Page 51 of Scripted for Love and Poison
“Luke, mate, I know you’re worried. I’m worried too. But she’s alright. Breathe,” Divya said. “I’ve never seen you like this.”
“This city is doing my head in!”
“I don’t think it’s just that you miss London. You’re worried,” Divya said, compassion in her eyes in a way Luke had witnessed before when they were interviewing people in need of solace. He’d never before been the one to need that extreme kindliness from her.
“Of course I’m worried! She could be in danger, and it would be because of me. I know she’s been trying to help me, us, with these bloody cases! We’ve been cross with one another for days, and now this happens! What if something had happened to her?”
“It hasn’t,” Divya told him, and that made him snap out of it. Sol was alright. Nothing had happened, but it could have.
He was just now starting to realize what would happen ifhe ever lost her. Had he even told her how much she meant to him? He hadn’t even told her that he loved her. It had been implied, but he’d almost felt Sol’s reluctance to hear those words. As if her past two divorces prevented her from believing them ever again. So he’d preferred to not tell her that and just show his feelings and regale her with plenty of other words. He thought now that he was a complete fool, and he should be telling Sol, and everyone who listened, how much he cared for her, that helovedher.
“Are you alright?” Divya asked, taking him out of his inner thoughts.
“I am, yes,” Luke said.
“Want me to drive?” Divya offered.
“Don’t worry. One Brit driving on the wrong side of the road is enough. No need for you to also experience the sensation and be traumatized for life.”
“Okay, mate, let’s go see Sol.”
“Let’s,” he said, and he had never wanted to see his lover more than at that moment.
···
Of course, what Luke hadn’t predicted when he and Divya headed to Lola’s place, was that he’d never have the chance to have a moment alone with Sol—and to tell her everything that was eating him up inside.
When they got to Los Feliz, Lola’s family had rallied around Sol. Alex kept scanning the security footage and had promised Luke and Divya to send them anything he could find. Lola kept fussing and offering her friend hot tea and hugs. Luke had the feeling that both were equally comforting for Sol as they were for Lola. And Geoff, of course, was cooking a delicious dinner to make everyonecomfortable and even invited Divya to join them. How Lola’s husband had managed to roast to perfection a whole leg of lamb with carrots and sweet potatoes, Luke didn’t know. There was even some apple galette for dessert.
“I think you should go back home to London,” Luke told Sol when they were finally alone after dinner. Divya had left half an hour before, and everyone else had gone to sleep. Luke and Sol were now both brushing their teeth in the guest bathroom. He was wearing the pants from the black-and-green plaid flannel pajamas his family had given him for Christmas. Sol had claimed the notch-collar top.
“Wha’?” Sol said, her mouth full of toothpaste. “Why?”
“It would put my mind at rest.”
“You seriou’?” she asked, still brushing.
“Very,” he told her, and he was bracing for a strong reaction from her.
She simply finished brushing, rinsed her mouth, dried the few drops of water around her lips in a motion that he found both elegant and sexy, and looked him straight in the eyes through the mirror. Her eyes were feisty.
“It’s not a matter of putting your mind at rest, though. Is it?” The remark was full of bite. “Iamthe one who got the letter. I am the one who should be trying to putmy mind at rest,” she added, turning toward him, no longer looking at him through the mirror but now meeting him face-to-face.
“We don’t know who sent you that letter, and you could be in danger,” Luke said through gritted teeth. He tried keeping his tone down; he didn’t want to disturb the whole house. He also needed Sol to understand that this wasn’t a game. She had to stop putting herself in harm’s way. The sooner she was out of Los Angeles, the better for everyone—and the sooner he’d be able to finally stay focused and solve that case.
“I think precisely because I received the letter, it’s quite clear that I am not in danger.” She had the gall of trying to reason with him. “Think about it. One critic disappeared. Another one gets poisoned by mistake. The third one gets poisoned on purpose and dies. If I was also part of this line of tortured critics, something else would have happened to me. Something far worse than getting a rude letter.”
He wasn’t going to admit to her that her arguments were sound, and he’d probably have reached them himself if he’d been thinking clearly. But there was no way he was going to stay sharp with her there. He needed her gone. She was too much of a distraction.
“Please don’t try and play detective, will you?” It pained him when he saw the hurt those words caused her. But he really wanted her out of danger. “You’re no more than an amateur, pretending she knows what she’s talking about. Dating a detective doesn’t make you one.”
“You fucking bastard,” Sol said in a surprisingly measured tone. He knew she, too, didn’t want to wake anyone up, even if, judging by her bulging eyes, she’d be screaming at the top of her lungs if they were alone. “Can you stop playing mind tricks to get rid of me? How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t do overprotective men. I can’t leave the fucking country, remember?”
Luke cursed under his breath. He’d forgotten about Officer Hunky Dory telling Sol not to leave until Jason Zit’s death case was closed. He was completely unhinged and not thinking straight. What was worse, he’d enraged Sol, and it had been for nothing. Even if he’d managed to convince her to leave Los Angeles, which he knew now he had zero chances of achieving, she’d still not be able to do it.
“I know you’re under a lot of stress,” Sol continued, her tone icy. “And it’s the middle of the night, so I won’t beasking you to leave now. But you’ll leave this house tomorrow morning. And you’ll be on the mattress alone tonight. I’m taking the fucking couch, which I know is way more comfortable because I slept there before. I’ve been only sleeping on the fucking mattress with you instead out of fucking solidarity because we both didn’t fit on the sofa. Don’t.” She raised her hand in front of her when he tried getting closer. “I’ll call Divya tomorrow, because I have been reading that book, and I think I found something else—besides the allegations about Claudia. I’ll tell her all about it. But don’t even think about calling me or reaching out unless it’s to fucking apologize. AndmaybeI’ll think about giving you another chance.”
And with that, she left the bathroom, leaving behind a hint of her intoxicating fragrance. Luke had really messed up.
