Chapter 24

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

LUCA CURLED HIS legs beneath him on the plush rug in the Rossetti family villa and watched the flames in the fireplace crackle and pop. A deep sense of contentment ran through him, and while he figured some of that had to do with all the wine he’d drunk that day, it also was a result of the company he’d been keeping.

He looked back toward the kitchen, where Dom was opening another bottle of wine. Barefoot in a pair of lounge pants that sat low on his chiseled hips, he looked like someone Luca had dreamed up in school during his study breaks. He could only imagine the shit Silas would be giving him right now if he could see them both.

The thought of his friend carrying on his rotations at Yale without him made a twinge of sadness run through him, but it quickly dissipated when he remembered where he was. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was going to class and spending his nights with his nose in a medical book. Everything was so different now. The rose-colored glasses had come off, the real world had intruded, and he no longer had a well-thought-out plan for his future. Hell, a few days ago he wasn’t sure he’d even have a future.

But sitting here now, in a beautiful home in an even more beautiful country, and with a man he never expected, he wondered when the bubble would finally burst. After all the chaos, all the terrible things he’d endured, it seemed unreal that he could get a glimpse of some sort of happiness now. That would make things too good to be true.

Right?

Dom strolled back into the room, the bottle uncorked, and Luca lifted his glass for a refill.

“Thank you.” He took a sip and grinned as Dom joined him on the rug.

“What’s so funny?”

Luca shook his head. “Nothing, just… I have a feeling you don’t sit on the floor much.”

“That’s what you were thinking about?”

“I just figure you’d be more comfortable on, like, a throne, given who you are. Not sitting on a rug with the peasants.”

“Peasants?” A bemused look crossed Dom’s face as he ran his fingers through the thick faux-fur rug. “I guess that is what I’d generally consider a Fiore to be. But I don’t see any of them in this room right now, do you?”

Luca swallowed as Dom’s dark eyes bored into his. “No,” he said. “I don’t.”

Dom’s lips curled as he brought his wine up to take a long drink.

Jesus, did he have any idea what he was saying, or was it the alcohol talking? Did he really not see Luca as the son of his enemy anymore, or was that wishful thinking?

No, Luca didn’t want to delve into that right now. It might spoil the good mood between them, and after such a wonderful day, he didn’t want to end it by talking about their family drama.

He reached for a grape off the platter they’d put together earlier and popped the fruit in his mouth. Then he reached for a second and held it up. “I bet you can’t catch this with your mouth,” he said.

Dom set his glass aside and rubbed the stubble along his jaw. “What’s the bet?”

“If you miss, you have to watch the I Love Lucy episode where she stomps the grapes.”

“And if I win?”

“You won’t, so feel free to set your terms.”

“Hmm.” A mischievous gleam flashed in Dom’s eyes, and Luca realized he shouldn’t have given him so much freedom.

“Oh God. Okay, tell me,” Luca said.

“When I win, we’re going cliff jumping.”

“What?” Luca’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. “Cliff jumping? Tonight? Are you insane?”

The smug smile on Dom’s face grew. “Yes, no, and so I’ve been told.”

“All this for catching a grape. I take it back.”

“Too late. You can’t make a deal with the devil and change your mind, Luca.”

“Fine. It’s not like you’ll be able to catch it, so just prepare yourself for some classic Lucille Ball. Ready?”

Dom lifted a brow, and Luca aimed the grape. He did a fake-out, pretending to throw it before actually throwing it up high, but it didn’t matter. Dom’s reflexes were quick as a cheetah’s, and he easily caught the grape in his mouth.

Luca groaned. “You do realize people die from cliff jumping, right? Like, what if there’s a rock or you crash into a big-ass whale or—”

“A whale? In the lake?”

“Or some kind of big fish…thing.”

“You’re trying to get out of our bet?” Dom said. “You know what happens to people who renege on a deal, right?”

“Um. They get pushed off the cliff instead?”

Dom laughed, one of the many times he had that day, and it was such an appealing but rare sound. His whole face transformed, and Luca wondered if this was what Dom had been like before tragedy struck his family. Was he ever a good-natured kid with an easy laugh? Luca couldn’t exactly blame Dom for the hate he harbored. But what would he be like if the Fiores had never existed?

Luca grabbed a handful of grapes and stretched out on the rug. As he rested on his elbow, he said, “I like when you laugh.”

“I like when you shut up.”

Luca threw a grape at him, and wouldn’t you know it, Dom caught that too. Then he lay down on his side opposite Luca.

“So…” Luca reached out to Dom’s hand and began to trace an outline of his spread fingers.

“So?”

“About that cliff diving.”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to do it.”

Luca exaggerated a gasp. “You mean you’re reneging on our deal?”

“No. I’m still doing it. You can join me or watch. Up to you.”

“Join you… Would you hold my hand? Jump with me?”

“I’d probably shove you and jump in after.”

Luca jerked his hand away. “What?”

“You’d like it after the shock wore off.”

“You’d really do that?”

“Sure, why not.” But when Dom’s lips twitched, Luca leaned in and pushed his shoulder.

“Liar. I’d make you hold my hand and not let go.”

“Make me, huh?”

“Yes. I can be persuasive when I wanna be.”

“That’s one word for it.”

“What’s another? Endearing? Determined? Lovable?” Luca caught himself on the last word, not meaning to infer anything by it, but Dom didn’t seem to notice.

“More like antagonizing. Exasperating.” When Luca’s mouth fell open, Dom smirked and reached for the waistband of Luca’s shorts. “But also sexy as hell.”

Luca’s stomach flipped as he scooted in closer. “I’d say that’s a good thing. You could add irresistible if you want. I won’t mind.”

Dom leaned in and brushed his lips across Luca’s mouth. “Irresistible…and fucking undeniable.”