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“Nope. I was just warming up with those first two stories.” Harper was putting up a good front, attempting to take some of the darkest moments of her life and make light of them, but he could tell she’d been genuinely hurt by the assholes she’d dated.
“Not sure we want to know,” Conor muttered.
“This is the last one, I promise. I dated Ashtyn Lewis.”
Luca figured that made sense. Ashtyn was heir to the Lewis high-fashion house, who produced Siren’s Smile. The guy was a billionaire a few times over. “Okay—let’s have it. Why did that relationship end?”
Harper sighed. “I walked into his home office one afternoon and found him bent over his desk, getting fucked by one of the gardeners on his estate. Turned out, he not only wanted me to serve as his arm candy in public but also as a beard.”
“Jesus.” Conor raked a hand through his hair.
Harper laughed it off, leaning forward to put her wine glass on the coffee table. “God, you should probably cut me off. Obviously, I’ve had too much to drink. I can’t believe I just told you all of that.”
“Why not?” Conor asked.
“I don’t exactly come out of those stories sounding so good. Constantly falling for guys who were using me. You would think I’d have learned my lesson the first time without having to reinforce it.”
“What lesson do you think you should have learned?” Luca asked.
Harper shrugged. “My mom says I have a bit of a Pollyanna personality. I’m too trusting for my own good.”
Luca frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with having a positive attitude, sunshine. You’re open and giving. Those aren’t negative attributes.”
“They were the assholes, Harper,” Conor said, scowling. “Preying on a beautiful woman with a big heart.”
“Don’t let a few bad apples stop you from being yourself,” Luca added. “And I’m glad you told us because you’ve got us now. We’ve got your back. You can share secrets with us without fear of judgment.”
Conor glanced at Luca, that frown still in place. Maybe he didn’t like Luca making promises for both of them.
Luca wasn’t sure why he’d used we instead of I, but he wasn’t sorry. It felt right. Besides, his personality was the equivalent to a bull in a china shop, which meant he tended to bulldoze straight through situations until he got his way. If that meant he had to drag Conor along until he started walking on his own, then so be it.
Harper was pleased by their supportive comments. “I’m glad we’re becoming friends.”
“Friends,” Conor murmured quietly, almost as if he was trying the word on for size.
Luca wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or her openness or the fact they’d been in each other’s faces for two weeks solid, but he was starting to feel as close to Conor and Harper as he was the lifelong friends who’d just left. They saw and spoke through text every single day, Harper and Conor making daily visits to the construction site, in addition to the happy hours.
At first, Luca thought perhaps they were keeping tabs on his work, but lately, he got the sense they were coming because they liked hanging out with him for a little while. God knew those visits were the best parts of his day.
Conor typically stopped by first thing in the morning, armed with two large coffees. Like Luca, Conor drank it black and strong enough to wield its own hammer. He and Conor would drink coffee, discuss the day’s plan or the weather or gossip about their newly combined families, then Conor would say goodbye and head to his office at Enigma.
Harper’s chosen time of day to visit was lunchtime, and she always came toting something delicious she’d made that morning, or sometimes with takeout from a local restaurant. She’d spent most of her time this week in Conor’s kitchen while he was at work, experimenting with recipes she hoped to include on the menu for her restaurant—something he and Conor were benefitting from as her official taste-testers.
The one thing none of them had broached since the night of the fire was his and Conor’s fight. While the tension between them was much less, Luca got a sense it still wasn’t completely gone.
Maybe it was time to try to clear that hurdle once and for all.
“I think we’ve become friends, Conor, but you tell me. I thought we were on our way to a friendship once before, and you ghosted me. What happened between us in high school?” Luca asked. “One day, we’re palling around in class, working on a Spanish assignment together, and the next, you just disappeared.”
“You really don’t know what happened?” Conor asked, and Luca watched as Harper shifted, slowly leaning back on the couch, attempting to make herself invisible, giving them space to hash this out.
Luca shook his head. “No. I don’t.”
“The library.” It was clear Conor thought that response was enough. But it wasn’t.
“Say more.”
Conor sighed. “I… I thought you were going to kiss me.”
