23. Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Bran scrubs a hand over his jaw.
“I don’t want him to think he has to leave us to be free.”
“He doesn’t.”
I pick up my water.
“But you may need to prove that.”
The doorbell sounds through the mansion.
Perfect timing.
“That should be Adrien.”
I start toward the hall.
Bran follows me with his gaze.
“This conversation isn’t over.”
“Communication is also useful in male friendships.”
“Simone.”
“Talk to Luca.”
I leave him in the kitchen.
When I open the front door, Adrien Belcourt stands on the other side wearing jeans, a white I Love New York shirt, and a silk sleep mask pushed into his messy blond hair.
He looks like he woke in the back of a limousine and wandered toward the nearest mansion.
“Did you drive here asleep?”
“Almost.”
He glances toward the reporters beyond the gates.
“They’ve multiplied.”
“One of them believes I’m pregnant with your baby.”
Adrien steps inside.
“Merida would be a lovely name for our daughter.”
“I was considering Grace.”
He looks horrified.
“Far too ordinary.”
“You’re right.”
We walk into the sitting room and collapse onto opposite ends of a couch.
Adrien removes his sleep mask.
Dark circles shadow his eyes.
“You look terrible.”
“So do you.”
“I stayed awake all night because my best friend almost died and refuses to provide satisfying emotional details.”
“I told you about the crash.”
“You gave me facts.”
“You wanted diagrams?”
“I wanted romance.”
I stare at him.
His expression becomes alert.
“What?”
“Luca resigned.”
Adrien sits straighter.
“From your father?”
“Yes.”
A slow smile spreads across his face.
“Oh.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your terrifying bodyguard is rearranging his life.”
“He hasn’t come to see me.”
“It has been three days.”
“Exactly.”
“He almost died, reunited with his family, underwent multiple debriefings, and apparently resigned from a career.”
Adrien lifts one shoulder.
“He may be busy.”
“He could still call.”
“Has he?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether my doctor cleared me and whether the estate was secure.”
Adrien stares.
“That is foreplay for a man like Luca.”
“It is not.”
“It absolutely is.”
I begin laughing.
The sound comes out wrong.
Too sharp.
It cracks halfway through.
Adrien’s smile disappears.
“Simone.”
My eyes begin to burn.
“I miss him.”
The confession escapes before I can stop it.
“I miss him so much.”
Adrien slides closer.
“You’re in love with him.”
“Thank you for identifying the obvious.”
He takes both my hands.
“I’ve been waiting years for you to admit this.”
“You knew?”
“You once threw a drink at a woman because she touched his arm.”
“She was irritating.”
“You referred to her as a predatory scarecrow.”
“She was very tall.”
Adrien fights a smile.
“What happened on the island?”
I look toward the doorway.
Bran is no longer visible.
Then I tell Adrien everything.
Not every detail.
I don’t describe the exact movements of Luca’s tongue, despite Adrien attempting to request a technical review.
But I tell him about the plane.
The shelter.
Waking in Luca’s arms.
The pool.
The way Luca finally told me what he saw when he looked at me.
The kiss.
The sex.
The love.
I tell him how Luca confessed that he never felt as though he belonged in our world.
How he believed wanting me was another form of betrayal.
How he chose me anyway.
Adrien’s expressions change every few seconds.
Shock.
Delight.
Anger at Luca’s old rejection.
More delight.
“We slept together,” I finish.
“Obviously.”
“Multiple times.”
Adrien holds up one hand.
“Important question.”
“No.”
“You don’t know what I’m asking.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Was it good?”
I throw a pillow at his face.
Adrien catches it.
“That good?”
“It was everything.”
The words leave quietly.
“Which is why this feels so terrible now.”
“What feels terrible?”
“Being back.”
I pull my knees toward my chest.
“Everything looks the same, but I’m not.”
“Neither is Luca, apparently.”
“I know he loves me.”
“Then why are you panicking?”
“Because what if loving me becomes too difficult here?”
Adrien’s expression softens.
“He knew your family existed when he said it.”
“On the island, none of it was standing in front of him.”
“And now he resigned from your father’s company.”
That stops me.
Adrien leans forward.
“Simone, that isn’t a man running from you.”
“He hasn’t come.”
“He said he would try today.”
“What if he changes his mind?”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I’ve watched Luca stare at you like he wants to murder anyone who breathes too close.”
Adrien squeezes my hand.
“He isn’t going to abandon you after finally allowing himself to have you.”
I rest my forehead against my knees.
“I told myself I wouldn’t make the first move.”
“Why?”
“He needs to prove he’ll come to me.”
“That sounds dramatic.”
“I am dramatic.”
“Yes, but usually with better accessories.”
I glare at him.
Adrien reaches toward the coffee table and picks up my phone.
“You don’t need to chase him.”
He holds it out.
“But you’re allowed to tell the man you love that you want to see him.”
“That feels suspiciously reasonable.”
“I’m versatile.”
I accept the phone.
Luca’s last message remains on the screen.
Meeting with Francis this morning. I’ll come afterward if I can.
I stare at it.
Adrien waits.
“What should I say?”
“The truth.”
“I miss you desperately and have spent enough money to destabilize an international fashion house?”
“Maybe less truth.”
I type:
Are you still coming over?
My thumb hovers above the screen.
Adrien nudges my shoulder.
“Send it.”
I do.
The response arrives before I can set down the phone.
Yes.
One word.
Certain.
Very Luca.
A smile spreads across my face.
Adrien reads it over my shoulder.
“I told you.”
I press the phone against my chest.
Luca is coming.
Not because Dad assigned him.
Not because I’m his principal.
Because I asked.
And he chose to come to me.