The irony of hearing an Olympic champion say that wasn’t lost on either of us.
A laugh escaped me, and Luka smiled. “See?”
I reached over and stroked his cheek. “It sounds very you.” Then I took his hand again, and Luka’s fingers tightened around mine. “You wanna know what the worst part is?”
He stared at me. “What?”
“I agree with you.”
He blinked. “Really?”
I chuckled. “Don’t sound so surprised.” I squeezed his hand. “Luka, you’d be moving to another continent.”
“That does sound dramatic.”
“Itisdramatic.” I continued before he could interrupt. “You need to know you can do this because you’re Luka.”
I saw the tension seep from him, saw his shoulders drop. “Helen said something similar,” he admitted.
“She’s smarter than me.”
“That is untrue.”
I leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. “I appreciate your loyalty.”
Luka laughed, and it lasted longer this time. Then he leaned against my shoulder, and I wrapped an arm around him.
“I was afraid you’d think I was choosing the apartment over you,” he murmured.
I turned my head. “Is that whatyouthink you’re doing?”
“No.”
“Then why would I?”
He looked at me for a long moment before shaking his head. “You can be irritatingly reasonable sometimes.”
“I have my moments.” Luka rested his head more comfortably against my shoulder. “Besides…”
“Hm?”
“You’re kidding yourself if you think you’re actually going to spend much time in that apartment.”
Luka laughed. “Dean.”
“You’ll be at my house constantly.”
“I will not.”
“You absolutely will.”
There was a knock at the door.
Luka
“Saved by the bell,”I said with a grin.
“You say that as though you were winning.”
