Page 14 of Fluttering Heart

He seemed to like the idea of Crushville, but reality is never what we expect it to be.

Pace yourself, I say in my mind. The fact that I’m already all in with Lou doesn’t mean that he is. I have to make it worthwhile for him. I have to woo him and show him what he’s already made me feel.

The kiss was a good start, but it’s only that. The beginning of what I’m already hoping is a very long story.

We get to Charlie’s house and I park the rental right behind his super fancy Mercedes SUV. This time it’s Beau who keeps his finger pressing the doorbell until the front door opens, and this time it’s Santa who opens the door.

“Who is this?” he asks, looking Lou up and down in a very suggestive way.

“Hey, back off,” I snap at him at the same time as Charlie speaks from behind the giant.

“Really, Nik?” he demands.

“This is Lou. He’s Fi’s date so yeah, Santa, back off,” Beau says. He has my back like always. Then he pushes his way inside. “Oh,God,” he moans loudly. “You made Lala’s pomodoro?”

“I did,” Charlie says, then he grabs Santa’s huge bicep and drags him behind him on his way to save dinner from being devoured by Beau.

I push Lou gently, with a hand on the small of his back, and close the door behind us.

“It’s nice to meet you, by the way,” Charlie says, then looks back to smile at us. “Lou,” he adds suggestively. Well, hoping he’s not going to embarrass me won’t do me any good, it’s happening whether I like it or not, and the less resistance I put up, the faster it will stop. I’ve learned that over the years. “I’m Charlie, and this big oaf is Santa.”

“I thought you called him Nik?” Lou asks in a smaller voice, but I’m proud of him for voicing his confusion either way.

“Yes, I do,” Charlie offers up as the only explanation.

Lou turns to look at me with creased brows and I just shrug. I know just as much as he does, probably less.

“When can we eat?” Beau demands just before Charlie hits the back of his hand with a wooden spatula. He had it coming for trying to get a taste right from the pot. That’s not allowed in Lala’s house, in Mom’s house, in Aunt Allegra’s house, or in any other Heart residence, and my brother knows this, so really, he had it coming.

“We’re going to eat faster if you teach Nik some manners and show him how to set the table.” Charlie’s grumble is accompanied by his pleased smirk when he admires how his sauce simmers.

“And what do we do?” I ask.

“You two, sit.” He points with that same spatula to the stools on the opposite side of the huge island that has the stove in it. “And tell me how you met.”

I let out a sigh, but again, having been through similar situations before, I know what to do. So I grab Lou’s hand, interlace our fingers like I did before, and pull him to the stools.

CHAPTER 8

Lou

“Wait,”I snap, needing a moment, and hold a hand up to the table at large. “We’re seeingSterling?” They all nod. “In concert?” I ask just to be clear. Again, all they do is nod. “Tonight?” Same result. “TheSterling?” I emphasize.

Santa snorts for some reason.

“When you meet him after, you should say he is a great impersonator. He will not like that.” Then he laughs,loudly. “Please do it, I can record and send it to Picard.” He’s wheezing by the time he’s done and I look at the Heart brothers, completely lost.

We’re just enjoying our espressos after the truly delicious dinner Charlie cooked for us, and they just told me what concert we’re going to. Honestly, who could blame me for reacting this way to hearing the news.

“Picard?” I ask, lost as all hell. And then it dawns on me. “We’re meeting him?” And okay, maybe I screech that last question at Finn, but come the fuck on.

I’m going to meet Sterling No-Last-Name. I’m going to actually hear him speak right in front of me.

“Okay, breathe.” I hear Finn’s voice from my left and I turn to look at him. I can tell I’m overreacting—again, who could blame me—but how do I stop it? “It’s fine. I promise Sterling’s a nice person, and if you just breathe and nod he’s going to be so happy to have met you. He was really nice to us a few months ago when we met him.”

“How did you meet him?” I demand, damn near grabbing his collar and bringing him close so he can explain.

“Picard is our captain,” Charlie says, and I swivel my head to look at him, the holder of all answers. “Jules Dupont,” he clarifies when I say nothing, and honestly, that clarifies shit-all. “He’s a very famous hockey player,” he says likethat’sgoing to help.

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