Page 66 of Between the Lines

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Luca’s body wasn’t his own, it stayed rooted to the floor while his mind spun in freefall.

From the moment he’d seen Theo standing there, watching him with those serious, apprehensive eyes, the world had stopped turning. He’d hardly been able to breathe. At first he’d thought Theo had come, in person, to take possession of the hotel and that had fired up his anger. But then...

He couldn’t get his head around it: Theo had bought the hotel, personally, because he wanted to save it. And he wanted to save it with Luca. He was offering Luca everything he’d been too afraid to take, and it scared the living crap out of him. It paralyzed him with terror because if Theo could offer him everything, then Theo could take it all away. He could trample Luca into the dirt, leave him bloody and broken. If losing him had hurt like a bitch after nine days together, what the hell would it feel like after nine weeks, or nine months, or nineyears?

“Wow.” Ashna threw him a flinty side-eye. “I guess you really aren’t that into him, huh?”

But Luca was only half-listening. In his mind’s eye, he could still see Theo standing in the middle of the room, wide-eyed and terrified. His shaky declaration might have been the single bravest act Luca had ever witnessed, because despite all his uncertainties, and with no guarantee of success, Theo had laid everything on the line. And somehow, impossibly, he’d done it for Luca.

He’d come back, for Luca.

His heart began to beat. Surely it had been silent for minutes, hours. Weeks, even. Perhaps it hadn’t beaten since the day Theo left. But it was beating now, slamming against his ribs, and his body was flooding with energy, with fear and hope and terror and a banked tension he couldn’t release until he’d spoken to Theo.

“I have to find him,” he blurted, pushing past Ashna. “I have to find him!”

He strode out of the room, then he ran, sprinting across the foyer. He had to speak to Theo. Fuck, where was he? The foyer was empty and he burst out onto the porch, terrified of seeing taillights disappearing down the drive. But nothing moved. All was silence. “Theo!” he shouted into the night. “Theo!”

Darting down the steps, he spun around. It was full dark now and the light from the hotel only spilled so far. Beyond it, everything was pitch-black. “Theo?” Where the hell would he have gone? Around the hotel and onto the cliffs, maybe. His stomach lurched. Fuck. It was dark and Theo sometimes tripped over shit. What if he fell?

He sprinted around the back of the hotel and ducked into the garden. They’d rigged twinkle lights on the porch and they cast a little more light, but there was still no sign of Theo. Or—wait. Was someone standing in the shadows by the gate?

“Theo?” He ran forward, slowing to a walk so as not to spook him, but when the figure turned around it wasn’t Theo. It was the woman who drove his car, the one who’d driven him away from the hospital. She stood, arms folded, and glared at Luca. She’d glared at him last time, too, and he felt compelled to raise his hands. “Where is he?”

In the dark, he could see her eyes gleam. “Oh, sonowyou want to talk to him?”

“He took me by surprise. I didn’t—” But he couldn’t explain himself to this woman, not until he’d found Theo. “Please, tell me where he went. I have to find him.”

She looked away, arms still folded. “Don’t fuck this up,” she warned, and jerked her head toward the gate. “He said he was going down to the beach.”

The thought of Theo scrambling down the steep steps in the dark, when he was upset, made Luca’s stomach pitch. Darting past the woman, he yanked the gate open and ran. Only his own fear of falling kept him from throwing himself down the steps. But there was no sign of Theo—no crumpled body at the bottom, thank God—and he dashed out onto the sand. The tide was in, so the beach wasn’t very deep. It was, however, very dark. He filled his lungs to yell, but stopped when he saw movement on the foreshore. Someone walking. Theo, it had to be. Luca would recognize him anywhere.

He let out his breath in a slow exhale and waited for the surge of anxiety to return, the paralyzing fear he’d felt only minutes ago in the Majestic. But it didn’t come back. All he felt was a heady, churning hope. Heart pounding, he started walking across the beach, fingertips tingling in anticipation.

Theo had taken a risk. Luca could do the same.

He slowed as he got closer to the water. Theo stood far enough back not to get his feet wet, staring out at the horizon. As Luca watched, Theo scrubbed a hand over his eyes and Luca’s heart pinched so tight he had to suck in a breath. “Theo...”

Startled, Theo turned around with a jolt. In the darkness Luca could see the pale oval of his face, his eyes dark pools, glinting in the scant starlight. He looked skittish and Luca found himself holding out a hand like you would to settle something wild. “I’m sorry,” Luca said.

Theo nodded. “It’s okay.” His voice was raw and tearful. “I shouldn’t have put you in that position—”

“No.” Luca came closer. “No, you don’t understand.”

Theo held up a hand, warning him off. “Don’t. Spare me the reasons, Luca. It doesn’t matter. I fucked up, I know I did, and—”

“No, you were right.” The words spilled out without planning or anticipation, leaving him dizzy. “I want everything you said, Theo. I want to stay in New Milton. I want to run the Majestic, I want to build her up into something new and better. I want what we talked about: weddings, and happy people, and—” His voice gave out, balking at the last hurdle. But he cleared his throat, made himself carry on. Theo had done it in front of an audience, Luca could do it in front of the only audience that mattered. “And I want it all with you. I want—” He swallowed, took a breath. “Theo, I think I’m in love with you.”

Theo stared, eyes impossibly wide. “What?”

Luca reached for him, found his fingertips. Theo didn’t resist, his simple touch grounding Luca. “I should have told you weeks ago, but I’m a fucking idiot. And a coward. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Theo’s warm hand gripped Luca’s. “I shouldn’t have closed the sale without—”

Luca put a finger over Theo’s lips to stop him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.” He traced Theo’s mouth, the smooth-shaven skin of his jaw, stepping closer still. “And what I said about wishing we hadn’t...? Theo, you have to know I didn’t mean it. Not even a little bit.”

“You were angry.”

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