He chuckled with raised brows. “Whatever you say.”
While we enjoyed our dinner, our conversation drifted from topic to topic until it landed on my lack of housing. “Since you’re between jobs, I have a proposition for you.”
His eyes widened. “What’s that?”
“I want to pay you to help me find a place to live. The penthouse is too big, and it doesn’t feel like me. I want my own private space.”
“You know I’m not a real estate agent. Doesn’t the team have people to help with that?”
“Yes. But I want you.”
Luca stopped mid-bite. Lowering his burger to the plate, he wiped his mouth. “Why?”
“You’ve lived here your entire life. You know the neighborhoods and whether a place is worth the money. It’s like this place. It’s a gem in the rough, and I never would have found it without you.”
Luca sat back and rubbed his fingers across his jaw. He was about to turn me down. “Axel…”
“You help people for a living. It would help me to have someone I can trust.”
Luca’s expression changed from lighthearted to serious. He looked down at the table, trailing an uneaten French fry around his plate. “How do you know you can trust me? You shouldn’t trust strangers.”
That was easy. “I agree. But you’re not a stranger now, are you?”
He shrugged. “I guess not.”
“I’ll have my attorney write up a contract of employment if you like. Unless you could reciprocate the trust in me and save us both a lot of trouble by saying yes.”
Edith walked up with the check and the to-go bag as Luca glared at me. She set the check in front of me, and the bag before him. “I don’t mean to interrupt, so take your time. But Luca,honey, take the damn job.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, then walked away. “You can trust him.”
“Yeah, Luca honey,” I repeated. “Help us both out and take the job.”
He tried to hide his smile as I pulled out my credit card to pay. I scribbled my signature and left a sizable tip.
“I’ll accept the job, only if you agree that the money you’ve already given me will serve as the pay.”
“Fine. Whatever you want.” I held out my hand. “Do we have a deal?”
He looked at my hand, then slipped his into mine. A simple handshake was going to ruin me. “Deal.”
“Wonderful.” He slid his hand from mine, and I missed it immediately. “Let’s talk schedules.” I took a napkin and Edith’s pen to scribble down our vague agreement. I signed it, as did he. “Now we have a contract. You agree to help me find a place to live, no matter how long it takes. And I agree to the sum already paid forth.” Folding it up, I tucked it into my wallet.
When we got up to leave, he glanced down at the receipt. “Axel? You don’t have anything to prove.” He tapped the receipt.
“It’s just a tip. It’s equivalent to them taking care of you. They had the means, and so do I. Don’t deny me this.”
He ran his hands over his head. “Jesus, Axel. Where did you come from?”
I left that alone.
We said goodbye to Edith and promised to return. When we got into the car, I caught sight of her as she picked up the check. Her eyes widened comically as she peered out the window.
“You made her year,” Luca chuckled, smiling at her. “She doesn’t have a lot since her husband died, but loves this job and her tiny apartment in the senior complex.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he studied her, hoping to absorb some of the goodness that radiated from him. “I have a feeling you helped with that.”
“Yeah. And it was one of the best days of my life. She has friends and people who share her love for the flea markets. And she’s not alone.”
Breathing in deeply, a sense of contentment settled over me. It was him. The man who found the good side of bad things. I had the resources to make his life better, and no one deserved it more than he did. “We’re going to need to make a few changes, and I’m going to need you to be okay with them.”
