Page 67 of A Hard Sell

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After dinner, they all piled into the den with the kids, blankets and bowls of popcorn in hand, to watchThe Muppet Christmas Carol. About halfway through, Luka crept out to use the restroom, when a movement caught his eye in the living room. His mom was sitting at the piano, picking out a quiet melody with one hand. Luka paused at the door. It was the theme from Mozart’sPiano Sonata No. 11. She glanced up as he approached and slid onto the bench next to her, adding the left hand. They finished the first variation, then a silence settled over them as the last note faded.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I just want the best for you both. You know that, right?”

He kissed the top of her head. “I know, Mom.”

Chapter Sixteen

Unexpected

The first day back to work after the holidays, Luka woke up even earlier than normal. When his eyes snapped open, Thomas was his first thought, as usual.

He let himself sink into the memories. The feeling he’d had wrapped in Thomas’ arms. The way Thomas had looked at him when he’d opened the cufflinks. The flirty texting. The way-too-expensive gift that Thomas had gone back to get for him. Luka’s gaze wandered over to where the luxurious white robe was draped over his armchair. He’d worn it almost the entire time at his parents’ house, even when his sister had started calling him Grandma and asking where his fuzzy slippers were. When he got dressed, he chose the tadpole shirt Thomas had complimented at Thanksgiving.

Luka was at his desk, wading through four days’ worth of email—did people not stop even for Christmas?—when Thomas walked in. His heart swelled, threatened to burst, squeezing the very air out of his lungs.Goddamnit, how is he so perfect, so insanely beautiful?Then Luka saw he was wearing the wolf cufflinks.

His eyes shot back up to Thomas’. His throat seized. He didn’t know what to say. Any greeting he could think of was not enough.

Thomas held his gaze for a long moment, then another. Then he spoke. “Good morning, Luka.”

Luka wheezed out a reply. “Morning.”

“How was your holiday?”

“Oh, you know.”I missed you.“My mom is relentlessly invasive and my sister thinks she’s right about everything all of the time. Her kids are pretty adorable, though, and I ate my weight in baked goods. So overall, a success.”

Thomas nodded and pulled out his laptop. “That’s good.”

“How were your days off?”

“They were fine,” Thomas said, typing in his login. “I missed…work, a bit. Having something to do.” He shrugged.

Luka’s heart tried to take a leap out of his mouth. “Yeah. I missed work too.”

Thomas’ eyes slid over and held his. Luka’s heart thudded. Then Thomas turned back to his laptop. “Did you see this email from Aleandro?”

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice rough. “Yes. It’s a great suggestion.”

They bounced a few ideas back and forth before they divided up the tasks for the day and got to work. They had another commercial to prep, so Luka was reviewing headshots and contacting agencies, while Thomas was confirming details with the director, set designer and other assorted departments.

It was a pleasant day, and they fell back into their groove easily. Luka told Thomas a funny story about Zara—she had sworn she had a classmate named ‘Internet’ but he was able to determine that it was, in fact, ‘Antoinette’—and wrapped himself up in the warm, smooth sound of Thomas laughing. Then Morgan appeared in the doorway after lunch. Luka sighed.

“Hello, boys,” the blond oozed, leaning against the frame. “Everyone have a good holiday?”

“Mmm,” Luka replied, knowing that Morgan didn’t really care. “You?”

“Thebest. I went up to my cousin’s ski chalet in Piedmont,” he gushed, not so casually dropping the name of the swanky ski resort. “Spent every second out on the slopes. You wouldn’t believe the pow we got on Christmas day. It wasepic.”

“The pow?” Thomas asked, but Luka could tell he regretted it instantly.

“Oh, oops.” Morgan giggled. “That’s short for ‘powder’.”

“Hmm,” Thomas replied.

Luka swallowed a giggle. He was well-versed in all the nuances of Thomas’ noises by now, and that one in particular meant‘God, you’re pretentious’.

“Anyhoo, Luka, I was wondering if you had a few minutes to give something a listen for me? I’ve been working on Aleandro’s radio spots and I would love to get your opinion.”

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