My stomach clenched. “How bad was it?”
He sighed. “They love me very much.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t expected that.
He let out a breath. “I think that’s what made it so difficult.”
I pressed a kiss against his hair and waited.
The story of the call came slowly, pieces of it scattered through long stretches of quiet while he untangled thoughts he’d probably been carrying around for years.
By the time he finished, I wasn’t sure what to say.
There wasn’t a solution. I didn’t have a reassuring speech thatcould fix the fact that loving someone didn’t always mean understanding them.
I settled for honesty. “I’m sorry.”
Luka nodded. “So am I.”
Then I noticed the business card resting on the table beside him. I recognized it in a heartbeat. My pulse raced. I looked from the card to Luka.
He reached across and turned the card over beneath his fingertips, gazed up at me…
And smiled.
Warmth spread through my chest.
“Ah.”
Luka laughed, the sound brighter than I’d heard from him in a while.
“Is that all?”
I blinked. “What exactly do you want from me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Good.” I took his hand in mine. “Because I don’t have a prepared speech.”
He smirked. “That’s disappointing.”
“I can panic and make one up if you’d like.”
His smile widened. “I think you’ve already done enough panicking for both of us.”
I shrugged. “That’s fair.” I threaded my fingers through his.
The tension I’d been carrying around for the past two days eased a little.
Luka had stopped looking trapped. I’d seen it the moment I walked through the door.
I brought his hand to my mouth and brushed a kiss across his knuckles. “I’m proud of you.”
Luka looked away. “I thought there would be a moment when I’d just know.”
I smiled. “My dad says moments like that are a myth.”
Luka groaned. “Your father has an opinion about everything.” His arm wound its way around my waist.
