Page 2 of Theirs

My stomach grumbled in response, then I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch. All I had was coffee and a granola bar with no water all day. Oops, now I knew why I had a headache.

“Honey, I’m home,” I said, walking through the door.

“Hey, Hermosa,” I heard Luke say from the kitchen.

Slipping off my shoes by the door, I put on my slippers before I made my way to him. The moment I saw Luke, my tension eased seeing him work so gracefully in the kitchen. Even at six-five, he made cooking look like an art.

He looked up at me, his cheeks a little pink, and I noticed there were a few sheets of cookies on the big island. I smiled hoping to ease his nerves.

“Um… how was your day,” he asked.

“It was good, and yours?” I walked around the island to hug him around his waist, even at five-eight he made me feel small.

His body relaxed into me.

“I shouldn’t have said that this morning,” he said, putting his hand over my own.

“We were being honest,” I said, leaning into him more. “When I said I wanted to meet somewhere and act like we didn’t know each other, I thought I was being adventurous, but you took the cake.”

I tried to lighten the situation, but it didn’t work.

“I think… we need to talk about it, even though I don’t want to,” he said, patting my hands. “Dinner should be ready in a few minutes.”

Dread sat heavy with me, my heart pounded faster. Was this it? The moment he told me this wasn’t what he wanted and he left me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I nodded.

“Ok,” I managed to get out in a reasonable voice.

I kissed his back before letting go, walking to our bedroom to change. I switched my jeans and blouse for shorts and an oversized sweatshirt. It was Luke’s and I debated if it was a good idea to wear it if this might be it. Fuck it, he could pry this sweatshirt from my cold body if he wanted it back. It was from our university days; it held so many good memories with it.

I used the restroom, took off my jewelry, and put my hair up in a clip. If there was a possibility of us ending tonight, I think I needed something to take the edge off. I headed to the wine fridge and grabbed a bottle of Perrier Jouet. Champagne might be a weird choice, but dammit if I wasn’t going to drink something I loved while my heart was torn out.

Grabbing a few coupes, I headed into our breakfast nook. We always ate there when it was just us two, and I preferred it over our formal dining area. I opened the bottle with ease, pouring a drink for Luke and I as he brought our plates. It was crab and lobster linguine, which made my mouth water.

He went back into the kitchen and brought out a salad and waited for me to sit down. We stared at each other and I wished he would just spit out whatever he wanted to say.

“Come on, Hermosa, sit down,” Luke said.

His Spanish had gotten better over the years. The anxiety in me loosened as I realized he wouldn’t call me Hermosa for nothing. I sat down, stabbing the lettuce in my salad, getting a few bites in before I started drinking. I had a feeling I might need the whole bottle.

“Do you remember Vincent Barros?” Luke asked, in between bites.

“How could you forget that man?” I chuckled. “If I remember correctly, we ogled him at that charity dinner in New York, and when he came over to us, we basically turned into two teenage girls who couldn’t stop giggling.”

“We weren't that bad,” he chuckled.

“Oh, we were. I think your cheeks stayed pink the entire time we spoke to him. That man exuded confidence and sexuality, but yes, I remember him, and didn’t you say he was coming back to Denver?” I took a sip of my champagne.

“Yes, but this has to do with when we were going through a rough time. We stayed friends and I spent time in New York,” he said, putting his fork down.

My stomach tightened. “Did you sleep with him?”

“What?” He looked appalled. “No, we didn’t. I would not cheat on you.”

My shoulders sagged. “Then what happened?”

He took a deep breath. “One night, Vincent needed to meet with a potential client and he brought me along.”

“Okaaay,” I said, wondering where the hell this was going.

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