She was right. “No. They wouldn’t.”
“All I’m saying is this, as your friend, not as your former handler and current manager.” She grinned a little. “Don’t close yourself off in any way. Music might feel too painful right now, but if melodies are coming to you, eventually write something down just to see if it feels good again.”
“Okay. I promise to try. I’ll tell the guys to remind me if I hesitate.” Because sometimes I might need a push.
We chatted for a while longer, and then I checked the time. Somehow we’d been talking for two hours.
“I need to call my regular donor for a bite,” she said as we started to get ready to leave.
I smirked. “And I’m gonna go see if my men have any energy left for me.”
She made a face. “Now that is unfair. I can’t find one person to keep and you have two.”
“Well, you can’t have one of mineandyou’ll find yours eventually.” She was great. I was sure her person would come along eventually.
“From your mouth to the universe’s ears or something like that,” she murmured as we hugged.
We promised to keep in touch, and I headed upstairs to my wolves.
They were very well sated when I got there but insisted on taking care of me in all the ways, too. For hours. I did not complain one bit.
Chapter Fourteen
Max
The next morning, when we woke up, it was to an alarm Ben had set before we finally went to sleep.
Luca grumbled as he squinted at my brother accusingly. “I don’t know why we got to be up at this hour.”
“Because we have an appointment to go to before the airport,” Ben explained again while I walked to the bathroom.
I tuned them out as I made myself ready for the day. I felt… light. Excited to go back home. New York had been easier than we’d thought, at least so far, but I was pretty sure being at home would feel like true peace again.
We took turns in getting ourselves presentable and the packing went quickly as well. Since we were up at the proper time, we took our stuff into the baggage room, and then went to have breakfast in the restaurant.
Luca was still full, he’d keep until the plane or even until home, but he liked to watch us eat our fill while he enjoyed some coffee. There were people around us, but we could concentrate on the food and talking amongst ourselves to keep from becoming overwhelmed.
Forty minutes later, we were in the Audi again, this time heading toward Luca’s surprise.
“So, when are you telling me where we’re going?” he asked, glaring at us playfully.
“In about… ten minutes,” Ben said loud enough for the driver to hear.
“Eleven minutes,” the man called back. I saw his profile and could tell he was grinning.
Luca turned his big brown eyes to me. “Maaaaax,” he whined, batting his long lashes. “I wanna know.”
Grinning, I shook my head. “I’m not going to spoil the surprise. It’s been a while in the making, so….”
Then I glanced at Ben, and I could see his expression tightening a bit. We had some concerns.
“Here’s the thing,” I said quietly, taking Luca’s hands in mine. “This might also be a bit tricky. Like… not completely positive at least at first, okay? So just keep that in mind.”
He frowned at me, then looked at Ben. “Okay…?”
“We have the best intentions, baby.”
Luca took a deep breath, then released it. Then he smiled ever so slightly and said, “I trust you.”
