Chapter 28

The sun was just starting to sink, bathing the patio of the jaw dropingly beautiful barn conversion in soft light. Summer had turned to autumn, but the first breath of winter, lying in quiet wait, would soon be felt.

“Top up?” Alex held the bottle aloft. It was an unoaked Chardonnay, Adrian had recognised, very good and no doubt wildly expensive.

“Thanks.” Adrian held his glass out. It was his third of the evening, and would have to be his last. Even though he was staying at the cottage with Alex, he still needed to be up early to get back to the farm.

“Excellent turnout today.” Alex settled back against Ryan in one of the plush outdoor sofas that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a special luxury living edition of a country life magazine.

“Yeah, got to hand it to Jonathan for the whole foodie angle,” Ryan said. “Early indication is that the event’s made more money than the last four put together. It was just a shame he couldn’t be here today. He went to see Nan, told her he had to go to London for a few days to sort out some corporate shit storm. I don’t think they were quite his words, but that was the gist. Still, here’s to Mr. Owen-Jones.” Ryan raised his glass. Luca and Alex responded, with Adrian limping in last place.

For god’s sake…The man had been right, his insistence had made a lot of money for the village, so didn’t he deserve a toast? Yes, Jonathan did. In his absence.

The talk meandered, shifting from the festival, to village news, to the hotel. Adrian mostly listened, adding the occasional comment, content to take a backseat.

“I’m serious, Alex,” Luca said, shifting out from beneath Adrian’s arm as he leant forward. “You should consider expanding into the luxury hotel market. You already build luxury homes, so why not branch out from that?”

“Lu, the hotel’s a success because of you. You’re the only one who could have made The New House what it is, in so short a time. There was no way I was going to have anybody else sitting in the manager’s seat.” Alex tilted his glass towards Luca with a warm smile.

Lu… The use of the diminutive, familiar and intimate. Adrian shifted, and rested a hand on Luca’s back, but it was as though Luca didn’t feel the warm, light pressure, as he leant further forward; Adrian’s hand slipped away.

“I know the business inside out, of course I do, but as I’ve told you before I’m not unique.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. You’re special and you always have been.” Alex held the bottle up and frowned. “It’s empty. Ry, go and get another, will you?”

“No, I’m eating my pie.” Ryan’s mouth bulged from a wedge of one of Eva’s famous pies, which sat, rustic, home made, and incongruous, next to the plates of fancy deli finger food on the patio table.

“I’ll get it. And I’m telling you, Alex Love, we are definitely having a discussion about your new venture in the luxury hotel sector very soon.” Luca laughed as he got up and made his way indoors.

“I don’t know what you did to make Luca stay in Love’s Harbour, but whatever it was, just keep it up — in a manner of speaking,” Alex said, laughing. “He’s more like the Luca I used to know, and it’s been about time. Where’s that wine?” Alex called out.

“Can’t find it.” Luca’s response, from the kitchen, was muffled.

“I’ve just remembered, it’s in the cooler in the wine cellar. I’ll get it.” Ryan wiped the pie crumbs from his mouth with the back of his hand before heading inside, leaving Adrian and Alex alone.

Alex nodded towards the house. “It’s good to see him finally leave behind that whole mess with Bruno. It kicked his legs out from under him. Ah, shit… too much wine talking. You do know about Bruno, don’t you? I mean, he’d have told you, wouldn’t he?’

“Yes, he told me about it.”

“Of course he did. Well, it knocked him sideways, but in my view he made the right choice not to?—”

“As I say, he told me.” What had been confided wasn’t for discussion, even with Luca’s oldest friend.

Across the table, Alex said nothing as he stared at him. Scrutinised, was more how it felt. Weighing him up, deciding if he came up to scratch. Fuck that. Adrian met the cool eyes, which held not a hint of the glaze he’d have expected after the amount of wine Alex had drunk.

Alex huffed, and his lips tilted in a small smile. “You’re not prepared to talk about Luca in his absence. I approve of that.”

“Good, because I’m sure you wouldn’t want to talk about Ryan’s past. In his absence.”

“No, I wouldn’t. Look, I’m making a hash of this — one too many wines.” Another smile; genuine and disarming, it took Adrian aback.

“Whatever he told me, it was in confidence. That was all I meant.”

“As it should be. And don’t worry, I’m not asking you to break any. But the fact is, I’ve known Luca for years, and I witnessed the fallout first hand. It didn’t just knock him, it punched and kicked him to the ground, way, way more than he let on. Made him ask all kinds of questions of himself and where his life was going. Which is one of the reasons I wanted him to come here, because I was concerned about him. It was a pure coincidence that the fall out with Bruno happened at about the same time I needed the best in the business to manage The New House — and whatever he says, he is the best — but I was also determined to get him here so I could also make sure he was all right. I want him to stay that way.”

The coolness was back in Alex’s eyes. Cool, detached, unreadable. No wonder he was such a successful businessman. But Luca wasn’t business. Adrian leant forward.

“I get that the two of you are old friends and you care about what happens to him. That’s good and, like I say, I get it. But what I don’t get, and what I won’t put up with, is being given the third degree, no matter how well disguised — or not — it might be. Our relationship is between us. Me and Luca, and nobody else.” Adrian leant in further, his voice lowering. “Let me reassure you of something, for the sake of your friendship with him. As long as Luca and I are together, I’ll do everything in my power to ensure he’s happy and he gets what he needs, when he needs it.”

Every muscle in Adrian’s body tensed. Fight or flight, it hummed in his blood and tingled in every sinew. He’d never run from a fight in his life, and he wasn’t about to start.

Alex tilted his head to the side. “You have a reputation for straight talk. It’s something I admire, because it’s always better to cut to the chase.” Alex’s smile was back in place, once again charming and disarming. But there was a new respect there, too.

“Yes, well, straight talk is one of the more flattering ways of putting it.”

“Instead of blunt, uncompromising, and bloody minded you mean?” Alex raised a brow, but his eyes held a hint of mischief.

Adrian didn’t know if the sound that came out of his mouth was a huff or a laugh.

“I have to say, it’s not often somebody has the balls to tell me to fuck off. Which, of course, is what you were really doing. Or at least not in recent years. Ryan did it, when I came back to the village, and now you’re doing it too. I don’t blame you, because I’d do the same thing in your place.

“Luca and I were serious at one point, as you know, and together for a long time. Of course, in the end we went our separate ways. How I feel about him has changed, obviously, but I’ll never stop loving him and looking out for him and I know he feels the same about me.” Alex chuckled, shaking his head. “Listen to me harping on, but I never forget I have not one incredible man in my life, but two.”

Serious… together for a long time… I’ll never stop loving him… Alex’s words echoed in Adrian’s head, against the backdrop crackle of white noise. Luca and Alex Love? Old friends, sure, but more than that? Much more? The wine that had tasted so good on his tongue was battery acid in his gut.

“Got it. Brought two up, just to be on the safe side.” Luca, grinning, held up the bottles as behind him Ryan brandished a couple of bottles of Badger’s Arse Ale.

“I’m showing my common roots,” Ryan said as he laughed. “Good ale trumps wine every time.”

Luca opened one of the bottles, putting the other in the ice bucket. About to top up Adrian’s glass, Adrian placed his palm over the top and shook his head.

“Oh. Okay. Farmers and their early mornings. Thought I had to get up early enough, but it still feels like the middle of the night when he gets up.” Luca laughed as he nodded towards Adrian. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Alex.”

The wine poured, Alex and Luca chinked glasses. Adrian sat back, and tried to assume a relaxed, easy pose when all his limbs felt stiff and wooden, as the conversation flowed over and around him. Inhaling a long, deep, silent breath, he held it for a beat before letting go to a count of eight only he could hear, forcing the iron in his muscles to soften and bend.

Luca and Alex. It made sense. They had met years ago, had been part of the same sleek, urban world. There was a connection between them, clear in the way they laughed and joked and in all the tiny touches and smiles. The smiles and touches of affection, of good friends. He’d told Alex he got it. And he did. But what he didn’t get was why Luca hadn’t told him that one of the most important relationships of his life, with a man he worked for and saw all the time, had once been a lot more than friendship.

“Sorry, what?” Adrian blinked at the three pairs of eyes trained on him, waiting for the answer to a question he’d missed.

“I’ve got a home in Andalucia in southern Spain?—”

“It’s stunning, and Alex has invited us for a long weekend. The four of us. You could arrange it with Harry and Elena, couldn’t you? It’d only be a short?—”

“No.”

“Oh.” Luca put his glass down, the disappointment at Adrian’s one word blunt answer wiping the smile from his face. “You can’t get away even for just a couple or so days?”

In Adrian’s peripheral vision, Alex and Ryan exchanged a quick glance. His snapped, unthinking response had put him in the spotlight.

Shit.

“I’m sorry. That came out all wrong.” Had it? If he wasn’t fully convincing himself, there was no way he was convincing the others. Heat prickled just beneath his skin. Jesus, he couldn’t remember when he’d last felt like such a dick. “The problem is, when you farm for a living, any time away, even a few days, needs to be carefully planned. Autumn’s always really busy on the land because it’s harvest time?—”

“That’s true.” Ryan held his bottle up to Adrian in acknowledgement.

“We’re all busy, Adrian.” Alex shrugged, his voice cool and detached.

“I realise that, but I need plenty of notice. It’s a great idea, though.” Could he have sounded any less enthusiastic…

“Perhaps.” Alex’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“We should go nearer Christmas,” Ryan said. “All that sun, sea, and Santa.” He laughed, before a frown took over. “Mind you, Christmas is really busy at the pub, and probably for the hotel, too.” He got to his feet and rubbed his eyes. “Gonna be a party pooper and turn in.” Landing a sloppy kiss on Alex, he waved his goodnight and left.

It was the signal, clear and unequivocal, to leave. Adrian stood and held his hand out to Luca, who ignored it.

Ah, shit… “Thanks for this evening, Alex?—”

“Give the weekend some thought — after you’ve consulted your diary, of course.” With a nod to Adrian and a big, tight hug for Luca, moments later the door closed on them.

“I’m sorry about coming down hard like that, but I?—”

“Leave it, okay?” Luca walked, fast and stiff backed, along the path, leaving Adrian behind and staring after him before he dashed to catch up.

Away from the house, it was darker but there was still enough light left for Adrian to have seen the upset and anger battling for dominance in Luca’s eyes. The tension since Alex’s revelation, and a whole bundle of other, crippling emotions, drained from him, leaving him feeling tired and shaky. He rubbed his hands down his face. The evening had ended on a sour note, and it was nobody’s fault but his own.

“Luca?” He felt for Luca’s hand, but Luca grabbed it away as he stopped and span around.

“What got into you, Adrian? Why did you react like that, rejecting the suggestion out of hand without any thought? Nobody was expecting you to jump up and rush off and pack a case. I understand you’re busy with the farm, that you’ve got contracts to fulfil — the hotel being one of them — but like Alex said, we’re all busy. At the very least, your reaction was rude. And embarrassing. You embarrassed me and yourself. Just a long weekend, that was all. God knows, I can do with a break and I thought you could too.”

Luca swung away and strode off, every step taking him further from Adrian. He was disappearing into the shadows, and soon he would fade altogether. Adrian raced after him. Grabbing Luca’s arm, he pulled him to a stop.

“I’m sorry. You’re right, I was rude. Embarrassing you, let alone myself, was the last thing I wanted to do. But I can’t just up and leave at a?—”

“Nobody was asking you to, and you’d have known that if you’d just listened and thought it over rather than jumping down everybody’s throat.”

Adrian pushed his fingers through his hair. Autumn was always a busy time, but his instinctive reaction to the suggestion had nothing to do with the farm.

“Why did you react like that? It—it was too much. I don’t get it.”

The last streaks of the light were almost gone, replaced by a bright moon. The cool moonlight danced across Luca, illuminating his confusion and upset. The anger, at least, was gone, but it was replaced by something a thousand times worse, and a million times more painful: disappointment.

“I… because…” How stupid was he going to sound? How ridiculous? But it wasn’t stupid, not to him, and it wasn’t ridiculous. Because it couldn’t be. He licked his dry lips, and gulped down the lump in his throat. “When you went to get more wine, Alex told me about the two of you, from years back?—”

“What?” The word dripped with incredulity. “That was all years ago. You just said it yourself. It was years back. Half a lifetime ago, if not more. For fuck’s sake, Adrian. Alex is my friend. No, he’s more than that. He’s like the brother I never had — and a good one, somebody I know for sure I can always rely upon.”

Silence, as sharp and heavy as an axe, sliced between them.

“I shouldn’t have said that, the brother remark. I’m sorry.”

“It was no more than I deserved.”

“No… Look, I think maybe it’s best you go back to the farm tonight.”

The weariness in Luca’s voice twisted hard in Adrian’s heart, making him gasp for breath.

“No. Please, let me come back. Let me explain properly.”

“You’ve got an early start in the morning, and so have I.”

“But—”

“Not tonight, okay.”

Luca turned, the night swallowing him up as the sound of his footsteps faded and disappeared.

Adrian stared into the darkness as a breeze wrapped itself around him, making him shiver with more than the cold of the coming winter.