AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Trey scratches his head, wandering off just as Luca returns with four drinks. He takes one look at my face and demands, “What did she say?”
“Every clichéd comment about my sex life,” I explain, knocking back one of the drinks.
With a thunderous expression he vows, “I’ll put her straight. She can’t talk to you like that.”
“I was hardly polite back, but don’t worry,” I placate, accepting two mimosas now that Sienna and Trey aren’t around to drink them. “It’s nothing women won’t hear for another hundred years.”
“Still. It’s unacceptable.”
When I glance around the room, Balthazar is watching us. Heat prickles my skin as I wonder how long for. Did he see my exchange with Sienna?
Changing course, I ask, “Does she know I lost my family?”
“I’ve not told her, so I doubt it. Why, are you thinking of befriending her?”
“No, but would that be a bad thing?”
He levels me with those analytical blue eyes which look especially bright in the light-filled room. “You might find common ground, and it might be comforting for you. So by all means, share whatever you want with her. But don’t expect her to be the friend you might be hoping for.” His attention turns to Sienna reentering the room, her bag placed on the end of the huge sectional couch. “She might look sweet, but she plays a different game to me and my brothers. She’s much more like her mother than Dad.”
“Girls tend to take after their moms,” I tell him, running my fingers through his hair if only to remove the memory of Sienna’s fingers in it.
“Do you?”
A reflexive smile comes as I think of my mom. My family. “My mom was auburn, as was Clara. My eyes came from Dad, but his were greener. As for my personality, I think I’m a mixture, but losing them has made me…made me—”
Full of love, yet scared to love.
All of a sudden, I feel bereft, a by-product of too much alcohol and not enough sleep. I’m hungover, but I’m also tired of being an orphan. Of being the sole survivor of my family since my grandmother passed.
Luca runs an arm around my shoulders. “Hey,” he murmurs. “It’s okay to miss them on a day like today. It’s gonna be hard at this time of year.”
Gathering all of my composure, I nod. But I take the time to bask in his comfort, this man who appears too busy to show affection.
“I think,” he murmurs, making sure no one else can hear, even though they seem engrossed with their own conversations, “being on your own means you have all this love to give other people. Isn’t that what you said last night? That you have a lot of love to give? And you’ve got time to devote to what you’re passionate about, in particular your work—which you’reverygood at. You made good friends at Stein Hotel, a surrogate family.” His voice drops. “And now you have demanding lovers, men you leave greatly satisfied.” I grin happily, our eyes connecting in a moment of tenderness. “When you’re ready to love us, fall right into it, Winter. Because the chances are we’ll be there to catch you.”
“Luca,” I whisper, my heart clattering in my chest, my breath stalling.
“We’re greedy bastards, and we’ll happily occupy that generous heart of yours.”
I can’t take my eyes off his as I digest his words. “Are you saying you could love me?”
“For what other reason would I want to be in a relationship with you? Isn’t love our end goal?”
I nod.
He nods back as if to say:point made.
Being daring, I confess something bothersome. Something that might upset him.“I’ve never loved three men at once.”
He leans in and kisses me. “You’re doing it already. And you have us, Winter.”
Our eyes connect for what feels like forever. Overcome with emotion, aware of all the people I’ve loved in my life, I tell him, “I need to go and visit the graves of my family today. I’ve not had a chance since I’ve been back.”
“Of course. Do you want company?”
“This first time, I’d like to go on my own, but I’ll need to borrow a car.”
“We’ll drive you and wait in the car. You shouldn’t be on your own.”
