Page 74 of State of Mind

He stared at his final and mangled cupcake, then sighed. “Okay, fine. I give up.”

“Finally,” Adam muttered, and Luca shot him a dark look. “Why don’t you help Jayden out front, and Dmitri and I can finish this.”

Luca pulled his apron off and marched out without answering him, only to be met with Jayden who was frowning.

“Don’t you have a salon to run?”

Jayden shrugged. “I have the luxury of having clients who forgive me when I shut down for a few days to help a friend.” He turned and grabbed a paper cup off the counter, then held it out with a smile. Luca took it with a suspicious frown, then lifted it to his nose like he might be able to detect something wrong with it.

“It’s not poisoned, Jesus Christ,” Jayden grumbled. He stepped back to the register and leaned against the counter. “It’s an apology latte.”

“What for?” Luca took a sip, and while he preferred black, unsweetened coffee, it was made well.

“I was a dick on the way to the airport.” Jayden shrugged, then hopped up and swung his legs in the space below the counter. “I think Wilder’s going to be super fucking annoyed with me when he finds out about it.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Luca asked, his brows lifted.

Jayden laughed. “No, but don’t you plan to?”

“Not on my agenda.” Luca leaned opposite him and really looked at Wilder’s friend for the first time. They were probably close to the same age, but Wilder’s life gave him more weight on his shoulders, more wrinkles by his eyes, early greys in his hair. He had lived twice as long as most people his own age, and Luca had lived maybe half that, but somehow, they fit. “He’s dealing with a lot right now. I don’t want to add to that.”

Jayden cocked his head to the side, then laughed. “You’re a better man than I am.”

“Trust me,” Luca muttered into his drink, “I’m not. I’m glad he has you.”

“I kind of forced myself on him, but I don’t think he regrets it.”

Luca chuckled. “He doesn’t seem to. He knows he’s lucky. It seems like it might be the norm in Savannah to have that—but it isn’t like that everywhere.”

Jayden cocked his head to the side as he studied Luca. “Adriano wasn’t as sad as you.”

Nearly choking on his drink as he laughed, Luca set it aside and wiped his mouth. “Adriano is…different than most people,” said, struggling to find the words. “He grew up having to fight for everything, but he always kind of liked it. And he never lost—ever. He got used to getting his way. I mean, he strolled into town and took one look at Noah and was like, yes, I’ll have this one. And Noah couldn’t resist.”

“Noah was already in love with him before Adriano even got here,” Jayden said, then flushed and looked away. “I mean, that’s what everyone’s said.”

“Noah has been in love with Adriano since they met on campus before he became an international porn star,” came Adam’s voice from the doorway. He was smiling a little more now—just a bare hint of it, really, but it looked good on him. It was a smile he only ever got for his brother, and Luca liked that about him. “Adriano is the one thing Noah let himself have when he’s denied himself almost everything else. And I think he still struggles to believe that it’s real.”

Luca shook his head. “I’ve never seen Adriano so gone over anyone. He’s…he’s not a different person, but Noah brought out something in him that he never indulged before. He’s happy, you know?”

“I do,” Adam said quietly. “Not everyone gets happy.”

“No. They don’t.” Luca picked at his cuticle, then felt a sudden and powerful need to be with his friend since Wilder wasn’t there. He wasn’t going to abandon the bakery, but the little house Nellie had managed to get for him wasn’t near the Manor, and it wasn’t near Raphael’s, and he suddenly didn’t like that.

“Some people don’t need happy,” Adam went on, “but my brother did. Not many people realized that about him.”

Luca bit his lip, but the bakery door swung open, and he looked over to see Fitz and Knox, the tall, broad man in a firefighter t-shirt with very black, wavy hair and glasses, stroll in.

“Hey,” Jayden said brightly. “When did you get back?”

“Last night,” the man answered. “I need to eat my feelings. Where’s Wilder?”

Jayden laughed quietly, then moved to the cupcake counter, which gave the man full view of Luca, and he stared openly. “He had a family thing, but he’ll be back soon. We’re holding down the fort.”

“New employee?” Knox asked.

Jayden looked over his shoulder and snorted. “God, no. This place would be in shambles in a week.”

“I’m good with the accounting books,” Luca defended, and Jayden smirked before looking away.

---