“I’ll give you all a moment.” With a solemn nod of his head, Luca stepped onto the deck, closing the glass door behind him.
He propped his palms on the railing, exhaling as he looked out at the ocean.
This, he supposed, was why you would agree to host a wedding on your farm. Why you’d open your home to events like this. Luca had only seen the way it had stressed Emerson out, all the work that had gone into it. But then the day showed up, and?—
You got to see people being good.
You got to witness their hearts spilling open.
And maybe that was worth it.
A few minutes later, Mae stepped onto the porch, sliding the door shut behind them.
“Hey.”
Luca gave them a glance of acknowledgment before looking back at the ocean.
“Hey.”
Mae joined him at the railing. He and Mae had a cordial relationship. They smiled politely at each other when they saw each other in town. He liked that they’d opened a bookstore in Greyfin Bay. Still, the awkward air that hung between them, the knowledge that they’d both slept with the same person, was hard to dissipate.
“I’m friends with Ben and Alexei,” they said now. “We met when I lived in Portland. That’s why I’m here. Dell and I will be at the wedding. I only realized you were involved just now, when Ben asked me to come get Lex. Well, he had mentioned a hot guy who was helping Emerson out at the farm a while ago, but I didn’t make the connection. Sorry if I was a jumpscare.”
Luca laughed a little.
“Nah,” he said, and meant it. “You’re not a jumpscare. Not anymore.”
He could make out Mae’s smile from the corner of his eye. “Good,” they said.
“Thanks for the warning that Dell will be there, though,” he added. And then, “I’ve never seen him in a suit.”
Now they laughed. “Do me a favor, if you see him? Tell him he looks hot in it. He’s self-conscious about it.”
Luca shook his head, smiling. He would likely not be doing that.
But maybe he should. Maybe he should see if that offer Dell had mentioned a year ago—that they could keep sleeping together, even while Dell was with Mae—was still good.
Except Luca’s stomach soured the second he’d thought it.
He looked away. He was all fucked up. He just had to get through this day.
“I can see why he liked this place so much,” Mae said next. “This is lovely.” They pushed away from the railing. “Time to get this party started, though.” With a last smile at him that Luca attempted to return, Mae walked back inside the cabin. With a final deep breath of ocean air, Luca followed.
“Hey, Alexei,” he said as Alexei and Alina gathered their things. “I’m sure you already have a room at the hotel, but if you and Ben wanted to stay here tonight instead, you could.” He shrugged. “I’ve been renting it out, so everything’s all clean, the sheets and everything. You’d be staying on the house, of course. Just, if you wanted someplace quiet.”
Alexei looked at him.
“Really?”
Luca shrugged. “Really.”
“And Delilah could stay here, too?”
“Of course.”
A small smile grew on Alexei’s face.
“Okay. I’ll mention it to Ben, see what he thinks. But…thank you.”
