Chapter 15 #3
‘Fancy seeing you here,’ I joked lamely. Luca’s forearms were covered in a light dusting of paint, tiny flecks of pale yellow like a constellation of golden freckles against his olive skin.
‘I have to hand it to you, Thompson, it’s not easy to pull off stained, twenty-year-old overalls, but as always, you continue to surprise me.
’ My cheeks flushed at the compliment. I was back to being Thompson again.
But it didn’t have the same mocking undertone as before.
It felt playful. Mischievous almost. Like the twinkle in Luca’s eye.
‘This thing is twenty years old?!’ I cried in outrage, glancing down at the faded jumpsuit that, despite my rolling the legs up five times, was still trailing on the floor.
‘Hey, boss, you didn’t compliment me on my outfit,’ came Terry’s voice over the creak of the ladder as his heavy boots descended one by one.
I giggled as he struck a pose at the bottom, both thumbs hooked over the strap of his tool belt, the dozen or so pockets already adorning his cargo trousers apparently insufficient storage.
He flung one ankle over the other as he looked moodily up at the ceiling.
‘Nor me,’ Ivan joined in, pointing one finger, John Travolta-style, up in the air before jumping a good foot off the ground to reach Terry’s high five.
Luca chuckled, unfazed by their ribbing. ‘What can I say, boys? You’ve either got it or you haven’t.’
‘You saying Jenny’s got it then, boss?’ Terry grinned, sharing a nudge nudge wink wink with Ivan. He was clearly enjoying himself way too much to notice the two pink spots that had appeared on Luca’s cheekbones. Or mine, for that matter.
‘I’m saying you don’t,’ Luca said smartly, expertly sidestepping any hole Terry was trying to dig for him.
Terry closed his eyes, one hand flying to his chest as if he’d been shot, the other clutching the side of the ladder as all six foot five of him fell dramatically to the floor.
After a few seconds, he opened one eye, surveying his silent audience.
He chuckled throatily, throwing me a wink before climbing back up to a standing position.
‘After watching that, I can see where Kiki gets her performance skills from,’ I whispered down to Luca, whose shoulders shook with laughter as he angled his paintbrush neatly along the edge of the skirting board.
We worked in silence for a few minutes. Not the awkward kind.
The kind that two people comfortable in each other’s presence are happy to pass the time in, no pressure to fill the void with pointless small talk.
‘So, when’s the big day?’ Luca asked eventually, straightening up and bending his neck this way and that.
I froze. My eyes automatically swivelled to land on my engagement ring, which had twisted itself around, only the silver band visible. I shimmied it back around with my third finger, brushing the diamond face with the pad of my thumb.
‘Your brother’s wedding?’ Luca’s delicate emphasis made my cheeks flush.
‘19 th July.’
Luca raised a questioning eyebrow at my less than enthusiastic response.
‘I’m happy for him, for both of them. Truly. It’s just—’ I stopped myself, bending down to pour some more paint into the plastic tray.
‘You thought it would be you,’ Luca finished for me, an unapologetic shrug of the shoulders that told me he understood exactly how I felt.
‘I’m jealous of my own brother’s happiness. God, I’m a terrible human being,’ I groaned, hiding my face shamefully in the crook of my elbow. The fabric smelt musty, the faint tang of white spirit cutting through the stale odour.
‘You’re not jealous of his happiness, you’re just wanting a little slice of your own. That doesn’t make you a terrible human being, it just makes you human.’ A memory passed briefly over his face and I bit my cheek as I remembered Luca’s own happily never after.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to dredge up the past.’
‘Don’t be.’ Luca shrugged, the steady rhythm of his paintbrush unwavering.
‘The past is what makes us who we are. But to quote my Dadaji .?.?.’ He cleared his throat, putting on a deep, authoritative voice with an accent stronger than his own.
‘If you let the past define your present, you quickly lose any hope of a future.’
My roller stopped. His words, despite their theatrical delivery, caused something to shift inside of me, my throat suddenly thick like cotton wool.
‘He sounds like a wise man. Clearly the apple fell very far from the tree.’ I bumped my hip bone lightly against his shoulder, feeling some inexplicable need to navigate us safely back to our normal, light-hearted dynamic.
‘If I can even be half the man he is, I’ll be happy.’
‘Who’s to say you’re not already there?’
Luca lowered his paintbrush, his eyes big and round as they searched my face. He blinked fast once, twice, three times, before his mouth stretched into a crooked smile.
‘And who’s to say the wedding won’t be fun?’
I look at him flatly. ‘Being a single guy in your thirties at a wedding is fun. Being a single woman in your thirties at a wedding is like being one of those abandoned puppies in a cardboard box by the side of the road, everyone throwing you pitying looks as they walk past, keeping a wide berth in case finding yourself unexpectedly single and alone in your thirties is somehow catching.’
Luca chuckled. ‘Well, there’s your answer, then. Don’t go alone.’
‘Right,’ I scoffed, as if he’d just suggested I turn up stark naked. His eyes widened as if to say why not? ‘Alice is working and even though Jacob said we could go together, I already know he’s going to bring a date and then I’ll be the awkward third wheel.’
There was a short pause, nothing but the squelch of my roller filling the silence.
‘I could always go with you, if you like.’
I dropped my roller. It landed with a dull splat on the dust sheet below, showering Luca’s hair with a fresh sprinkling of yellow.
‘ Shit! ’ I dropped to the ground, dabbing at the mess with a wet cloth. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean – it just slipped out of my hand.’
‘I’ll pretend I believe you.’ Luca grinned, wiping at his face with the cuff of his sleeve and leaving a pale-yellow smear just below his temple. ‘So?’ I could feel him seeking my gaze, dipping his head to try and catch my eye. I feigned ignorance, buying myself a few precious seconds.
‘So, what?’
Luca’s head tilted to one side, his broad chest rising with a deep breath. ‘So, what do you say we go together? You know, as friends,’ he added quickly.
‘Oh, you don’t have to do that.’
‘I know,’ he said simply. ‘But I want to. If that’s what you want, that is?’
I reached for my roller, suddenly wanting something to do with my hands.
‘OK.’ I blinked, surprised by the speed and ease in which the word tumbled out of my mouth, ready and waiting on the tip of my tongue.
‘OK.’ Luca nodded, turning back to his skirting board. I watched his right cheek hitch slightly, both eyes closing for a split second as he performed a mini fist pump, and wondered what it all meant. If he could feel it too. This fizzing sense of anticipation brewing in the pit of my stomach.
‘That’s me, folks. I need to get back and relieve the sitter.’ Terry’s voice made me jump, his heavy-soled boots unpausing as they clomped towards the exit. I looked around the empty hall and realised everyone else must have already left, my watch confirming it was well past 9 p.m.
‘Thanks again, Terry, I owe you one,’ Luca called, raising a hand in the air.
Terry gave a two-fingered salute before disappearing into the night air.
The echo of the door swinging closed suddenly made me very conscious that Luca and I were alone.
I caught him looking at me, those big, gold-rimmed eyes trained unashamedly on my face, warm and curious in a way that triggered that flip-flop sensation in my belly.
‘What?’
‘You’ve got a little something—’
‘Oh.’ I wiped blindly at where he was pointing, my fingers coming away clean every time. ‘Did I get it?’
Luca smiled. ‘Not quite.’ He took a step forward, closing the distance between us entirely. I breathed out unevenly, watching his chest rising and falling faster than normal. ‘It’s just – there.’
‘ Hey! ’ The paintbrush Luca had just produced from behind his back dabbed clumsily across my face, leaving a cold streak of paint down my right cheek. My eyes narrowed. ‘Oh, it’s so on.’
I got him on the forearm, a thick swipe of yellow running from his wrist to the inside of his elbow.
His grin widened. Brandishing his brush like a fencing sword, he lunged forward, landing another blow to the sleeve of my left arm.
Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I aimed for the face, but Luca dodged quickly to the side, grabbing my paintbrush-wielding hand in his.
He spun me around, so quickly that I heard myself gasp, my own arm pinning me against his chest. I could feel the contours of his body through the worn coveralls, his belt buckle pressing against the soft, fleshy part at the base of my spine.
‘Care to admit defeat?’ Luca teased, his breath warm against my ear.
‘Never,’ I vowed, twisting free from his grip and reaching down to swap my paintbrush for the roller.
Luca hesitated at my choice of upgrade. ‘What’s wrong, Patel?
Start something you can’t finish?’ My roller struck gold, gliding up the right side of his face and forming a perfect half-beard from jaw to ear. I smiled triumphantly.
‘Oh, I always finish. Don’t you worry about that.
’ Something flashed hot and molten behind his eyes, confirmation that his dual meaning was no accident.
My breath hitched audibly in my throat, an unexpected rush of desire scorching through my veins, throwing me off-guard.
And off balance. My foot caught in the trailing end of my trouser leg, sending me lurching forwards and straight towards an unsuspecting Luca.
The floor rushed up to meet us and I screwed my eyes tightly shut, every muscle in my body bracing for impact.
But then I felt Luca’s arms wrap themselves around me, strong and sure as they pulled me tightly against his chest, cushioning my fall.
When I opened them again, we were about as close as two people could possibly be.
Noses practically touching. A tangled mess of limbs as our hearts beat furiously against each other through our overalls.
Luca’s mouth formed a perfect O beneath me, his gaze flitting from my eyes to my mouth.
Eyes. Mouth. Eyes. Mouth. And for one wild, terrifying moment, I thought about kissing him – how easy it would be to snake my arms around his neck, twist the ends of his hair between my fingertips as I pulled his lips closer to where I wanted them—
‘ Ahem .’
Someone cleared their throat behind us and we sprang apart, scrambling to detach ourselves from one another. Terry was stood in the doorway, rubbing at his stubble with one hand, an amused look on his face.
‘Sorry, didn’t mean to .?.?. interrupt.’ It looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.
Warmth flooded my cheeks. Why did it feel like I’d just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar?
‘Just forgot my keys,’ he explained, his boots echoing in the silence as he sauntered over and swiped a handful of metal off one of the chairs.
‘As you were,’ he called over his shoulder, jangling his prize noisily in the air as he disappeared through the doorway, dipping his head as he went.
The door slammed shut once more, the moment gone, vanishing into the night along with a chuckling Terry.
A swirl of cool air hurried in from outside, biting against the bare skin of my arms. I shivered.
‘It’s getting late. I guess we should probably call it a night too,’ Luca said reluctantly, his eyes fixed on mine as though willing me to disagree. And just like that, my whole body was ablaze once more, one look from Luca enough to restart the burning flame in the pit of my belly.
I nodded. ‘Probably.’