried gaze back to me, making my heart dip crazily as our eyes meet. “I was scared and stupid, and I let all that bullshit from my past mess with me when I should’ve just listened to you.”

“Yeah,” I whisper, looking at my hands.

“I think about you all the time,” he continues. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. That was my problem, not yours.”

“You came all the way to Costa Rica to tell me that?” I exhale. “Why didn’t you just text me? Or call?”

His eyes search mine. “Because I love you, and you deserve to hear it inperson. And because…I didn’t want to be away from you anymore.”

Luca’s never been loose with his words, so his declaration is the last thing I expected to hear. I swallow thickly, looking away. “You and Arlo are sneaky. I’m surprised he told you where we were.”

“It wouldn’t have been hard to figure out. He’s been posting about your adventures on Instagram even more than you have.”

A chuckle escapes me. “That’s funny…he did mention that you two followed each other.”

We’re quiet for a moment, the breeze ruffling our hair.

“Did I fuck this up beyond repair?” he asks, his pinky touching mine on the towel between us.

Having Luca next to me again, knowing he loves me, settles me in a way I didn’t know I needed. I want to push against it, rail against the notion of needing anything from him, but my heart wants what it wants. And it wants him.

“We’re not beyond repair, Luca,” I whisper. “It was brave of you to come.”

“You’re the brave one,” he says. “I’m trying to catch up.”

I touch his chin, thumbing the new blond on his beard. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. Every day.”

“I have postcards. In my backpack.”

His eyes soften. “For me?”

I nod, and he takes my hand, lacing our fingers together. I stare at them, dazed at how something so small can feel so good. “What about your dad? The project? Are you taking a break, or something?”

“No, I’m done. I left. I told Pai I could either work remotely or he could pass on my role to someone else.” He shrugs. “He was pissed, but he told me I could work remotely until this job’s done.”

“I can’t believe you did it…you actually left!”

“Me, neither.” He shakes his head, smirking. “I thought he was gonna kill me. We talked for a long time, though and I think he understands now…Veritas will never mean to me what it does to him. I love him, and I’m proud of what he’s built, but it’s not my dream.”

“Well,I’mproud ofyou. It took a lot to finally stand up for yourself.”

Luca leans closer, and my heart begins hammering in my chest, like when we were brand new. “So, you forgive me for being an idiot, then?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yeah. I really do.”

“Then I forgive you. Just, no more making decisions for the both of us, okay?”

He glances down at my mouth. “Okay.”

We lean toward each other, meeting in a gentle kiss. The past month has been a whirlwind, the most fun I’ve ever had, but nothing compares to the feeling of his lips on mine. I’ve missed this so much.

Arlo waves from down the beach, a beer of some sort in his hand. “Guess he found you, huh?” he calls.

Shaking my head, I get to my feet. “I can’t believe you two plotted this.”

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