Chapter 9 Matilda
Luca and I fell into a pattern for the rest of the week—meet in the mornings at the gym, where I’d talk to him, and he’d nod or ignore me in response.
We’d then move to the ice for three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon, perfecting the beginner’s moves.
Fortunately, we’d been assigned to the practice rink in the main studio, so we didn’t have to traipse across the grounds in a golf cart every day.
I had no doubt that was because of Luca’s celebrity status.
Jack was a constant shadow, his familiar figure leaning against a wall taking a phone call or lounging on the spectators’ chairs watching the practice.
I’d never seen an agent so attentive, but I guessed when your client was your best friend, it wasn’t too bad following them around.
There was something comforting about his presence, a silent reassurance that I wasn’t dealing with Luca alone.
The cameras had started rolling, too, which went better than expected.
They were all wide shots of our practice, which would be edited for our show intro.
Surprisingly, Luca relaxed under the lenses of the cameras.
I’d anticipated some resistance to them filming us, but he was clearly well acquainted with being in the spotlight.
We still hadn’t watched any footage, and I needed to broach the subject. I’d been delaying it since Monday because I really didn’t want to deal with confrontational Luca. But we were about to head into week two, so we needed to discuss our plan of action, whether he liked it or not.
Although he was still completely disengaged in conversation, his ability on the ice gave me some hope that we might be OK.
Most people struggled with ice-skating because they were worried about falling over and looking silly, so their skating was reserved and cautious.
But Luca didn’t care. Despite belittling the sport at the start of the week, he listened attentively to every instruction I offered, put it into action, and didn’t stop until he’d perfected it.
Anytime he fell over, he didn’t look fazed or embarrassed. He simply got up and tried again.
His lack of self-consciousness was ridiculously attractive.
But we still had a long way to go, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him infuriating. On a fundamental level, I understood that you couldn’t get on with everyone and not everyone would like you. But honestly, I’d never met anyone so set on disliking everyone around them.
Was I doing something that was pissing him off? Maybe I’d come on a bit strong at the start?
—
On Friday morning, I stood outside the shower room, waiting for Luca and Jack to emerge. The hallway was quiet and empty, except for the low hum of a vacuum cleaner down one of the many corridors.
Our practice that day had been pushed back, as Luca had something in the morning that he couldn’t miss. It put my evening plans on a time crunch, but I couldn’t refuse when he asked to change our times.
Deep baritones broke the quiet as Luca and Jack appeared from the door leading to the shower room.
Luca’s hair was damp and messy, a few lucky drops escaping and rolling down the side of his face.
He was always handsome, but fresh from a shower, unkempt and relaxed, he was arguably one of the hottest people I’d seen in my life.
I knew he hadn’t noticed me yet because he was as animated as I’d ever seen him—almost smiling—as he spoke with Jack.
And I had the job of bursting his bubble.
“Hey, guys,” I announced my presence. It took a millisecond for his demeanor to change from casual to alert. He stood taller and hardened his expression. Jack remained the same, of course. Smiling, he whispered something to Luca as they approached.
“I know it’s the last thing you want to hear right now, Luca, but we need to schedule some time to watch the tapes and plan for the next five weeks,” I told him, steeling myself for his response.
“Can’t we do that in one of our sessions next week?”
I shook off my frustration and continued, “Not really. It’s probably best that we use our days to skate. We only get certain slots on the ice, so unless we want to go to a public rink, we’re held to our schedule.”
“OK.”
My jaw tightened as I tried not to show how his one-word answers and complete dismissal of my attempts to be friendly grated on me.
“So, is there a day that works for you? And you too, Jack, of course. You’re more than welcome to join our sessions.” Maybe Jack’s presence would put him at ease.
“Your schedule is pretty clear on Monday and Tuesday evening.” Jack scrolled through the calendar on his phone.
I racked my brain for a moment, sorting through my mental diary. I was looking after Taylor on Monday and then visiting my mother on Tuesday. Although it would land me in shit, I wouldn’t mind an excuse to blow off my mother.
“If those don’t work for you, we can do another day,” Luca cut in, leaving me stunned. It might have been the longest sentence he’d directed at me this whole week.
I was about to say that I could do either, but Jack added, “We’re free tomorrow morning, too.”
Would working over the weekend put them out? I studied their expressions, looking for any reluctance about giving up their Saturday to watch recordings. Finding nothing, I settled with, “I’m free tomorrow morning but could do Tuesday, too.”
At least if they wanted to do Tuesday, it would be delaying my visit to Mum rather than rescheduling Taylor.
“Tomorrow’s fine,” Luca answered.
“Are you sure? I know it’s a Saturday, and you’ve probably got better stuff to do than watch old recordings.”
“Have you met this guy?” Jack flicked his thumb in Luca’s direction. “Boring as fuck, does nothing over the weekend.”
A grin spread across my face, a chuckle bubbling out of my chest. Luca looked disinterested.
I motioned to the doors and continued as we walked together. “Shall we meet back here tomorrow? We can watch the recordings and plan in our dressing room.”
Luca nodded, and Jack replied, “That works. I’m guessing this place is open over the weekend, then?”
“I may or may not have bought the guards bribery doughnuts a dozen times, so they’ll let me in whenever.”
As we rounded the corner into the open reception area, I spotted Mark leaning casually against the front desk, aiming a smarmy smile at Monica, one of the receptionists. How had I not realized what a sleaze he was before we dated?
He did a double take when he caught sight of us, his gaze bouncing between me and Luca. I offered a small, extremely forced smile as we passed and headed toward the exit, hoping that he’d let us just go.
Please don’t be an arsehole.
I should have known better.
“Not going to stop and say hello?” he called after us, his voice ringing out. My eyes slipped shut in a grimace. When I opened them, Luca was already watching me, his gaze narrowed.
Fuck.
I plastered on a smile and glanced over my shoulder, offering a small wave. “Hey, I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go pick up Taylor from Lauren’s, so I’m in a bit of a rush.” It was a lie, but the mention of my sister was enough to snap his mouth shut.
Luca and Jack both remained silent as we continued out the doors and into the dimly lit parking lot. The last traces of daylight were fading, leaving a gentle breeze brushing against my skin. July was warm in southeast England, but as soon as the sun went down, it got a little chillier.
“What was that about?” Luca asked as we drew to a stop. There weren’t many cars left in the car park, but I took a guess that theirs was the fancy, obnoxious one parked on the opposite side from mine.
“What do you mean?” I feigned ignorance, hoping he’d drop it.
“That grimace you gave Mark.”
“Oh, that.” I racked my brain, scrambling for an excuse.
I didn’t want to tell Luca about Mark—our breakup might have been Mark’s fault, but I didn’t want to risk giving Luca any other ammunition for his dislike of me.
I settled on: “He has a habit of talking too much and, honestly, I’m tired. I just want to get home.”
A frown deepened on his forehead. He did not look happy with my response, but he remained silent. Jack studied his friend. Something in the way Luca seemed to notice everything unsettled me.
“Anywaaay.” I readjusted my bag. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning.”
Jack turned to face me and offered a bright smile. “See you tomorrow.”
Luca, as always, said nothing at all.