Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
OLLIE
The ticket sat on my phone, taunting me.
Caffeine Daydreams: Wembley Arena
“Staring at it won’t make tonight come around any faster.”
I closed the screen, swivelling my chair to face Riley. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
“Don’t start this again.” Riley had cornered me after my meeting with Becky and forced me to spill the beans. “Have you tried calling him?”
“Yes. Still blocked.” My stomach churned. With everything I’d learned from Becky and my research for the article, I no longer believed that night had gone down the way Kevin said it had. “I thought after the article went live, he might contact me, but…”
“Don’t read too much into that,” Riley said firmly. “You need to go tonight. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Given my plan was to push my way to the front of the pit and jump around, hoping to catch Luca’s attention…lots could go wrong.
“He might not see me. Or he might, then he could ignore me. Or have me thrown out.”
“And how would that make you feel?”
“Heartbroken.” I knew that without a doubt. “It’d gut me.”
Riley shrugged. “You’re already heartbroken, so don’t let that scare you off. But if you go and end up reconciling, what will that mean?”
I blew out a breath. “Everything. I’m not even thinking about that though. At this point, I’d give anything just to have a chance to clear the air with him.”
I hated that our final exchange had been full of bitterness and anger. Now that I understood the extent to which Kevin had been fucking them over, I wanted more than anything to just talk to Luca.
The fact I was still blocked spoke volumes.
Luca wasn’t ready to talk to me. I didn’t have any of the other band members’ numbers.
Why would I? It wasn’t like I’d needed them.
Like most celebrities, Luca didn’t handle his social media accounts himself.
I’d racked my brain trying to come up with another way to get a hold of him, and going to tonight’s concert was the best I’d been able to come up with.
Originally this concert in London hadn’t even been on the tour.
I could thank Kevin’s greediness for that.
“I’m surprised we haven’t had any blowback from the article, especially given it went viral.”
“Tell me about it.” I ran a hand through my hair.
I’d thought Kevin was dodgy, but never in a million years had I expected to uncover the level of fraud that I had.
It was so easily accessible too. The band’s accounts could be found on the Companies House website.
It didn’t take a genius to work out that they weren’t reporting anywhere near as much profit as they should’ve been.
Which meant either they were evading tax…
or someone else had been pocketing more than they should.
More research uncovered that their accountant was none other than Kevin’s brother-in-law. The pieces had been easy enough to put together.
My bosses had been thrilled with the publicity, but we’d all expected to hear…something. Even though I’d been careful not to point the finger at the culprits, it didn’t take much brain power to uncover the picture I’d painted. “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“You know what they say: no news is good news.”
I snorted. “Pretty sure absolutely no one in this office would agree with that.”
He fell quiet for a moment. “You’ve gotta go tonight. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
“Yeah.” I tapped my phone. Riley was right. But was that enough to put my heart on the line again? “Maybe.”
I was still unsure what to do as I got onto the lift a few hours later.
Given the show was in London, I’d taken the afternoon as annual leave.
I was going straight from here to the train station.
It didn’t start until eight p.m., but if my plan was going to work, I needed to get there early.
All my time spent on the treadmill probably wouldn’t help me outrun thousands of teenagers to get a spot at the front, but I had to try.
As the lift started to move, every doubt I’d had bubbled to the surface. What if I was wrong? What if Luca really had wanted me to leave?
Was I doing the right thing?
Opening my phone, I pulled up the photo app. All the images of Luca on there were ones snapped during those hidden moments just for us.
Luca just waking up, face creased from the pillows.
Luca standing beside the bed, that feral grin I loved on his face.
Both of our faces pressed together, smiling brightly for the selfie.
God, I looked so…happy. When had I ever smiled like that?
That was my answer.
I had to try. I had to.
I flicked through them all. When I got to the last one, a selfie of us at the restaurant before everything went to shit, I returned to the start.
I was so focused on the photos that I barely registered the lift doors opening and someone else entering. We weren’t at ground level yet, so I didn’t bother looking to see who’d joined me. If I knew them, they might expect small talk.
Fuck that. I didn’t want to do anything right now but torture myself with Luca. If they thought I was rude, then fine.
The lift started to move before the lights cut out.
I was transported back to that fateful day months ago. My hands flew out, grabbing the rail as the emergency breaks screeched, grinding the lift to a stop.
“No, no, no,” I muttered into the darkness. The light from my phone screen did fuck-all to illuminate the space. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. I had to get to London. I had to get to Luca.
“Why the panic, Ollie?” The voice was a spotlight in the darkness. “Last time, it was me freaking out, not you.”
My mouth dried. My phone slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the floor with a thud. “Luca?”
The emergency lights kicked on, and my throat constricted.
Luca was in front of me, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his coat. His hair was wind-swept like he’d just come in from outside. He smiled at me bashfully, making my heart stutter.
“I was upset you were so absorbed in your phone that you didn’t realise it was me…until I saw what you were looking at.”
I couldn’t believe he was here. “You’ve always been nosey.”
He gave me that crooked grin. “Only where you’re concerned.”
“What are you doing here?” I breathed.
“I had to see you.” He stepped closer, and I found myself backing up until I hit the railing. Luca frowned at me, his eyes shuttering. “I wanted to…talk. But maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
He went to step backwards. Both my hands shot up, grabbing the lapels of his coat. “No.” I blurted. “I just…wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
He gave me that familiar easy smile, and something in my heart began to heal. “Were you expecting to see me somewhere else?”
I was still holding on to his coat, terrified that if I let go, he might disappear. “Yes. I was on my way to Wembley.”
He sucked in a breath. “You were?”
“I was. I planned to push my way to the front and make a scene until you noticed me.”
His lips twitched. “Now I’m regretting this elaborate plan. I’d like to see that.”
I gestured at the motionless lift. “I take it you had something to do with this.”
“Maybe.” He lifted a hand to cup my face. “I wanted to talk to you somewhere that you couldn’t run away from me.”
“I didn’t run the first time. You made me leave.”
“I did. And I’m so fucking sorry about that.
” He leaned his forehead against mine. “There’s no reason for you to give me another chance.
I just…want you to hear me out. I behaved like a complete prick that night.
I was scared. I’d fallen so hard for you, and when you said we would be over when the tour was done… ”
“I never said that.”
His fingers tightened on my chin. “Yes, you did.”
“No,” I corrected him. “What actually happened is I was halfway through saying ‘We agreed this would end when the tour did, but I don’t want it to’…when you cut me off.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me that?”
I let go of Luca’s coat, suddenly needing a bit of distance. “You weren’t the only one who’d fallen hard, Luca. I had no idea how you felt about me. For all I knew, you were done with me. Forgive me for wanting to walk away with a shred of my dignity intact.”
Luca crowded me, his arms coming up on either side of my head.
“I’ll never be done with you, Ollie. I’m done dancing around my feelings.
I did it before and lost you. I want you in my bed.
At my side. In my life. No one else. Just you.
I don’t care if it’s too fast. I don’t care what the press will say.
Literally, the only thing I care about is you. ”
I swallowed. Luca was saying everything I’d dreamt of him saying. Now it was my turn. My turn to be brave. “That’s what I want too.”
“Really?” Luca’s voice cracked as his eyes searched mine. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
“I do mean it. That’s what I came back that night to tell you. That I’m a work in progress. That I might struggle to open up. But I want to…for you. I want to try.”
Luca’s face darkened. “Yes, let’s talk about that night.” He dropped his arms, stepping back and lifting his chin. “Steve told me what happened. What Kevin told you.”
The memory still stung. “Yes.”
Luca crossed his arms. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked me if it was true. If I really had someone else with me.”
“I don’t need to.” The realisation hadn’t come in suddenly but in pieces.
First in Becky’s office, then becoming concrete over time.
The deeper I’d delved into Kevin’s betrayal, the more obvious it had become that I’d been played.
“Kevin played on my insecurities. I shouldn’t have fallen for it. I should’ve trusted you. I’m sorry.”
Relief poured from Luca as he drew close once more. “No, I’m sorry. You should never have been put in that position. If I’d been honest with you…if I hadn’t made you leave…none of this would’ve happened.”
My lips quirked. “Wow, looks like we’re both really sorry.”
“How British of us.”
We exchanged a secret smile before mine faded. The question I’d been holding back broke from me in a whisper. “If that’s how you felt…if you knew why I’d left…why didn’t you call me? Why did you block my number?”
“What? I didn’t block your number.” Frowning, he grabbed his phone from his pocket. “Motherfucker!”
He tilted the screen to my contact info, the little red text at the bottom showing Unblock Caller.
“Guessing that wasn’t you then.”
“Nope.” He clicked to unblock me before putting the phone away with a sigh. “And there was me doing the gentlemanly thing and waiting for you to reach out. Makes me want to fire Kevin all over again.”
“You fired him?”
“Of course.” He looked bemused. “The day your article came out. You can’t honestly think we’d let him continue with everything you exposed.
Thank you for that, by the way. That was a massive risk for you.
I’d already realised I’d fucked up by that point, but seeing you put everything on the line for me really hammered it home.
You cared about me…even believing I’d cheated on you. You still cared about me.”
“Wasn’t that much of a risk now, was it?”
Luca’s expression turned guarded. “Ah, I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me you’re not the mystery investor in Identity who’s made my job and benefits iron-clad?”
Luca bit his lip. “Maybe…but please don’t be mad at me, I just—”
I cut him off by putting my hand over his mouth. “I’m not mad.”
His eyes widened in surprise, so I continued. “Well, I was a bit at first. You can’t just interfere in my life without telling me about it.”
I felt his smirk lift against my palm. “Let me rephrase that. You can’t interfere in my life again. If we’re going to give this a go, we need to be completely honest with each other.”
I removed my hand so he could speak. “I won’t do anything like that again. And I didn’t do it hoping it’d make you fall for me.”
“Why did you do it then?”
“Because you saw me,” he said honestly. “There you were, your life in tatters, and yet you helped me. You didn’t judge me.
Didn’t treat me differently. For the first time in years, someone didn’t look at me and wonder how they could play my fame to their advantage.
You weren’t hoping for a story to tell. You didn’t judge me for having an anxiety attack, just talked me through it before offering me a very private part of yourself. ”
My cheeks flamed, and Luca chuckled. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Ollie. I meant telling me about your mum, not the blowjob.”
“Oh.” I blushed deeper.
“I knew I’d fucked up asking you for the NDA,” he said softly.
“I couldn’t reach out after that, but…I also couldn’t let you go.
Especially knowing what you were going through.
There aren’t many perks to my fame and fortune, but I knew I was in a position to help you achieve at least some of the happiness you deserved.
So, I interfered. And I don’t regret it.
If I had to go back in time, I’d do exactly the same thing again. ”
“You didn’t even know me,” I whispered.
“I knew enough.” His hand cupped my throat, my pulse jumping under his thumb. “People like you, Ollie, deserve all the happiness in the world. I knew that then, and I’m even more certain of it now.”