Page 88 of A Hard Sell

“I’m just teasing,” Luka said. “His voice is nice, but I prefer Tyrone. So deep, authoritative. I’d do whatever he told me.”

“Uh.” Thomas turned even redder.

“Like…go to a restaurant, I mean.” Luka laughed, a little higher-pitched than normal, and flipped through the stack of resumes with sweaty palms. The tension between them was better—and worse—than ever.Jesus. You need to pull it together, Moreno,he scolded himself, offering Thomas a watery smile when he looked up. “But we can go with Samuel. He’s great too.”

The day continued in much the same way, prolonged silences and jokes landing flatter than pancakes. By ten o’clock, Luka wanted to crawl inside his own skin and hide. They were in the middle of awkward pause number five hundred and seventy-three when Finn and Rory came in, holding hands and grinning from ear to ear.

Luka raised an eyebrow at them. “Uh, what’s with you two?” Their smiles were infectious, and he grinned back despite himself.

“Are you two free this evening?” Finn asked, sharing a glance with Rory. “We’d like to take you to dinner.”

Luka narrowed his eyes. “I’m free…but what are you up to?”

“Nothing!” Rory insisted, their smile growing.

Now Luka and Thomas shared a look.

“Hmm,” Thomas rumbled. “I am also free and suspicious.”

“Great!” Finn said loudly. “We’ll meet you back here at five.”

“Where are we going?” Luka thought to ask.

“We were thinking…L’Empereur.”

Luka whistled. He’d been one time, when he had briefly dated an heir to a shipping fortune. The guy had been an egomaniac, but the food was incredible. “So you’re taking us to the fanciest place in town on a Monday for no reason whatsoever? Sounds normal.”

“My cousin works there—remember Dimitri, the one I mentioned at Thanksgiving?—and I told him to call me when they had a cancellation. Can’t a happy couple take their friends out to dinner on a whim?” Rory asked, eyes wide with innocence.

“Not this couple.” Luka gave them a wry look. “I’ll be on my toes tonight.”

* * * *

As planned, Finn and Rory appeared again at Luka’s office at five, practically wiggling with excitement. Luka chuckled as he pulled on his coat. “What time is our reservation?”

“Seven,” Rory said sheepishly.

“Seven? It doesn’t take two hours to get there.”

“Well…we have a stop to make along the way.”

“Aha. Not suspicious at all.”

“I’m sure we have no idea what you’re talking about.” Finn took Rory’s hand again. “Let’s go!”

Luka rolled his eyes at Thomas and off they went. They took the train downtown. There was a light rain falling, but the night was still warm, the air rich with the smell of spring. They ducked under awnings where they could, and they were almost at the restaurant when Finn and Rory stopped.

Luka looked up. They were at City Hall, a gothic brick building at least one hundred years old. “What are we doing here?”

Finn and Rory looked ready to burst.

“We’re getting married!” Finn blurted.

Luka gasped. “What?!”

Rory nodded, squeezing Finn’s arm with their other hand. “Finn proposed on Saturday.”

“He did?” Luka threw his arms around the two of them. “Congratulations!” He was shocked, but then reflected that maybe he shouldn’t be. They’d been together for six months, inseparable, and Luka had never seen Finn happier in the more than four years he’d known him. If anything, he was surprised Finn hadn’t proposed earlier.

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