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When they finally left, Mrs. Umstead—Janice, as she insisted they call her—made it a point to say how lovely it was to meet Luke and Nico and hoped they were both coming to the picnic in two weeks.
“Well, that was hardly fair,” Nico said when they got home. “I didn’t get to call in my favor before you extracted a new one from me.”
“Excuse me?” Luke flopped down on the sofa in the living room. “I don’t recall the words, ‘Of course we’ll be there, Janice,’ coming from my mouth.”
“What could I say at that point?” He plunked down next to Luke. “You clearly had a hand in them putting me on the spot.”
Luke kicked off his shoes. “Right, it had nothing to do with you regaling everyone with stories of a certain nine-year-old covered in flour falling into a giant mixing vat and forcing their father and grandfather to hire someone to sanitize the equipment. Was that really true?”
Nico lounged back and exhaled. “I’m going to plead the Fifth.”
“You do that a lot.”
“Is it my fault you keep asking incriminating questions?” He winked before he got up. “I hope I wasn’t too much.”
“No. You were great.” Luke grabbed Nico’s hand and pulled himself up. “And, apparently, an international celebrity.”
“Whatever. Kent seemed to think it was no big deal.”
“Kent’s opinion doesn’t carry that much weight.” Less with every interaction. “Did you really curse at him in Italian?”
“I’m going to guess I can’t plead the Fifth on this.” Nico walked into the kitchen. “Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please, to the water, and yes, you can invoke your right to remain silent, but it would be helpful to know the truth if it comes up.”
“Remember when I told you the second-worst thing Nonna calls someone is a jackass?” When Luke nodded, Nico said, “I called him the worst thing Nonna calls people, porca troia.”
Luke snorted. “The worst thing your grandmother calls people is pork triage?”
Nico laughed so hard he stopped reaching for the glasses. “No, porca troia. It’s really quite vulgar. It means pig slut.”
“Nonna actually says that?”
“Only when she really hates someone. She usually does this too.” Nico put his hand between his teeth and shook it like he was biting into the finger.
“What does that mean?”
“Depends on who you ask, but to her it means if she sees you again, you’d better watch out.”
“Wow, you never said Nonna was so scary.” He noticed how easily he slipped into calling her Nonna and not “your nonna.”
“Only when you make her mad.” He filled a glass and handed it to Luke. “They heard everything.”
Luke followed Nico’s gaze. “Huh?”
“Ted and Janice. They heard me and Kent arguing. And I’m reasonably sure Janice, at least, understands Italian.” Nico shrank from Luke. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your work colleagues. Guess I’m no good at pretending to be someone’s boyfriend either.”
“Nico, you’re . . .” He wasn’t sure how to end that thought, so he reached for Nico’s hand. Nico tried to pull away, but Luke didn’t let that stop him. “You’re amazing. You are. I wish . . . I wish you would see that.”
He’d almost said something else, but that would’ve made things awkward between them. This was better.
“Fine, I’m amazing.” Nico pulled back and leaned on the counter. “But I’m still sorry to be part of the office gossip for the next week. I wanted them to remember you because you’re awesome, not because your boyfriend was involved in the most scandalous part of the day.”
If he were honest, he didn’t want to come to the attention of the managing partner because his ex decided to be a dickhead. “You can’t be responsible for what Kent did. Plus, you stood up for me. That’s what I’ll remember.”
“You deserve it.” Nico’s expression confused Luke. Almost sad, but not quite.
“Thank you. And since Mr. Umstead insisted we sit with them and Janice invited us to the picnic, they can’t have cared what happened.”
The tension drained from Nico. “True, and true.”
“Thank you.” Luke put the glass down and put his hands on Nico’s shoulders. “For everything today.”
This close, he wanted to kiss Nico, but he remembered their earlier conversation. The ‘your next boyfriend’ comment. Instead of a kiss, he settled for a hug. Those were safe between friends, right? Nico’s arms slid around Luke, and he smiled.
“You’re welcome.” Nico didn’t hold on for long. When he stepped back, he motioned toward the bedroom, not meeting Luke’s eyes. “I’m gonna set up the air mattress.”
The first day, Luke had been apprehensive about the sleeping situation. He barely knew Nico. It had taken an effort to fall asleep that night. Now, sleeping next to Nico felt comforting.
He walked into the bedroom as Nico opened the box.
“You know . . .” Luke waited until Nico looked up. There was something in Nico’s expression that suggested this was an issue for him. “We could take turns using the air mattress if you want.”
