I blow out a breath. “Yeah, and then my lies got too big.”
“And Jasper?”
“Oh.” My lips curve into a smile. “I’m in love with him.”
Luca snorts, raising an eyebrow. “No shit. Why did you hide that?”
I laugh. “C’mon, Luca. Look at me and then look at him.”
Luca flattens his lips into a thin line. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” I mumble.
He shakes his head. “No, I don’t. And even if I knew what you were insinuating, I’d make you say it anyway.”
I drop my head. “It was just sex… until it wasn’t. And then… I was falling so fast, and I was so afraid. He didn’t even know about the kids until… God, two weeks ago?”
Luca’s mouth falls open. “What? He didn’t know?”
I shake my head. “Not until I told Theo, and he convinced me to tell Jasper.”
Luca’s face goes pale. “You talked to Theo about it?”
I nod. “Yeah, the day Jasper came into the diner.”
Something complicated happens to Luca’s face, emotions flashing through his eyes faster than I can keep up. “You told Theo before me. But… why?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “It wasn’t personal.”
It’s easy to see that he’s hurt. “It feels personal, Arlo. You don’t even know him. I thought…” He shakes his head, looking away from me. “I thought we were friends.”
My heart squeezes painfully. “Weare.You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“Apparently not.” Luca snorts a humorless laugh. “Not if you’d rather confide in Theo than me.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I rush to say, my heart hammering.
Luca looks at me, pinning me with his gray eyes. “Whatwasit like then? I’m trying hard to understand, but I… I told you so much about me. I confided in you. Why didn’t you confide in me?”
“Jasper,” I say softly. “He’s your friend. He’s your boyfriend’s best friend. And like you said, once the lies started, I didn’t know how to stop them. At first it was that I didn’t even know if I could get the kids, and then it was that it didn’t matter yet because I failed my first home visit and needed to get a bigger place. And then I finally did, and I wanted to tell you—I did. But everything was so fucked up with Jasper, and I didn’t get the chance, and then I got approved, and then the house burned down, and—” My words cut off quickly as I inhale a sharp breath.
“So you didn’t tell me about your siblings because… what? You were worried I’d tell Jasper? That’s shit, Arlo. I would have never told anyone your secrets.”
“I didn’t want to put you in the middle. That’s all.”
“So why didn’t you tell me about Jasper? How long have you been together?”
“Officially?” I ask.
Luca levels me with a glare. “You know damn well I don’t mean officially.”
“Remember that night you texted me about Austin and Jasper having a bad night? There was a fire, and it was a rough night for them?”
Luca nods.
“It was that night. I was driving home from the diner, and I saw Jasper’s truck at The Pub. I decided to stop in and check on him. I went home with him. And then… we kinda tried to go backto normal. But then after one of the self-defense lessons Jasper did with us, we hooked up again in the parking lot.”
Luca’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline, but he stays quiet.
