Page 55 of Between the Lines

Mostly Luca.

He loved it here, he loved the Majestic, and in a blinding flash he understood exactly what Jude had wanted him to feel when he’d first arrived.Fall in love with the place, she’d said, and he had—and not only with the hotel.

But now it was over. He had to let the Majestic go, he had to let it all go. Worse, he had to oversee its destruction. As he pulled the contract out of his bag, Theo had never wanted to close a sale less.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Luca woke alone.

He sat up, blinking into the semi-dark, a stripe of watery light seeping through the drapes to lie across the bed where Theo should have been sleeping. But Theo was gone. An old, familiar tension tightened Luca’s stomach and radiated out into his chest, his limbs, his whole body. Theo was gone.

He’d left before dawn and Luca, paralyzed by indecision, had feigned sleep and let him go. He’d told himself it was for the best.

Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Flinging back the covers, Luca got up to open the curtains. Outside, rain swept in from the ocean, lashing across the garden, bowing the backs of the trees and peppering the window with spray. He stood there for a while, watching the rain, listening to it rattle against the glass. It was odd, waking in the hotel like this. He’d vowed never to sleep under the same roof as Don, but he couldn’t deny that sleeping with Theo under the same roof as Don felt a lot like giving the finger to his prejudices—even if Don didn’t know they were fucking.

Fucking?

The word sounded too crude, even in his head. What they’d done last night, it wasn’t fucking. He sat on the end of the bed and gazed out over the gardens toward the ocean. Leaden, this morning, storm-tossed under a crouching sky. He wished he could go back to bed, he wished Theo was with him, and, Christ, what did that say about the state of his feelings? Luca had hooked up with his fair share of guys, but sleeping with Theo was something else. They’d felt so connected, so close in a way that terrified and delighted him, and the only words he had to describe what it felt like to kiss him, and hold him, and join their bodies together last night, weremaking love.

They’d made love and he’d—Hell,I love youhad hovered on his lips all night, waiting to fall. He hadn’t dared say it, but it must have been obvious in every other way that he was falling in love. Had fallen in love.

That’s why he’d let Theo go.

Because love was dangerous, it frightened him. That was the truth. It had the power to destroy him. He could feel its potential like a distant storm, and if he let himself love Theo, go all-in, then Theo could crush him with the snap of his fingers.

But if Luca walked away now, if he hit the road again, the ache in his chest would fade. There’d be other guys, other hookups. Life would go on. Because, if there was one thing Luca knew how to do, it was detach from what he loved: he’d detached from his dad, from his home—even from his mom. He could sure as hell detach from Theo after scarcely two weeks together. It would hurt like fuck, yes, but it wouldn’t destroy him. He’d survive, just like he always did.

But is that enough?

Sitting there in the empty room, hollow of heart, Luca knew with a sudden clarity that it wasn’t. He didn’t want to detach from Theo, he wanted to keep him close. He wanted to take a risk, to follow him to New York City and see how far their budding relationship could go. And he was pretty sure he wanted it to go all the way...

None of which terrified him half as much as it should, which was scary in a whole new way. And exhilarating. And, probably, significant.

“Fuck,” he said out loud, a laugh in his voice. “Fuck, I think I’m gonna do it. I’m really gonna do it.”

By the time he closed the door on the room they’d shared, he was smiling dizzily. Don had already left for the hospital, so Luca made breakfast for the guests alone, but he didn’t care. His heart and mind were full of Theo—working out how soon he could get to the city, how best to contact him. And what the hell he was going to say when they met again...

Once breakfast was over and the kitchen cleaned, and he’d fielded a dozen questions about Jude from guests and friends, Luca jumped into his van and headed to St. Theresa’s. The rain didn’t let up, blowing in squally gusts off the ocean and forcing him to drive slowly, but it did nothing to dampen his mood. By the time he arrived, the parking lot was crowded and he had to park some distance away, dashing through the rain to the entrance. He was still smiling as he stepped inside, shaking off the worst of the rain, and was about to ask for directions to Jude’s ward when he saw Theo emerging from one of the hospital corridors.

It was a fucking miracle, as if the universe had conspired in his favor for once. Heart leaping all over the place, he grinned, nervous delight turning him giddy. Typical of Theo, to visit Jude before he left town. He was thoughtful like that. It was lucky, too—perhaps even fated—because it gave Luca the perfect chance to tell him how he felt, and to ask him if he felt the same, if he wanted the same thing. Fuck, though, he’d expected more time to psyche himself up and work out what to say... Pulse quickening, he lifted a shaky hand to wave. “Hey.”

But Theo stopped dead when he saw him, alarm flashing across his face instead of pleasure. Bemused, Luca didn’t understand at first. Still smiling, still hopeful, he took a step closer, but then he noticed Don hovering behind Theo and the sheaf of papers clutched in Theo’s hand...

And then he knew.

“Son of a bitch.” He recoiled in horror, took an actual step back. “You’ve bought the Majestic.”

Theo’s eyes were very round, a mockery of innocence, as he shoved the contract into his bag. “Luca, let me explain.”

But Luca didn’t want to hear it. Not with Don lurking, triumphant, at Theo’s shoulder. Not when he felt like he’d been sucker-punched so hard he couldn’t breathe. All he wanted was to get away. Spinning on his heel, he stormed blindly into the rain. It was pelting down, gusting across the parking lot in blustery waves, and he hesitated a moment too long before running to his van.

“Luca, wait.” Theo grabbed his arm.

Wrenching free, Luca spun to face him. Rain whipped his face, blowing hair into his eyes as he stared. “This is why you had to leave so damned early?” he demanded in cold shock. “This is why you snuck out without even...?” He broke off, throat closing around the hurt.

“No,” Theo insisted. “I didn’t plan this, I just wanted to—”

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