He chose to ignore the nickname, but my heart tripped when I realized he hadn’t agreed.
“Luke?” I called out as they both walked quickly out of my office.
There was no way. No possible way. He’d never do that.
“He did that,”I whispered when Sofia opened the door to her house Saturday evening, and there sat the Turkish wonder boy himself in their living room.
They were so dead.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Nikolas
“Well,don’t just stand there. Come on in,” I heard Sofia say to whoever was at the door.
I had just arrived at Luke’s house ten minutes earlier and was already going over in my head what I’d practiced saying and subjects for small talk. Places I liked in San Diego, books I’ve read recently, and TED Talks I enjoyed.
He hadn’t indicated there would be others joining us, and I wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing.
On one hand, having others present meant the impetus wouldn’t be entirely on me to keep the conversation going, but I knew that in a large group, my social battery would drain faster.
There were loud whispers that stopped abruptly when Sofia stepped aside, and the new arrival finally walked into the living room. My head snapped up when I saw who it was.
My heart squeezed tightly as I watched Sofia practically drag Leyla by the hand to stand in front of me. I stood, nearly knocking my drink off the coffee table. All my prepared topics of conversation vanished from my mind like a gust of wind.
“Well, look who it is,” Sofia said breezily. I was confused. Did she not know Leyla was coming?
Leyla narrowed her eyes at Luke, whose lips were pinched together, before taking a deep breath. I had already concluded that they were close friends, but this reaction was very strange. Was Leyla's presence humorous or unexpected? It was hard to tell.
When she turned her emerald eyes to me, I held my breath. She was so beautiful. She was full of fire and warmth, and even though I didn’t know what was happening between the three friends, something in me relaxed at the sight of her.
“Hi, Leyla. I didn’t realize you’d be here tonight,” I said, trying to seem calm, cool, and collected, the opposite of how I felt. The last conversation we’d had was beyond awkward. Nothing new for me, but now I didn’t know how to act being in the same room again.
I’d played that conversation repeatedly in my head. I knew very well that saying I was ‘wanting’ meant I was lacking, but the way I’d said it and my subsequent answer that I didn’t know what I wanted were the epitome of embarrassment.
“Hey, Niko. The surprise is mutual.”
We all stood there, looking from one to the other like in a tennis match, and I felt the room getting smaller and smaller. Suddenly, I felt like an intruder.
“I, ah, I think I should head out.” I got up, hoping to leave with some dignity.
“Wait, please don’t go. Honestly, this is just silly,” Sofia said in a soft Italian accent. When I arrived, Luke introduced her and said they had been childhood sweethearts. She was from Positano and friendly in a way that made me feel welcome. But she was also quite inquisitive. In just the few minutes I’d been there, she had already pulled details from my childhood and beyond out of me.
“What’ssilly?” Leyla growled, tossing her purse onto a chair in the corner and easing onto the sofa across from me.
“That we’re all acting like you two don’t have a past,” Sofia said, picking up her glass and taking a sip of her wine.
“I’ll grab you a drink, Leyla,” Luke said. “You two catch up, and we’ll check on dinner.”
“I thought you were bringing me something to drink,” Leyla said.
Sofia gave her friend what could only be described as a withering glare. “You’ll be rewarded for good behavior after. Talk. First.”
When the couple walked out of the room, I sat down even though I wanted to make a run for the door.
We sat in uncomfortable silence, both of us scanning the room to avoid eye contact. This was my worst nightmare. Awkward situations that were either going to end in a confrontation or in small talk. I didn’t know what was worse.
“Listen, this is obviously a setup to get us to talk, but I’m not going to let them win that easily. We’ll do this my way. Grab your drink and let’s head out to the back patio where we can be alone,” Leyla said, surprising me. Without waiting for me, she walked through a set of glass double doors that led to an outdoor area.
