by Jo Leigh
She jumped up and he had to grab her waist while she put her arms around his neck. Her kisses covered his lips, his jaw, his cheeks, even his nose, and then she came back to his lips again. “Is this what you’ve been working on all this time?”
He nodded and her eyes welled with tears. Happy ones.
“Anybody home?” It was Dominic. Who was probably with Tony and Catherine.
“Sweetheart?” he said, hugging her a little tighter. “We have to get ready. Didn’t you want to change?”
“Yes. I’ve got all the plates and stuff ready. And, uh, Patty’s bringing a punch bowl and the sangria to go in it, so we’ll need to make room on the table for that.”
“I’ll take care of it. You get dressed.”
She kissed him again. “I’ll thank you again later.”
“Can’t wait.”
Feeling damn well pleased, he met his brothers and Catherine in the living room. She held an elegant cake platter, and Tony carried a cake box. Dom had brought a bottle of champagne. An expensive one.
“What was all that about?” Dom asked. “We heard loud voices.”
“I gave April her housewarming present.”
“Good for you, buddy, but weren’t you cutting it a little close?”
Tony did them all a favor and gave Dom a punch in the arm. He just laughed, and Luca put everyone to work, setting out plates and napkins, then got the veggie platter out of her small fridge, along with a container of dip. Luca breathed in slow and easy, amazed at the contentment settling in his chest.
* * *
APRIL MADE IT back in the room just as the last two guests arrived. Luca had met Grace a couple of weeks ago, and he’d introduced himself to Patty as he took her punch bowl and the gallon container of cold sangria.
Trying to wrap her head around what still needed to be done for the party was turning out to be a tougher task than April had bargained for. She was still in shock over Luca’s gift. It was the most beautiful and thoughtful present she’d ever received, and her heart was so full it was all she could do not to burst.
After hugs all around, she served drinks and made sure Luca’s family had met her friends. Then she ushered everyone into the living room. It was a tight fit, but that was okay. “So, Alec and Jennifer couldn’t make it, but I want to welcome all of you to my new home, one month to the day after I moved in.” She grabbed Luca’s hand and pulled him close. “But before we do anything else, you all have to come with me into the bedroom to see my present.”
“Oh, here’s my present.” Grace handed her two tickets. “It’s to an Off-Broadway play. And you don’t have to take me if you don’t want.”
April stopped, grateful that Grace was becoming such a good friend. After pulling her into a hug, she said, “Thank you. Of course I’ll take you.”
“Okay, quit being so sappy and show us your boudoir,” Grace said, smiling.
Grinning, April herded all six people into her bedroom. Dom managed to position himself shoulder to shoulder with Grace. Poor guy had looked gobsmacked from the moment he’d set eyes on her.
“This,” April said, pointing to the desk-slash-nightstand, “is an original creation by the supremely talented Luca Paladino. Luca, could you please show them how it works?”
Clearly embarrassed by the attention, he demonstrated how to slide out the desk and use it with the bed.
“You made that?” Tony asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before.”
Catherine ran her hand over the smooth wood. “Luca, this is stunning. I’m incredibly impressed by the craftsmanship. Tony, you never said he was this talented.”
“Yeah, well...who knew?”
Dom just stared at Luca incredulously.
“Thanks, everyone, but why don’t we all move back into the living room and get this party started.”
As soon as the collective had relocated and piled their plates high with goodies, Luca got everyone’s attention for a toast. Even Dom took a break from flirting with Grace to listen.
“I want to say congratulations to the remarkable April Branagan, who has worked miracles with this little apartment while getting quite a nice business off the ground. Personally, I don’t know how she does it all, because every spare minute, she’s working at an event or walking dogs, or recruiting talent or taking meetings. She’s amazing. I have no doubt that she’ll succeed in every endeavor she takes up. I’m just so grateful that she walked into my life.”
Patty lifted her paper cup. “To April!”
April didn’t even try to blink back her tears. Luca’s arm slipped around her shoulder, and he gave her a squeeze. “It’s true, you know,” he whispered so that only she could hear. “You never cease to amaze me.”
She held her breath, trying to freeze the moment, to remember every single detail before she turned to meet his gaze. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
20
APRIL KNEW LUCA wasn’t home yet, so she let herself into his apartment. It was going to be fun teasing him about how the elevator in her building was never out of order. She’d walked, carrying two big paper bags with her this time. She shouldn’t have made them so heavy. It would take him months to miss the few things she’d borrowed for her party.
In the five weeks since she’d moved, what he’d accomplished at his apartment was amazing. The gorgeous staircase, with its dark hardwood steps and simple yet elegant wrought-iron railing, stole her breath every time she saw it.
He’d also finished installing the wood floors upstairs and reconfigured the master suite, which was now larger than her entire apartment. It still needed paint and crown molding and trim, but the bed was up there now.
Holding on to its position between the new kitchen and living room was the trusty old card table. Grinning, she set the bags on it, along with the folded paper that had been wedged underneath his door. She saw it was an estimate for the elevator repair addressed to the company that managed her building. Luca’s name was written on the outside. Odd. Luca wasn’t responsible for the elevator. And he didn’t use a management company. He owned his apartment.
Leaving it on the table for him, she put a few things away. And then couldn’t help getting out a dust rag. He kept the floors swept but he sure wasn’t a fan of dusting.
Ten minutes later she heard the door open.
“Hey,” she said, turning toward him.
“I was hoping you’d beat me home,” he said, coming straight for her.
He looked so good. He always did, whether he was wearing work clothes or chinos and button-down shirts. Luca sent her pulse speeding every time she saw him.
He swept her into a kiss that was so desperate, they might have been separated for a month instead of a couple of days.
But then it was like that a lot of the time. When he finally pulled back, the way he smiled at her made her shiver. “How was your day?”
“Good,” she said. “I did a roundtable practice session with my team at Entrepreneurs. They liked my pitch. And my enthusiasm, although they thought I was a little too perky.”
“Too perky? You? No way,” he said, laughing.
She grinned, saw the invoice on the table and handed it to him before she grabbed the flatware she’d returned. “I thought my building manager was a friend of Tony’s. I didn’t realize you knew Francis, too. Or at least someone thinks you do.”
When he didn’t say anything, she turned to face him. She’d never seen that expression on his face before and it was suddenly so quiet one could have heard the proverbial pin drop all the way in Queens.
“Luca?” she said, swallowing. The starkness in his eyes brought a lump to her throat. “What’s wrong?”
He blinked and stared down at the invoice he’d fisted into a crumpled ball.
She moved closer and touched his arm. “You’re scaring me. Please tell me what’s going on.”
He finally looked up. And this time she saw guilt. Regret. Fear.
Clearly, it all had something to do with the management company of her building. But what could it possibly—Was this about her miraculous apartment?
“Luca,” she said, her voice barely making it out of her throat. “What did you do?”
His mouth worked for a second before the words came out. “Let me explain?”
The bottom fell out of her stomach. Her throat closed so tight she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to know. She could make it to the door in a few seconds, down the stairs in the blink of an eye. Instead, she made herself say, “Tell me.”
His hesitation brought tears to her eyes, but she forbade them to fall.
* * *
LUCA HAD ALREADY blown it. Instead of thinking on his feet, he’d let his panic show, and there was no way out now. He wasn’t allowed to tell her everything. But he also knew the next thing he said could spell the end of their relationship. “I might have had a small part in finding the apartment for you.”
“Small part.” April shook her head, her eyes dark as sorrow itself. “If it truly had been small, you would’ve told me then.”
“I... Shit. I know Francis but I asked Tony to handle it because...” Christ, he could barely breathe. Her eyes were moving quickly back and forth, and he knew she was rewinding to that day, that fateful afternoon, how he’d sounded so innocent, how he’d lied so easily.
“Who owns my apartment?” She waited for him to respond, and when he didn’t, she asked, “Do you?”
Fuck. “Not...exactly.”
He shook his head, raging inside, trying to find an exit that wouldn’t destroy everything. “I can’t tell you. I would if I could, but it’s not up to me.”
“Oh, that’s fine, then. That makes it all better. Treating me like I’m a child. Making decisions for me behind my back and lying. Pretending we actually had something. Yeah, why would I be upset about any of that?”
She leaned on the table, and for a moment he thought she might be sick. But she straightened. “Oh, God. I believed you,” she whispered, staring at the far wall. “I convinced myself that you believed in me. What kind of a moron am I? I jumped in, what, twenty-four hours after Wes turned me into a joke?”
She looked at him again, her face flushed, her eyes blazing. “Telling me how strong I was. How independent. That was all bullshit, wasn’t it? So what, you decided I was a convenient piece of ass you wanted to keep close by?”
“No. Jesus, April.” Luca felt as if the dagger through his heart was real. “I did it because I care about you. So much. You’d had such rotten luck, and I didn’t want you to get discouraged.”
He stepped closer to her and she literally cringed.
It nearly killed him. “I wanted to give our relationship a chance.”
April moved farther away from him, toward the door. “Our relationship? You don’t even know me. I told you from the start I pay my own way, that I had faith in my business plan and I would stay the course no matter what.”
“I know.” His voice wavered. “I got too high-handed, but I was just trying to give you a leg up, that’s all. You couldn’t seem to catch a break. It was never my intention to undermine you in any way—”
“Why did you let me stay? The very first night?”
Luca tried to slow down his breathing. Stay calm. Make her understand. “Yeah, okay, I’m a nice guy. I couldn’t throw you out. You were a stranger to the city and had been dealt a bad blow. And yes, I’ll admit, it didn’t hurt that you were hot, but believe me, I let you stay here after that because of who you are. If you’d been an ass, I would have kicked you out the next day.”
He didn’t dare move closer to her. She looked as if she was ready to bolt.
“Look, I’m nice, it’s the way my parents raised me. But I’m not stupid. I got to know you. I saw how you handled crushing odds. I admired you. I still admire you, and all I wanted to do was to ease the way for you a little.”
* * *
“A LITTLE?” APRIL WASN’T sure how much longer she could stay on her feet. “It’s not even about that anymore. You can’t tell me you admire me or how I handle setbacks and then turn around and ease my way. That tells me everything I need to know. You don’t have any faith in me at all.”
“Okay. Fine. You want the whole truth? It wasn’t just kindness on my part. I was scared.” His eyes closed. “No. Terrified. I didn’t want you to go back to St. Louis.”
“I told you that wasn’t an option for me. That I knew I could make it here. But you didn’t believe me, and that’s the problem.”
“Yeah, but you also told me your family does that. Everyone goes back home at some point. So at first I—”
“When they fail. Then they go back home. I won’t fail. But you didn’t think I had it in me to succeed.”
“No, the problem isn’t that I don’t have faith in you. Hell, maybe I have too much,” Luca said with a humorless laugh. “I knew if you decided the obstacles made the city a losing proposition, you’d take your new business elsewhere. St. Louis. Chicago. Wherever. You’re smart. You’d do whatever it takes to succeed. I knew that.” He shrugged. “Even if it meant you had to leave me behind.”
April swallowed hard. He’d lost all the color in his face, and stupidly, the urge to make him feel better swelled inside her, but she pushed it down ruthlessly. How did she know the truth anymore?
He rubbed his face. “What’s ironic? You have no idea how much I despised myself for kissing you that first night. I told myself it was a dick move. You had no place to live so I had all the power and you might feel pressured. What a joke.”
“Please, God, don’t make this my fault. I was very clear about the fact that I wasn’t vulnerable. You knew that.”
“Yeah, I did. And you were absolutely right. You weren’t the one who was vulnerable,” he said, his voice cracking on the word. “I was. And I’ve proved that by fucking up everything.”
Turning enough to hide part of his face, he shrugged. “What the hell. I might as well come completely clean. Whatever you do, it’s obviously your call, but—” He swept the hair off his forehead as she’d done so many times. “I love you.”
For a long time she couldn’t speak past her closed throat. When she did, it sounded hollow. “If this were yesterday, I would have admitted I loved you, too.” She paused to swallow and he started to turn back to her. “But in my...dream, you believed in me. And I could trust you.”
Empty, she fled the apartment while her legs could still hold her.
21
“IF ANYONE ASKS me about April again, I swear to God, it’ll be a year before I come to another family dinner.”
Silence. Finally, Luca could breathe again.
Ignoring the stares and pitying looks, he poured himself more wine and looked out the patio door. He shouldn’t have come. His family meant well but they’d end up pissing him off—or he’d end up pissing off one of them.
He and Dom were about ready to rip each other’s heads off. Dom. Giving relationship advice. Whatever. Sure, he knew women. Could probably get laid every night, if he wanted. But beyond that? The kid didn’t know crap. One day it was gonna bite him in the ass.
Thinking about that, Luca found a smile.
“I’m glad to see you still know how to smile,” his mom said, coming to stand beside him.
“Mom, please.”
“Yes. I’m your mother. I’m entitled to ask questions. Have you called her yet?”
“What? Since you asked me fifteen minutes ago?” He set down the glass. This was a mistake. He didn’t want to hurt his mom’s feelings, or his dad’
s. Mostly he’d come to drop the bomb while they were all together.
He was going to tell them he didn’t want to be an architect. He didn’t want to waste two years of his life on an internship. If having an architect on board at Paladino & Sons was that important, they could hire someone. Lord knew they had the money to do it.
Goddamn Paladino Trust. It had made them all rich. And made them slaves at the same time. But he wouldn’t get into that this evening.
He’d just make his little announcement and leave. They’d all understand, or they wouldn’t. He’d blown it with April but he wouldn’t blow the gift she’d given him. His passion, what he wanted to do with his life, was worth more than filling a slot in the company’s plan.
“Mom.” He looked into her worried face and gave her a smile. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. But I have something to say.” He turned to meet the eyes of his dad and brothers. Nonna and Catherine, too.
They were his family, and they wanted what was best for him. April was right. He’d lost sight of that.
He cleared his throat. “I’m turning down the internship,” he began, and already felt five years younger.
* * *
THREE DAYS OF counting the hours, of no sleep, of making the hardest decision in her life, had inched by and April was making tea. It was the only thing she could keep down. The knock on the door startled her into spilling the hot liquid on her hand.
She hadn’t heard from Luca at all, and she hadn’t called him, either. She would, eventually, when she had a few more days to gather her strength. But if it was him at the door, fine, she wanted this over.
To say she was shocked to find Theresa Paladino standing there was an understatement.
“I’d like to come in,” Theresa said.
Confused beyond words, April stood aside. Theresa looked over the small space then met April’s gaze. “I’m here to talk,” she said. “I know Luca is a grown man, and I’m interfering, but there are things you should know that he couldn’t tell you. And I’m just sick of the Paladino Trust holding my sons hostage.”