“Okay, Nanette. I have my phone. Where are ya going?” I walked by Luca, ignoring the draw to him. Was it possible for his coat to be filled with magnets that scientifically pulled me to him? It’d make more sense and would let me sleep easier at night.
“Right here.” His grandma stopped in front of a very weathered car. The old sedan had seen better days—decades—yet that didn’t stop the beam from her face. “Are you ready? Count down and say action when the video is live, dear. I wanna be like the clock users.”
I bit my lip, a snort coming out as Luca met my eyes. “She’s my favorite,” I whispered.
I queued up the camera and counted my fingers down to one. Go.
“Hey, kids. Want to know how to make sure your car is never stolen, robbed, or messed with? Nanette has the answer.” His grandma clapped her hands and spun around twice. Then she grinned and pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Here’s how. Drive a piece of shit.”
She jumped out of the way, and it took all my willpower to not drop the phone from laughing.
“Grandma!” Luca yelled, his voice amused. “What wasthat?”
“A little thing I like to call humor. Look it up sometime. It’d make you happier.”
“This is… perfection.” I saved the video, which I’d edit later. “Nanette. You are a gem to the world.”
“As long as my string of exes see this, that’s all I care about.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and slowly marched by us back into the building. “I don’t need to be walked in. I saw how you looked at her, Luca. Take her home and use your bodies while you’re still young.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Luca
Light flurries fell from the sky, my headlights hitting them directly and making them look like cold little fireflies. I kept both hands on the wheel despite the aggressive urge to grip Lorelei’s thigh the entire ride home. After the run-in with the deer, I wanted us safe.
Plus… there was no guarantee what I’d do once I touched her again.
“God, she is the best.” Lorelei laughed against her fist, the trill of her amusement filling the silence in a fun twinkle. She snorted a few more times, her fingers moving over her phone fast before she stared up at me. “Dude, this video has thousands of likes already.”
“You posted it?”
“Sure did. Added a viral song in the background, and a few filters that were trending, and hashtagged it up. She is ahit.” She leaned back in the seat, hugged the phone to her chest, and let out a squeal. “This is the most fun I have ever had.”
“What is?” My chest got that funny feeling again, like the time I downed too many cheese fries at three in the morning. Did she mean… me?
“This whole experience with your grandma and the adventures of getting up there. I know this will be difficult for you to relate to as football is your life, but soccer isn’t who I am, just a part of me. I love it. I’ve always loved it. But there was no thought of playing beyond college. But marketing? Creating campaigns and meeting people? Doing good? This fulfills a part of me I didn’t know I had. I wake up excited to try new things and explore ideas. I know this is for an internship, but I think… this helped me figure out what I want to do in my life.”
“And what is that, Lo?”
“I want to do promotions with genuine, real people for good causes. No fake bullshit, no lying, no politicians. Yikes.” She cringed and made a gagging sound. “Anything but them.”
“So, you found your next steps.”
“Yes. I didn’t know they were missing, per se, but they weren’t solid, and it feels… settled. Good. Calming, in a way. You have football and the NFL, and Dean too plans to go pro, and even my girl Mack wants to stay in soccer, but this feels moreme.”
I couldn’t stop myself. I patted her thigh, squeezing above her knee in a way I hope conveyed my support. “Good on you.”
“Yeah.Goodon me.” She smiled, her nose scrunched and her joy almost tangible around her. “Oh, and would you believe the audacity of this bitch?”
“Eric? What did he say?”
“Oh, I meant my brother, but shit. I forgot to read his text.”
“Read it.”
“That was a little aggressive with that tone, Monroe. A little bossy.” She smirked, a twinkle catching her eye before I moved my hand up her thigh. “Oh, is this one of those things where you punish me?”
“Wait, what?” My mouth fell open. “Punish?”
