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“Thanks, Levy,” I croaked before taking a long sip of my water.
All of us waited for Luca’s reaction. Before he could say a single word, a horde of waiters brought our food, and Luca set the board down on the ground.
On. The. Ground.
He tossed a perfunctory “thank you” my way, then dug into his omelet like a starving man. Fortunately, Elise steered the conversation away from his nonreaction to a safer topic: Mick, the honey guy.
“He’s the reason I was a little late. I helped him run his stand.”
Elliot frowned. “You just…jumped behind the counter?”
“I asked before I did so, but essentially, yes.”
He shook his head, and I grinned.
“Did he pay you?” Weston asked.
“In honey sticks.”
“I can’t believe you.” Elise shook her head much the same way her brother had. “Poor Mick is probably planning how he’s going to propose.”
“Why poor Mick? He’s playing the same game I am. We’re having fun, babe. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“What does that mean?” Luca barked. “What game?”
“They have been flirting and bantering all summer,” Elise supplied. “Saoirse’s been slowly reeling him in.”
A deep crevice formed between Luca’s eyes. “What happens once you reel men in?”
I lifted a shoulder. “It depends on the man.”
“Cut them loose?” he pressed.
“Again, depends on the man.” I tried to keep my answers light, but Luca wasn’t even attempting to disguise his disdain.
Elise shoved Luca’s arm. “Relax. Mick is a grown man, and he’s been flirting right back. Plus, he got free labor today. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a few points ahead in this little game of theirs.”
After a tense beat, Luca blew out a heavy breath. “I’m sorry. I haven’t gotten enough sleep this week and my head hurts. I’m being an asshole.”
Now that I was really looking at him, compared to the man I’d met last week, he seemed beaten down. He was impeccably dressed and groomed, but his shoulders were slightly slumped, and there were purple smudges beneath his heavy-lidded eyes.
“That’s okay.” I tossed him a saucy smirk. “I know I probably give off the impression of being a femme fatale, but I assure you, it’s an illusion. I have never once broken a man’s heart, nor do I want to.”
“Can you say the same, Luca?” Elise asked.
He gave her a slow, crooked smile. “I’ve never broken a man’s heart,bella. I can promise you that.”
She snorted a laugh. “Shut up and eat your food. You’re ridiculous.”
Brunch went on with slightly less animosity after that. Elliot told us about the property his development company was considering investing in, and the guys debated the economics of it. Though I listened, I didn’t have a lot to add. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a mind for business, but I was more of an idea person. Numbers were like Sanskrit to me.
Elise leaned closer to me, zoning out of their conversation. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I have coffee scheduled with Maritza, but I’m free after that. It’ll be a laundry and veg day.”
“Who is Maritza again?”
“I met her at a hostel in Croatia, remember? She’s from Berlin, but she’s moving to Boulder and starting a boutique gardening business, which is why we’re having coffee.”
