25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Love Languages, Lessons + a Dime-Piece Legacy
Aspen
I’m currently perched on the edge of the leather armchair in Ms. Lilly’s living room, which is my favorite place to be on a Friday afternoon. She’s my last patient of the day, and I deliberately scheduled it that way so I could sit with her without having to constantly check my watch.
The air in here smells like peppermint tea and old money. It’s a sharp contrast to the tension bursting at the seams of the apartment I now technically call home. We’re so deep into a debate about the latest reality TV gossip that I nearly forget to document her vitals.
“Did you see that one couple finally broke up? The ones we predicted?” Ms. Lilly asks, leaning in, laughing.
“OMG, yes! They didn't even make it past two months.”
We have this thing where we predict which couples on SightUnseen are going to last or how long, and we’re usually spot on.
Jesse and April, however, didn’t even survive the ninety days we’d given them.
Apparently, he didn’t appreciate her being so “friendly” with one of her exes.
And by friendly, I mean the cameras caught her during a surprise visit to her Pilates studio.
Your girl was mid-pelvic bridge with her ex on top of her.
I’m pretty sure those aren't exactly sanctioned Pilates poses, but they make for world-class gossip over tea and biscotti.
Ms. Lilly cackles. “Well, at least she was working on her flexibility,” she says, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
I finally reach for my tablet, forcing myself back into “Nurse Aspen” mode.
“Hold on, Ms. Lilly. If I don't get your blood pressure recorded, your nephew is going to think we spent the whole hour trashing-talking SightUnseen.”
“Well, we did. But I’ll make sure to tell Eros that you can multitask.”
I smile, but as I wrap the blood pressure cuff around her thin arm, my mind starts to drift.
It’s been two weeks of living with Luca, and his discipline is actually starting to get to me more than the drama of us ever did.
He is keeping his promise to stay away with a level of commitment that feels unnatural.
But I guess that’s what makes him good on the field. The focus.
“Where’d you just go?” Ms. Lilly asks, her sharp eyes tracking my every blink.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
She smiles, leaning back into her plush chair. “I can always tell when your thoughts drift. You’re actually quite easy to read.”
I wave her off, trying to focus on the digital numbers on my tablet. “I’m just thinking about my own SightUnseen drama.”
“I was wondering if you were ever going to bring that up,” she says.
“I just didn't know where to start.”
She tilts her head. “Have you told your parents yet?”
“Mostly,” I sigh. “But I’m withholding more than I probably should and calling it boundaries.”
She laughs, the sound dry and knowing. “Okay. Let me know how that works out for you.”
“I’m sure it’ll fail miserably.”
I spend the next twenty minutes just venting. I tell her how Luca has been on a streak of incredible discipline since I moved in, and honestly, it’s the most frustrating thing about him. Because if you combine that with everything else he’s doing, it makes him seem far too perfect.
He assured me he assured me he was like his father, not romantic, but the little things he keeps doing tell a different story.
It’s like he’s retraining me on my own fucking love language.
The way he insists on hobbling into my room with coffee and toast every single morning.
I can see him wincing with every step, but he does it anyway, turning dark and broody if I don't let him take care of me. Then, just yesterday, he was talking to his agent on the phone but I caught him sneaking a protein bar into my bag before I headed out for work. He didn’t think I saw him.
He’s looking after me on the low, even though that definitely isn't in the contract. For a man who claims he doesn't have a romantic bone in his body, he’s being suspiciously thoughtful with his sexy acts of service.
But still, the question lingers, why didn’t he choose me?
Ms. Lilly reaches out to pat my hand. “Honey, men are rarely as complicated as they think they are. They just have a habit of getting tangled in their own promises.”
“How do you mean?” I ask.
She sits back and tells me about her fiancé, Jimmy. They had the kind of love people write songs about, and he’d proposed to her on their third date. But there was a tiny problem. When Jimmy was thirteen, he’d promised a girl he grew up with that he’d marry her one day.
“Of course,” she adds with a wink, “he hadn’t met a dimepiece like me yet.
But once he did, he knew he couldn’t marry her, but he also didn't know how to break the news without looking like a villain. So he stalled. He acted hot and cold until he finally realized that losing me was worse than hurting her.”
I frown, leaning in. “So you knew about her the whole time?”
“Of course. Me and Jimmy told each other everything. We were best friends. And I knew what it meant for a woman to have her hopes and dreams shattered, so I was patient. Within reason.”
“And then?” I press. “Did you end up with him?”
“Forty-Seven of the best years of my life. But not before a big mess was made of him not knowing how to stand on business.”
I can't help but laugh at her using the slang so perfectly.
I chew on her words as I pack up my bag. Was that what Luca had been doing all along? Was he trying so hard not to be the villain in someone else’s story that he forgot I was supposed to be the lead in his? Or maybe he realized it too late and simply couldn't handle the script.
Either way, the role I have to play next is the one I’m dreading most. The upcoming Young Strikers event will be the first time Luca, Croix, and I have been in the same vicinity since the breakup.
While I’m tasked with running free health exams for the families, Luca and Croix will be side-by-side on the field, running drills and delivering motivational speeches to the kids.
I just hope we can all survive the afternoon without the tension tearing the stadium apart.
The last time we were all in the same space, it was a disaster.
Luca and Croix’s fight in front of the cameras and fans wasn't just embarrassing, it was nearly career suicide.
Their refusal to address the rift was dividing the team and the fans, at the exact same time it was breaking me.
I remember the desperation in my voice when I told Luca he needed to get into therapy with Croix.
I warned him he needed to get a grip on his life and his feelings before he lost everything.
I guess, in his eyes, losing me was a fair price to pay for keeping his career and team intact.
I strap my bag over my shoulder, looking back at her. “So, what you’re saying is… I should be patient?”
She laughs, giving my hand a final pat. “I’m not saying anything of the sort.
I’m just saying that men have their reasons for the mess they make, and right now, you’re the only one who can decide if you actually want to hear your husband’s reasons.
It’s up to you to figure out if there’s anything worth saving in those reasons or if you're just done.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what to do?”
“Because no two love stories are the same. I can tell you what I did but it doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same for you!”
I groan. “You’re mean.”
“And you need to make decisions without someone telling you what to do.This one is going to require you to do your own research and make an informed decision.
“Okay, but if you were me, how would you be feeling right now?”
The question feels strange as it leaves my mouth.
It isn’t lost on me that I’m asking Ms. Lily for the very thing my mother would salivate for—to actually need her.
But my mother is a different brand of meddler.
Her version of “help” always comes wrapped in a lecture and served with a side of judgment.
With Ms. Lily, it just feels like the truth.
Ms. Lilly laughs in ‘knowing, old-soul.’ “I would feel like I’d won the reality TV lottery if I were you. Now, go home and decide if you’re going to be a wife to that man.”
I don’t have an answer for her—or for myself—so I just hug her goodbye. But as I walk to my van, her words stay loud in my head. Decide.
Between the looming annulment, Luca’s recent “best behavior,” and those damn protein bars, the line between playing a role and living a life is getting real…
confusing. Almost comfortable. I have to figure out if I’m actually going to embrace this part and just how far I’m willing to take things.
Especially since Luca seems to be playing an entirely different game than the one we started.
There are public appearances to make and gowns being fitted to my body, but at this very moment, I’m not sure what part I’m supposed to play. I don’t know if I’m dressing up for the cameras, the familial expectations, or for the man waiting for me at home.