Page 59 of Spotlight Hearts

He really, really likes being held like this.

Even if the world is watching from the tree-line.

TWENTY

LUCA

The sun is already low when Harry calls.

I’m sprawled on the oversized daybed by the infinity pool, one arm draped over Kai’s waist, my fingers tracing lazy patterns on the bare skin of his lower back. He’s half-asleep against my chest, warm and heavy in the best way, breathing slow and even. The ocean is a quiet rhythm beneath us. Everything feels golden and soft and mine.

Then my phone rings on the table.

Harry.

I sigh, but I don’t move right away. I press one more kiss to the top of Kai’s head before I reach over and answer.

“Yeah?”

Harry doesn’t waste time on pleasantries. “Sunset walk on the beach. Thirty minutes. Make it look romantic—hand-holding, close talking, maybe a kiss at the water’s edge if you can sell it. Paps are already positioned. Don’t fuck it up.”

I close my eyes. The irritation is instant, sharp. “We just got here.”

“And the numbers are good, but they can be better. Do the walk. That’s an order.”

He hangs up.

I drop the phone back on the table a little harder than necessary. Kai stirs against me, lifting his head.

“Harry?” he asks, voice still sleepy.

“Yeah.” I rub a hand over my face. “Wants us on the beach for sunset. Romantic walk. Hand-holding, the whole performance.”

Kai’s quiet for a second. Then he sighs and sits up, the sheet slipping down to his hips. “Of course he does.”

I hate the way his shoulders tense again. I hate that this perfect, quiet day is being interrupted by Harry’s demands. But I also can’t deny the small, selfish part of me that likes having an official excuse to touch Kai in public and let the world know he’s mine—to hold his hand, to pull him close, to kiss him under the sunset like it’s part of the job when really it’s the only part of the job I still enjoy.

I reach out and tug him back down, wrapping my arms around him tighter.

“We don’t have to make it feel fake,” I murmur against his temple. “We can just…walk and talk. And I’ll get to touch you. That part I like.”

Kai huffs a small laugh, but he relaxes into me again. “You’re impossible.”

“Only when it comes to you.”

We stay like that for a few more minutes—tangled, warm, and breathing together—before we finally drag ourselves up to get ready.

I pull on a loose white linen shirt and shorts. Kai wears a simple tank and shorts that sit low on his hips. He looks good. Too good. I can’t stop myself from stepping behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist again, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

“Ready?” I ask.

He nods, but I feel the slight tension in his shoulders.

We walk out onto the beach just as the sky starts turning pink and orange. The sand is still warm under our feet. The paps are there; I spot two of them half-hidden behind palm trees and one farther down the shore with a long lens. I ignore them.

Instead, I reach for Kai’s hand.

Our fingers lace together naturally now. I swing our joined hands lightly as we walk along the water’s edge. Every few steps, I tug him closer, letting my shoulder brush his, letting my thumb stroke over his knuckles. When the waves rush up and wet our ankles, I pull him sideways so the water doesn’t splash him too much. He laughs—quiet and real—and the sound settles something warm and heavy in my chest.