Page 39 of Between the Lines

And with that they stepped back and someone else took their place, Luca tugging Theo through the crowd until it thinned and Theo could breathe out in relief. Luca had rescued him, again.

“Here.” Luca snagged a couple of champagne flutes from a passing waiter and pressed one into Theo’s hand. “You look like you need it.”

He sighed and took a sip. “I’d pay a million bucks to have half the aplomb of your friend Josh. Or you, come to that.”

Luca grimaced. “Me? After I introduced you as ‘my uh...’?”

“Well,hookupisn’t quite the right mood music, I guess.” Theo tried to sound amused, but wasn’t certain he’d succeeded. He didn’t feel amused.

Luca just toed the grass with the tip of his shoe, not looking at him. “No,” he said quietly. “I guess not.”

After that, they grabbed a table near the small stage set up in the corner of the garden, complete with piano and drum kit. A succession of acts had been playing all evening, some of them apparently quite famous, though Theo didn’t recognize any names. But the music was good and several people started dancing on the hard dance floor laid down over the grass. A million tiny lights twinkled in the trees above them, stirred by the sea breeze, and the effect was quite magical.

Theo found himself thinking of the Majestic again. Josh and Finn must have laid out a small fortune for all of this, but a similar effect could be created in the Majestic’s garden for a more realistic price—and it would turn a sweet profit for the hotel. He wondered if they could tweak their development plans and keep the gardens, although without the stately majesty of the old building it would lose some of—let’s face it, most of—its romantic charm. There would still be the ocean, of course, but—

Luca touched his hand, running his thumb over his knuckles, and Theo blinked. “Hey,” Luca said, smiling, “where’d you go?”

“Sorry. I was thinking.”

Luca’s thumb didn’t stop its slow caress as he said, “About what? Looked nice, you were smiling.”

“Was I?”

“Yeah. You looked a little...dreamy.” He shifted his chair closer, so their knees touched beneath the table, and the sensation, the intimacy, made Theo’s blood pound in his ears. “Care to share?”

Would it be appropriate? He had no idea where his thoughts were leading, but... What the heck? Four more days. “I was thinking the Majestic could host a wedding like this, in her gardens. It would be beautiful.”

Luca’s hand stilled. “If she wasn’t torn down,” he said, without inflection.

“I’m not saying—That is, I’m only speculating, you understand? Just imagining.”

“Okay.” Luca’s expression became intent, as if he was endeavoring to peel off Theo’s skin and see what lay beneath. What he might find, Theo didn’t know, but the fact that he was interested... That was thrilling in a way he didn’t dare investigate too closely.

He swallowed, turning away from Luca’s direct gaze to study the dance floor. “You could build a gazebo like that, but make it a more permanent structure, and use it for the ceremony and then for the live music afterward. When you weren’t holding weddings, it could be used for serving afternoon tea, for example, or musical events. Or for drinks in the evening.” He smiled at the idea. “Mint juleps, perhaps? A temporary dance floor would be easy, of course. And you could serve the food in the dining room, leaving the windows open to the garden—a sit-down dinner, or buffet, or canapés and so on, depending on the customer’s budget and preference. You’d offer a package for guests to stay the night, and you already have the honeymoon suite...” He could see it all in his head and it would be wonderful, all twinkling lights and billowy drapes. High-class sophistication at an achievable price. “Oh! And you could market specifically to same-sex couples. After this—” he gestured around “—you’d have the perfect marketing leverage.”

Luca’s hand tightened on his, hard enough to make Theo look back at him. There was an expression in Luca’s eyes that Theo couldn’t quite decipher—nervous, excited?Something.“Imagine Don’s reaction,” Luca said with a tight, fierce grin. “Fuck, it would be worth it just for that.”

“Yeah.” Theo smiled, holding that strange, intent gaze. “Yeah, it would.”

Luca looked back to the dance floor and Theo followed his gaze. The band were playing a lively song, people laughing along as they danced. He took a moment to indulge a brief fantasy—stripping the Majestic to her bones and refurbishing to a more modern aesthetic while retaining enough of her old-world charm to keep her unique. It would take a huge injection of cash, more than his father would consider. Something over a million to do it well, and Theo would want to do it well. He’d need a solid business plan and investors, and someone to run the place who could bring a warm, family-hotel vibe. Someone like Luca. They could do it together, build something together and...

And that was a ridiculous fantasy.

“Oh, hey,” Luca said. “Look.”

Finn and Josh were stepping up onto the stage, talking to the band, shaking their hands, and then the band filed off leaving the two of them alone. Josh sat down at the piano and Finn took hold of the microphone, pulling it off the stand so he could move closer to Josh. “Evening,” he said, smiling out at the audience. “Uh, so, since we’re not—as in never—giving you guys a ‘first dance,’ we thought we’d give you a song instead.”

A few whoops from the audience followed by general applause. Theo’s heart jolted, enchanted by the smiles Josh and Finn exchanged. They were so much in love it made his chest hurt.

“So this is something we like to perform together,” Finn said. “It’s kinda special to us. Hope you like it.”

And then Josh started playing and a shiver skittered up Theo’s spine, the music slow and melodic, and then deep and powerful, Josh’s body moving with it as he played, and Finn’s eyes fixed on him. That got to Theo as much as the music, the intimate connection between the two men. As the introduction ended, Josh glanced up, some unspoken signal travelling between them, and Finn started to sing in a rich, rough voice. The hairs stood up on the back of Theo’s neck and Luca gripped his hand tighter. “The Luckiest,” he said, gruffly. “You know it? Ben Folds.”

Theo didn’t know it. But since he wasn’t a musical person, he tended to pay more attention to the lyrics in songs than the tunes, and this one felt like it was talking to him personally, speaking right to his heart. It was about the kind of love he yearned for, a lifelong bond as rare and precious as stardust, an eternal soul-deep connection that transcended time and circumstance. He didn’t dare look at Luca, so he fixed his attention on the stage, eyes prickling as he watched Josh and Finn perform together. They were so in sync, the way they gazed at each other like there was nobody else in the universe, the way they radiated love. Eventually the song ended and Finn just watched as Josh played on, his fingers running up and down the keyboard as the music came to a slow, breathless end.

After a moment of silence, the guests erupted into cheers and whoops. Finn sketched a slight bow, but all his attention was on Josh who stood up from the piano, lifting his hand to the audience. Then Finn said something to him, pulling him into a fierce hug, and they stood there, swaying gently, lost in each other as the cheers ratcheted up, their emotion so palpable Theo thought his heart might burst with longing.

Because he wanted that. He wanted what they had with everything in his heart. And he realized, in a shocking, incontrovertible flash of self-awareness, that he wanted it with Luca. He wanted all of it with Luca Moretti—the lingering looks, the profound connection, the enduring love. His stomach cramped, churning hard. Stupid! Beyond stupid when heknewit was nothing Luca wanted. Yet when they were together, Theo’s soul soared like the melody of the song and his foolish yearning heart whispered that maybe, maybe...

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