Page 23 of Passion

“Okay, well if that’s what you really want.” He kissed my forehead and lingered for a moment. “Ella will have dinner soon. You can get washed up if you need to. I’m going to put my trunks on and sit by the pool afterward.”

As he walked away, I felt the wind sucked out of my lungs. I appreciated his help and care so much, but things were just moving way too fast. I still had Daven on my mind almost daily. I wasn’t ready to jump into this, and it had been thrust upon me. If only we could slow down, maybe get to know each other a bit better while my heart healed. But I could tell Lucas had no relational frustrations or hang-ups to get over. He was ready to dive into something beautiful with the right person. I just wondered if I was actually that person or if he got caught up in the whirlwind of great sex and would later regret it. I hated hurting him. I actually liked him a lot, and I felt like we had bonded. I cared about him, but I just wasn’t ready.

My mom was wrong. He wasn’t a dangerous or horrible person. He was amazing. It was just happening too fast, even for me—rebound girl. I sighed and turned off the computer, then slunk to the dining room to wait for Ella to serve supper. I didn’t know how to show Lucas that I still wanted him, just not this fast, and part of me feared that when I moved out, he’d just move on. Maybe I was doing the wrong thing, but Midge’s jokes about my “sugar daddy” were unbearable. I needed this more than anyone knew. My independence wasn’t about proving something to my mother. It was about proving something to myself.

18

LUCAS

Vera pushed her food around her plate with her fork, barely eating. Ella had made fried tomatillos and they were delicious. We’d had them once since Vera came to stay, and she loved them that time, so I wasn’t sure what was wrong. I ate in silence, watching her sulk. My questions were returned with curt answers in a somber tone, and she didn’t make eye contact, so I didn’t push her. For all I knew, she’d had a horrible day at work and didn’t want to talk about it.

As I sipped my wine, I studied her. She was as beautiful as ever, though her skin was more sun-kissed than normal. Her hair, usually framing her face softly, hid beneath a thick black headband that also covered her ears. Her eyes looked a bit puffy, whether from lack of sleep or maybe dehydration, I didn’t know. I didn’t ask, either. I just ate my dinner and enjoyed the fact that she was still here. It saddened me that she wanted to move out, but I had to respect it. I didn’t own her.

“Luke?” Her eyes turned upward to meet my gaze. I swallowed my bite of food and replied to her.

“Yeah, Vera?”

“You paid Mr. Fink to get me that job, didn’t you?”

I shrugged and looked down at my plate. “Guilty as charged.” The way she’d said it made me feel like she was upset with me for meddling, and maybe she should be. I should have just trusted that she could get the job on her own merit, but the man had all but told me they wouldn’t be hiring her. “Why? Are you unhappy with me?”

“Uh, no. I just wanted to say thanks. After the scandal with Daven, I didn’t figure I’d get another job in the industry.” I looked up at her. “Thank you.”

I smiled and shook my head. “It’s what I do, Vera. Besides, they needed an investor and it paid off. You are exactly what that firm needed, and look—in six months, your face will be on the cover ofVogueand that bastard who broke your heart will be furious that he let you go.”

Vera smiled, but it looked forced. I could tell she was still a bit sad, and I wanted to fix it, but money only fixed some things. Not everything could be remedied by me, and I had to accept that. She was, however, the most perfect thing that had come into my life in years, and I wanted to make sure she felt that way.

“Are you okay?”

She looked down at the plate again. “Just not feeling well. I think I might lie down early.”

I was surprised to hear she’d retire early. I'd hoped to swim a bit, but I could see she wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t want to swim alone, however, so maybe I’d just work on the Bertruccio code for a while. The developers needed specifics from the client in order to continue working on the product backlog, and with our fifteen-minute scrum scheduled for tomorrow morning, it was imperative that I flesh things out.

“I’ll just sit in the guestroom and work for a while, then. You want me to bring you anything when I come to bed?” I was elated when she agreed that we could share the same bed even after she’d kicked me out. I didn’t mind sleeping in the other bed—it was comfortable—but I hated sleeping there knowing she was in my bed. I wanted to be with her.

“No, I’m okay. Thank you. Goodnight,” she muttered as she rose and left the dining room. I looked at her plate, barely touched. The entire dinner had been cold and awkward, not at all like normal. I knew I had allowed my disappointment to show through when she told me about the apartment, but I didn’t think it would upset her that much.

Frustrated with myself for letting her down, I retired to the guest room, taking my briefcase with me. I pulled out my laptop and settled on the bed. The code wasn’t as difficult as some of the others we as a company had produced, but the client had a few particulars I needed to make sure were communicated. The work took me only a few minutes rather than the hour I thought it would, but before I finished, my phone rang.

“Frank? What do you have for me?” It had been a week since Frank told me he’d look into things. His buddy at the Miami-Dade sheriff’s office was a great resource.

“Alright, so like I told you, the guy was a private investigator. He was hired by Ms. Lorna Davids from Honolulu, Hawaii. She hired him two weeks ago to look into you. I was able to determine that she paid him quite a large sum to follow you, though he admits to only doing that the one time. He looked into Tri-Tech financials and reported to her only truthful things. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about. This wasn’t a government spy or anything. Looks like Ms. Davids is watching out for her daughter.”

“Hmm.” I couldn’t believe Vera’s mother hired a PI to investigate me. “Did he say why she hired him?”

“He said only that he was doing his job, and telling me what he was doing broke his company’s confidentiality.”

“You threw money at that, I assume?”

“Yeah, twenty grand, but he talked.” Frank was just like me and he knew how to get things done.

“Did you get her number?” I picked up a pen and opened my palm, phone held between my shoulder and ear. I had nothing to write on, but the pen in the top drawer of the nightstand and my hand would suffice for now.

“I did.” Frank relayed the number to me, and I scribbled it on my palm. When he hung up, I debated calling her immediately or waiting, but something this important couldn’t wait. She had crossed certain boundaries that I couldn’t allow, and I was sure if Vera found out, she’d be upset too. Maybe she already had and that was why she was sullen at dinner.

There was no hesitation as I dialed the number and waited on Ms. Davids to answer. It rang through the first time, so I called again, refusing to leave a voicemail. When she did pick up, it sounded like she was out of breath—maybe I had interrupted her workout or something.

“Yes.”

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