Page 44 of Winning You
He was already smelling it. Just a faint whiff of something like old shrimp.
“I’ll leave my door open, okay? Just come in when you’re done.”
“You sure you want me just walking in your?—”
“Yes,” Lucas said, not letting him finish. “You might be an annoying pain in the ass on the job, but as a neighbor…” He trailed off for a beat, then grinned. “Not so bad.”
“After today, I am taking that as the highest compliment,” Frankie said with his rich, gorgeous laugh.
Lucas fought the urge to reach out and touch him. Instead, he put his hand against the wall to orient himself back toward his own door. He got a few steps away, then froze. “You’re not allergic to fish, are you?”
“Actually, I am.”
He broke out in an immediate cold sweat. “Wait—really?”
Frankie laughed again. “No, hon. I’m not allergic to anything except freshly mowed grass, and for some reason, when I touch cardboard, I break out in hives.”
Lucas turned slightly to face the sound of his voice. “That wasn’t nice.”
“I know. Sorry. I’m not the best at reading the room.”
Lucas shook his head, but he was smiling. “No. I like it. People get too careful with me. Like I can’t take a fucking joke, even though my whole life is a joke. Anyway, see you soon?”
“With bells on. Not literally,” Frankie added.
Lucas forced himself to walk back to his apartment before he said or did something that gave him away. Because, if he was being honest with himself, he was very, very close to pulling back his sleeve and showing his entire heart.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
FRANKIE
God,he needed to stop flirting. It was damn near impossible not to, and Lucas made it so easy. He also didn’t shy away when Frankie did. He leaned into it. He smiled. He laughed. He made Frankie’s insides feel like they were filled with tiny butterflies.
But there was no indication that Lucas was interested in anything more than friendship. Hell, he probably felt bad for Frankie and his shit situation.
Taking a calming breath, he made his way into the house and felt a little pulse of annoyance at the mess. Fallon had clearly let Elodie go wild today, and he wasn’t the best at picking up after himself. But Frankie wasn’t in the mood to clean or to deal with the irritation of an untidy house.
He wanted to take what Lucas was offering: a relaxing night where he didn’t have to think. His brothers putting together a sleepover had been a welcome surprise, and even when he offered to go with them and spend family time, both of them had told him to enjoy a night of peace.
He would take it where he could get it. Elodie’s adoption hearing was just on the horizon, and he knew that in a few weeks, he was going to be consumed with all of that, along with work. So being able to indulge in a long shower to scrub fishguts and goo off his feet, and then to get dressed in comfortable clothes and not really worry about how he looked was…nice.
He hated thinking that Lucas’s blindness was a gift, but hell, maybe it was. Maybe that’s how Lucas thought of it. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be brave enough to ask, but it seemed like the kind of thing Lucas would think.
Combing fingers through his hair, he stared at himself, then grabbed his toothbrush before putting it back. Probably a bad idea right before dinner. He put a little scented lotion on instead, then sat down to slip on socks before grabbing his keys and phone and making his way into the hall.
It smelled like fresh herbs—something Italian, he was pretty sure. He followed his nose to Lucas’s door, hesitated, then turned the knob and walked in. He heard the sound of soft classical music and someone humming.
When he passed the foyer, he saw Lucas at the kitchen counter, nodding his head along to the rapidly playing cellos on whatever he was listening to.
“I’m here,” he said.
Lucas stiffened, then grinned. “Oh, good. I was half expecting a text telling me you had second thoughts after the whole fish thing.”
Frankie sighed as he walked up to the counter and stood right in front of Lucas. It was odd to be able to look at him without being self-conscious, like he was staring too much. He took in Lucas’s curved smile, and the way his teeth touched his lower lip when he grinned, and the slight dimples in each cheek. He really was so gorgeous. “I actually like fish. And it smells amazing.”
“Amazing smelling food is what I do. I will never be one of those fancy plated Instagram guys. I’ve tried, but no matter how people try to explain it to me, I can never get it right.” He wrinkled his nose as he scooped something into his hand, thenturned and opened the oven to sprinkle it over what looked like potatoes and carrots. “Anyway, this’ll be ready in like fifteen minutes. Do you want a drink?”
“Like booze?”
