Page 48 of Between the Lines

Theo pushed his fingers though his hair, dark curls damp in the heat, and kept his eyes on the sand. “Unless you wanted to take over yourself, turn the business around, turn it into something new like we were discussing last night? You could find some investors. You’d need some pretty heavy investment.”

Luca shook his head in automatic refusal, but the thought pricked at something hot behind his breastbone. It felt like want. The image Theo had painted last night, of taking back the Majestic, cleansing her of Don’s intolerance and making her an expression of himself, was as seductive as it was impossible. He didn’t have the business acumen needed for a project that size, let alone the money or the experience: how could he do it all by himself?

You could do it with someone else, someone like—

And that was such a fucking scary idea he shut it down before he could finish the thought. He cleared his throat. “I can’t see it working. Anyway, I’ll be heading west by the end of summer.”

A pause, then, “Will you?”

He stared at his buried feet, at the grains of sand clinging to the blond hairs on his legs. “Sure. I usually hang out on the west coast until the ski season starts, then pick up some work in Whistler or Banff over the winter.”

Theo huffed a laugh. “Of course you ski, too.”

“Snowboard,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on his buried toes. When he wiggled them, the sand on the surface cracked and fell away. “But not well enough to teach. I work in the hotels up there—they’re always looking for people and you normally get a mountain pass as part of the deal.”

“Right,” Theo said. “Well, then...”

Well, then, nothing left to say. It’s not like Luca was consideringstaying, or following Theo to New York... He swallowed, offering Theo the bottle of sunscreen. “You want to put this on, or get out of the sun?”

“I think I’ve had enough of the beach,” Theo said, but he wasn’t looking at Luca when he stood up, brushing sand off his shorts. “And I should go talk to Jude.”

“Don’t,” Luca said, squinting up at him.

Theo stilled. He reminded Luca unnervingly of prey watching a predator. “Don’t?”

“We only have three days left.” Luca made himself smile. “We could get lunch instead?”

Theo stared at him and then shook his head, turning to squint down the beach. His mouth pressed into the tight expression Luca remembered from when he’d first arrived. “I don’t think so.”

Luca rolled to his feet. His damp wetsuit was clogged with sand, dragging at his waist. “Why not?”

“Because I need to talk to Jude.”

He touched Theo’s arm. “C’mon...”

“No.” Theo shook his hand off and took a step back. “Are you trying to distract me?”

“What?”

“Is this—?” He waved his hand between them. “Is this just a way to keep me from doing my job?”

Astonished, Luca said, “Is that what you think?”

Theo stared at him, jaw working. “No. I don’t know. I can’t tell what you really—”

Luca’s phone rang, startling them both, and Luca wasn’t sorry for the interruption. “It’s Don,” he said, turning away to answer. “Hey, what—?”

And then the bottom dropped out of his world.

Amid the white noise of panic he heard words, disconnected, disjointed:Jude, heart attack, paramedic, hospital.Distant, as if through an ocean of water, he heard himself say “I’ll meet you there” and then someone touched his arm and he started back, stumbling in the sand.

“Luca?” It was Theo, suddenly standing very close and looking at him in concern. “Luca, what’s wrong?”

He stared at the phone in his hand. It was shaking. He was shaking. “Mom.” His voice felt rough as sand. “She’s had a heart attack. I have to go.”

“Oh my God, Luca...”

“I’m okay.” He wasn’t. “I have to—I have to get to the hospital.”

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