by Andy Gallo
The Phillies’ closer was entering the game, and Ted was listening to the spouses’ conversation. Nico glanced at Luke, so he leaned closer. He was rewarded with a smile. A hand touched his, and Luke laced his fingers in Nico’s. The gentle squeeze back told him everything was right in the world.
“I like to think I’m the two of them combined. I love talking to customers, I love to bake, and hopefully I’ll be as good at the business as Papà. Plus, my cousin CJ wants to join the business, and my grandfather is thrilled.”
“What about you? Is having your cousin as a partner a good thing?” Janice asked.
“The best. CJ’s a natural.”
“I always wanted to run my own business,” Ted said. “But things work out as they do.”
“Come visit the bakery over Christmas and it might dissuade you of the idea.” Nico gave them a long-suffering look that had everyone laughing.
“Well said.” Ted turned back to the field. “Let’s see if Neris can lock this down for us.”
They made it home later than Luke expected. When the game ended, Mr. Umstead went inside to socialize with his staff and asked Luke to join him. The attention rattled Luke’s nerves, but Nico chatted with Mrs. Umstead and kept the mood light. After she laughed once too often, others seemed to crowd them.
Without missing a beat, the two continued their chat, trading funny stories that ensured people didn’t discuss work. Chris and his wife had stayed, adding to the conversation in a way that suggested he and Mr. Umstead were close.
When they finally left, Mrs. Umstead—Janice, as she insisted they call her—made it a point to say how lovely it was to meet Luke and Nico and hoped they were both coming to the picnic in two weeks.
“Well, that was hardly fair,” Nico said when they got home. “I didn’t get to call in my favor before you extracted a new one from me.”
“Excuse me?” Luke flopped down on the sofa in the living room. “I don’t recall the words, ‘Of course we’ll be there, Janice,’ coming from my mouth.”
“What could I say at that point?” He plunked down next to Luke. “You clearly had a hand in them putting me on the spot.”
Luke kicked off his shoes. “Right, it had nothing to do with you regaling everyone with stories of a certain nine-year-old covered in flour falling into a giant mixing vat and forcing their father and grandfather to hire someone to sanitize the equipment. Was that really true?”
Nico lounged back and exhaled. “I’m going to plead the Fifth.”
“You do that a lot.”
“Is it my fault you keep asking incriminating questions?” He winked before he got up. “I hope I wasn’t too much.”
“No. You were great.” Luke grabbed Nico’s hand and pulled himself up. “And, apparently, an international celebrity.”
“Whatever. Kent seemed to think it was no big deal.”
“Kent’s opinion doesn’t carry that much weight.” Less with every interaction. “Did you really curse at him in Italian?”
“I’m going to guess I can’t plead the Fifth on this.” Nico walked into the kitchen. “Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please, to the water, and yes, you can invoke your right to remain silent, but it would be helpful to know the truth if it comes up.”
“Remember when I told you the second-worst thing Nonna calls someone is a jackass?” When Luke nodded, Nico said, “I called him the worst thing Nonna calls people, porca troia.”
Luke snorted. “The worst thing your grandmother calls people is pork triage?”
Nico laughed so hard he stopped reaching for the glasses. “No, porca troia. It’s really quite vulgar. It means pig slut.”
“Nonna actually says that?”
“Only when she really hates someone. She usually does this too.” Nico put his hand between his teeth and shook it like he was biting into the finger.
“What does that mean?”
“Depends on who you ask, but to her it means if she sees you again, you’d better watch out.”
“Wow, you never said Nonna was so scary.” He noticed how easily he slipped into calling her Nonna and not “your nonna.”
“Only when you make her mad.” He filled a glass and handed it to Luke. “They heard everything.”
Luke followed Nico’s gaze. “Huh?”
“Ted and Janice. They heard me and Kent arguing. And I’m reasonably sure Janice, at least, understands Italian.” Nico shrank from Luke. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your work colleagues. Guess I’m no good at pretending to be someone’s boyfriend either.”
“Nico, you’re . . .” He wasn’t sure how to end that thought, so he reached for Nico’s hand. Nico tried to pull away, but Luke didn’t let that stop him. “You’re amazing. You are. I wish . . . I wish you would see that.”
He’d almost said something else, but that would’ve made things awkward between them. This was better.
“Fine, I’m amazing.” Nico pulled back and leaned on the counter. “But I’m still sorry to be part of the office gossip for the next week. I wanted them to remember you because you’re awesome, not because your boyfriend was involved in the most scandalous part of the day.”
If he were honest, he didn’t want to come to the attention of the managing partner because his ex decided to be a dickhead. “You can’t be responsible for what Kent did. Plus, you stood up for me. That’s what I’ll remember.”
“You deserve it.” Nico’s expression confused Luke. Almost sad, but not quite.
“Thank you. And since Mr. Umstead insisted we sit with them and Janice invited us to the picnic, they can’t have cared what happened.”
The tension drained from Nico. “True, and true.”
“Thank you.” Luke put the glass down and put his hands on Nico’s shoulders. “For everything today.”
This close, he wanted to kiss Nico, but he remembered their earlier conversation. The ‘your next boyfriend’ comment. Instead of a kiss, he settled for a hug. Those were safe between friends, right? Nico’s arms slid around Luke, and he smiled.
“You’re welcome.” Nico didn’t hold on for long. When he stepped back, he motioned toward the bedroom, not meeting Luke’s eyes. “I’m gonna set up the air mattress.”
The first day, Luke had been apprehensive about the sleeping situation. He barely knew Nico. It had taken an effort to fall asleep that night. Now, sleeping next to Nico felt comforting.
He walked into the bedroom as Nico opened the box.
“You know . . .” Luke waited until Nico looked up. There was something in Nico’s expression that suggested this was an issue for him. “We could take turns using the air mattress if you want.”
“And give up my first dibs on the bathroom? No chance. We have an agreement.”
The glib answer fell flat in its delivery. Something had changed. As if Nico needed to get away.
“That’s fine.” He shrugged and turned around. “Just thought I’d offer.”
“That’s really nice of you, but it’s fine. There’s no reason for both of us to get used to a new mattress.”
“Right.” He should have figured Nico wouldn’t put himself first.
Chapter Eleven
Nico
Isaiah: Seriously?
Nico: I so wouldn’t lie. It’s like it’s not meant to be.
Isaiah: Maybe it isn’t. But there are only 8 weeks left.
Nico: 6. I’m going home after the wedding.
Nico pulled the sheet back and climbed into bed. The king bed he still shared with Luke. “I’m sorry about this.”
“What are you sorry for?” Luke rolled over and faced him, raising an amused brow. “Unless you created the leak?”
“As if. I should have paid for next-day shipping. The mattress wouldn’t have gotten battered about and we’d have a working one by now.”
“Geez, Nico. Eager to get away from me much?”
Yes. No.
Every night, I want to reach across the crisp sheet
s and touch you.
Ugh. “Neither of us wanted to share the bed this summer, right?”
“Yeah, but it hasn’t been a problem,” Luke said swiftly. “At least not for me.”
Slam it home, Luke. The hug wasn’t enough. “Yeah, me neither.”
“Then this isn’t a problem.”
Nico shut his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he felt Luke staring at him.
“And don’t you dare order it again with next-day shipping,” Luke said as if reading Nico’s mind. “Given one fifth of the summer is gone, it makes even less sense to pay for it.”
“Right.”
“You’re kinda quiet. You okay?” Luke asked softly.
Nico opened his eyes. Even in the semidarkness of the room, he could still make out Luke’s perfect form under the sheets, those dark eyes. “I’m good. Why?”
“I dunno. Since your run-in with Kent, you seem out of sorts.”
That was one way of putting it. “Nah, I’m over it.”
“Don’t let him get to you.”
“Why did you ever date him?” Nico winced. The words spewed out before the logical side of his brain could throttle his emotions. “Sorry. That was wrong in about a bazillion ways.”
“It’s okay.” The sheet moved as Luke rolled onto his back. “When he wants to be, he can be super nice. He’s funny. We like a lot of the same things: sports, music, sci-fi/fantasy.”
“You like sci-fi/fantasy?” How did Nico not know this?
“Totally. Our last date was to see Avengers: Endgame.”
“Gotcha.” Good thing he hadn’t suggested they go see that when they were in New York.
“And he was really sweet when I was having family issues.”
“I thought you and your family were tight?”
“We are, I meant . . . when I left last summer, Rosalie took it hard. She did the first two years as well, but this year seemed worse. Kent let me talk out my anxiety over what I thought I’d done to my sister. Which, before you say it, I know I didn’t do anything, but I still felt responsible. He helped me deal with my irrational guilt.
“He had family issues, too. Different, but I guess we understood each other.”
“That makes sense.” Nico wanted to know more but wasn’t sure how much he could ask. He rolled onto his side to face Luke. “How did you two meet?”
“At a frat party on campus.” Luke repositioned on his side again and propped his head on his hand. Was it Nico’s imagination, or was Luke a couple of inches closer to the middle? “He lives not far from Harrison. He had a friend who went to school there and came to the party. He goes to Penn State and was leaving a few days later.”
“Ah, long-distance . . . or at least semi-long-distance.”
“It wasn’t too bad. I took the bus to see him on weekends, and he had a car. He came home a lot to help his parents.”
“Is someone sick?”
“No.” Luke moved his hand and punched up a pillow under his head. “They . . . Please don’t repeat this. I mean, yes, he was an asshole to me, but I don’t want his personal business all over the place.”
“You don’t have to tell me.” Yes, you really should.
“I shouldn’t, but it plays into why he said he broke up with me. His dad worked for a big company his whole career. Started there out of college and worked his way up. Kent’s freshman year, his dad didn’t get a promotion he’d been expecting. A year later, he got laid off.”
“Wow, that’s harsh.” It probably explained a lot. Didn’t excuse it, but certainly put it in context.
“No and yes. It’s like the military. There are fewer spots the higher you go up. I mean, there is only one CEO, right? If you get passed over a couple of times, it generally means you’re not one of their top people and you’re not going to move up. In the military, if you don’t get promoted beyond a certain rank, they make you retire.”
“I guess that makes sense. Can’t be easy to manage a bunch of bitter people who feel they should be the boss not you.”
“That’s it. But I don’t think his dad expected it was his time. Anyway, it was a problem for the family. Kent’s grandparents funded his college fund, so that wasn’t a problem, but . . . his parents didn’t plan for his dad to be laid off at fifty-three.”
“Who does?”
“Right, but according to Kent, they planned to catch up on their savings after Kent finished school.”
“Wow. That’s rough. No savings and no way to catch up.” Nico only half understood. His family were savers. Probably because the bakery didn’t earn the same each month or year.
“It got worse. His dad started drinking, which didn’t help him find a job. And he regretted picking the safety of a corporate job over doing other things.”
“I get that.” But as he told Kent, that didn’t give him the right to be an asshat to Luke.
“Well, my ‘boring goals’ are going to leave me in the same boat one day.”
The fucker actually told Luke that? Talk about assholery. “There are so many things wrong with that.”
“Maybe, but it’s true. I want a steady job. I like to be organized, have a routine. I’m, ah, kinda boring.”
“No, you’re smart. Having a plan to get what you want isn’t stupid. Thinking you can skip doing the hard work today and catch up later is stupid. And that’s what his father did. It might even be why he got laid off in the first place.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Yes, it is.” Nico sat up as if that would make his arguments more compelling. “My parents always save first. If they couldn’t afford a vacation or a new car without sacrificing their savings, they did without or found other ways. They didn’t spend now and plan to catch up later.
“It’s the same with the bakery. They don’t skip maintenance when it needs to be done to do it sometime in the future. I don’t know what happened to his dad’s job, but he had the power to control the other part and didn’t. Do not second-guess your plans because of something Kent said. Because, sooner or later, he will realize you are right and he is wrong.”
Luke sat up and crushed Nico into a warm, skin-filled hug that shattered shivers through him. “Thanks, Nico. I mean, I know you’re right, but hearing it from someone else really helps.”
Nico let himself hold on tightly for a few more seconds and then flopped back onto his soft pillow. “And one more thing. Boring? Fuck that. You’re fun.”
Warmth soaked around Nico. Cozier than the blankets usually were. He snuggled into it—
Nico blinked through the haze of sleep, not sure he wasn’t dreaming. The heat blazing against his back and stomach shifted, intensified. Nico caught his breath, heartrate ramping up. He felt each individual finger splayed against his stomach sizzling shivers into him.
Luke was wrapped around him.
Luke had crossed the Rubicon and invaded Rome.
And judging how far into the middle of the mattress Nico had rolled, Rome had welcomed the incursion.
Nico shut his eyes. Just one more moment absorbing how good this feels. One moment imagining this was real.
Hot breath trickled over his nape, and Luke murmured, sleepily rutting his hard length against Nico’s ass cheek.
Nico’s dick jumped and he gritted his teeth against the aching arousal swamping his body. Moment over.
“Luke?” He squeezed the hand on his abs, gently prying Luke’s fingers from him. “I need to get up.”
“Huh?” Nico waited for the sleepy haze to pass. Three, two— “What? Oh, crap!”
Luke snatched his arm back and pulled away. Nico rolled over, barely suppressing a grin.
“Shit! I’m sorry. Did I . . .?” Luke gestured pointedly. Intimately.
“You were a perfect gentleman.” He waggled his eyebrows. “As much of a gentleman as you can be while holding someone.”
“Oh, man. I’m so sorry. I don’t remember how it happened.” He closed his eyes and flexed his fingers.
“Chill. It’s
fine. I mean, unless you’re upset you touched me?”
“What? No! I mean, I’m sorry I did that without your permission, but I’m not sorry, I mean, yes, I am, but not because I was . . . Ugh!” He took a deep breath and said, “I’m not weirded out touching you. I just feel like I crossed a line.”
“If I said it felt nice waking up that way, would that make it better or worse?”
“Was it?”
Nico laughed. “No way. You can’t answer me with a question.”
“Fine, if you’re not mad, then I feel better.”
“Then feel better.” He tossed the sheet back. “I’m not mad. Well, other than at myself for agreeing to work Sunday at eight.”
“Oh, right. First day on the job. I thought you weren’t going to work weekends?”
“I’m not supposed to, but someone has a sick kid and they asked if I’d fill in.” He stretched for a second before he remembered he was rock-hard and showing. As he turned toward the dresser, he didn’t miss Luke watching.
So much for defusing the situation.
“They must trust you if your first day is a weekend.”
“That, or they’re desperate.” Nico flicked on the bathroom light. “I’ll leave the door unlocked.”
Luke gaped at him, and Nico winked. “For you to use the bathroom,” he clarified. “Since you’re, you know, up.”
Luke glanced down; the thin sheet hid nothing. He shifted, giving a good-humored laugh that didn’t make Nico like him more. Nope, not one bit . . .
He escaped into the bathroom and hit the shower. Water sluiced over his taut skin, and Nico sagged back against the wall.
Not one itty bit.
Fuuuuuck.
Elisa: Elliott’s family invited everyone to dinner in Philly next weekend.
Nico: I hope no one thinks they’re staying with me.
Elisa: Doofus. No, but can you help find a hotel for them?
