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Luca shook his head. “No. I don’t. I mean, I realize it’s unusual—in most families,” he added with a grin. “But, Harper, you’ve been there for all of it. Does it feel like he struggles when the three of us are together in bed?”
“Not a bit,” she said immediately. Then she considered the rest of the time. “I would say his struggles are more with himself than with us, but don’t ask me why. It’s just a feeling I have.”
“I’d say you’re right. Conor’s very closemouthed about himself, especially when it comes to the past. I keep hoping he’ll open up to us, but?—”
“I wish the same thing,” she interjected. “Do you know how his mom died?”
Harper had been moved by Luca’s memories of his own mother, but apart from telling them that he was nineteen when he lost his mom, Conor had remained frustratingly silent on the subject.
Luca glanced her direction, and she could tell he did know. “Yeah. I know. I was waiting for Conor to tell us about her himself. I’ve become pretty good friends with his brother, Gage, over the past year or so. We were drinking one night, and the subject of moms came up. Conor’s mother committed suicide.”
Harper gasped, her heart breaking. “I was thinking maybe an illness or car accident. I never thought…”
“I can see why he’d be reluctant to talk about it, but even so, we’ve gotten close these past couple of months. I’ve shared things with the two of you I’ve only shared with my brothers.”
“Same for me,” Harper admitted. “With the exception of Luna, I’ve never told anyone about my fiasco-ridden love life.” She leaned back against the headrest. “You know him better than me, so?—”
Luca cut her off. “No. I don’t. While Conor and I were friends once—many, many years ago—the truth is, we were basically strangers starting over when Moretti Brothers landed the renovation job. Before we started working together, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Conor since high school, and our interactions were always minimal. The usual ‘how are you?’ followed by ‘fine’ conversation.”
Harper bit her lower lip as she chewed over that information, then she smiled. She could tell her abrupt mood change confused Luca.
“What’s that smile about?” he asked.
She turned to look at him. “The three of us are less than two months into this friendship and two weeks into the sex. The words ‘impatient much?’ just flashed in my head.”
Luca laughed. “Excellent point. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting majorly carried away and I’m not even trying to stop myself.”
Harper loved how honest Luca was about his feelings. The man shot straight from the hip, and she knew without a doubt he wasn’t playing games, wasn’t trying to gaslight her. It was refreshing to be with someone so willing to put himself out there. “I feel the same way. But it’s obvious Conor doesn’t move at the speed of light like we do.”
“So we’re going to have to give him time,” Luca said, clearly no fan of the suggestion even though it was his.
“Ugh. I hate the idea of staying away from the two of you,” she grumbled.
Luca winked at her. “I said time, sunshine. Not distance.”
She laughed. As they approached her hotel, real life crept back in and with it, her responsibilities. “It is with a heavy heart that I must report I can’t do lunch with you tomorrow.”
“That’s right. You’re starting interviews for the line cooks. That’s exciting.”
“You have no idea. Oh, hey! I still have those empanadas I made for the weekend and then stupidly left here. There are more than enough for you and Joey and probably a few other guys on the crew for lunch tomorrow.” She’d intended to surprise Luca and Conor with the empanadas as car treats for their road trip. They were thirty minutes out of the city before she recalled she’d left them in the fridge. “Want to park real quick and run up to grab them?”
“Hell yeah. I’m not saying no to empanadas.”
He pulled into the hotel parking lot and the two of them walked in the front entrance, hand in hand. It was a gorgeous hotel, complete with a fancy restaurant and a huge bar just off the lobby. They were halfway to the elevator when Harper heard a familiar voice calling her name.
She turned, her eyes wide with surprise as Bradley rose from one of the lobby couches, placing an empty cocktail glass on the side table.
“Bradley.”
Her former manager walked up to them, offering her a warm, friendly hug that lingered for a moment, telling her how much he’d missed her. Hugs hadn’t figured into their relationship in the past, so she was touched by the gesture.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Bradley said as soon as they parted. He glanced over at Luca, with genuine curiosity. He’d no doubt spotted them holding hands.
“Bradley Renner, this is Luca Moretti,” she said, doing the introductions. “Luca, this is my former manager.”
“And you’re the contractor,” Bradley said. She was surprised he’d remembered that. She’d only mentioned Luca a couple of times, and Bradley was notorious for only listening with half an ear to things that didn’t involve or interest him.
“Nice to meet you,” Luca said, extending his hand.
