Renzo, that was.
His older brother was quick to stand as Luv replied in kind to the greeting, happy that he didn’t seem put off by the fact she showed up without giving him a heads-up first. Or hell, maybe Ren asked her to come, and had known she might stop by before he left.
“Little late, huh?” Renzo asked, offering his seat at the table for her to take.
Luv did, shrugging as she dropped to sit. “Had some things to do.”
The guy gave her a look from the side, but Luv was more interested in the grain of the fake marble tabletop than anything else. Well, that was a lie. She could feel Diego’s gaze on her, but Renzo lingered at the table for a beat longer.
He told Diego, “I’ll be back in a few—we’ll head to security and you can get to your gate.”
“Got it, bro.”
It was only once Renzo stepped away from the table entirely that Luv gave Diego her full attention. He was still smiling.
So was she, now.
“You good?” he asked her.
She didn’t even have to think about that.
Or what it might mean.
“I’m great,” she told him honestly.
And she was.
Things were so much easier to deal with when shit never went too deep. She didn’t let anything get under her skin, including people. Or the time she spent with them.
Diego, though …
“I follow you now,” she said. “On—”
“Do you?”
She laughed because he hadn’t even let her get the name of the social app out. “Made an account only to keep up. I won’t be posting or anything.”
He flashed those straight, white teeth of his in a grin. It had her both rolling her eyes at his cockiness and laughing to hide the heat crawling up her cheeks that said she liked his arrogance just as much as she found it mildly annoying.
Boys.
The one thing in the world that could make smart girls stupid.
All facts.
“No, it’s good,” Diego said, waving a hand between them when he added, “and if you ever wanna catch up, at least you know how to find me that way. Right?
Well …
“Right,” she agreed. “I definitely want to do that. Catch up, I mean.”
“Yeah, me too, Luv.”
Her name in his mouth was a curious thing.
Sweet.
And full of sin.
It was the approach of a familiar figure that had her standing from the table, ready to leave. Diego joined her, and his arms opened her way with a hug that she didn’t even hesitate to take. Before his brother had even reached their spot, he’d given her a quick kiss on her cheek, close to her smiling lips, and then retook his seat. With arms folded, he winked under the wide brim of his baseball cap.
“Catch you later, Diego,” Luv said.
He nodded once. “Yeah, I’ll catch you later.”
Luv passed Renzo with a tilt of her chin that was subtly returned. She didn’t bother to check over her shoulder as she left. Time was a fluid thing to her. Something that kept moving around her though it didn’t really leave much of an impression with her.
One second to the next.
This job, then another.
Days, weeks, and months held very little meaning when there was nothing tangible keeping her tied to it all. Hell, she didn’t even have an official birthday to celebrate, so it wasn’t as if events like those mattered much to her either.
She didn’t know how long it would be before her path would cross with Diego’s, but the time in between didn’t really make a difference when she didn’t count time, anyway. Not like other people did. But she also wasn’t like other people.
Luv was just … Luv.
And at that moment, she had a new assignment to handle. Onto the next, she thought while heading out of the airport. What is will always be.
She counted on that.
More than anyone knew.
TWELVE
Diego
“You’re really doing this, huh?”
Diego resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but the desire quickly melted away when he lifted his gaze to find his sister’s husband leaning in the bedroom doorway. It wasn’t Trevor’s actual presence that had him checking his attitude, but rather … the way the man stared at him.
Or the gleam in his gaze.
The pride.
Diego stood a little straighter, feeling like he should. The open luggage on his bed was nearly full. Rose had another for him to use, but he’d have to pay extra for that to take it on the flight. It wasn’t that he didn’t need the extra shit in LA because he would. It was just that he could have it sent later with everything else.
“Yeah,” Diego said, nodding. “I’m doing this.”
Trevor chuckled. “You’ve never paid a bill, and you do all your banking on an app. You don’t even have your license, and I’m still not sure you know how to check if the chicken is cooked all the way through.”
“Hey. Rose showed me how.”
That had Trevor laughing.
Even Diego grinned.
“I’ll be okay,” he said. Knowing that’s what Trevor was trying to get at in his own way. A conversation, or a few, between all of them, including Ren and, well … Diego had a better understanding of the people around him.
How much they cared. The way they loved him. How terrified they were because they had spent their entire life looking after him and now, he was about to jump all at once into this thing called adulthood. Without a safety net. Still just seventeen, almost eighteen, but feeling invincible all the same.
Look, Ma, no hands. That kind of thing. His siblings had grown up so much faster than he ever needed to because of their circumstances.
They—specifically his sister and Trevor—understood a lot more about him, too. Which was why he found himself packing for LA with the support of Rose and her husband. Even if they did worry that he was making a mistake.
It was still his to make.
“I promise,” Diego said when Trevor didn’t reply. “I will be okay.”
His brother-in-law quieted.
Diego did, too.
“Yeah, we know you will, kid,” Trevor muttered, glancing down at the hardwood floor of Diego’s bedroom. “Gonna be quiet here with you gone. You know, we were trying to plan something for your graduation. She’s not even going to get to see you walk across the stage.”
He still did it, though.
Graduated.
Rose said that was what counted.
“You can watch me do other things instead,” Diego pointed out.
Trevor nodded, clearing his throat. “Yeah, we will. And I’ll mail you that diploma, huh?”
“Better. Probably need it.”
“We are proud of you, Diego. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
“I couldn’t imagine doing this at your age. My mother washed my clothes on the weekend for my first four years of college.”
Diego chuffed. “Fucking baby.”
“Watch it.”
There was no heat to Trevor’s words.
Diego closed his luggage and zipped it up. “Is she ready?”
“Downstairs. Waiting for you.”
Kind of like the rest of his life. Here he was, on the cusp of it. Ready to head straight into it. Everything else was just waiting on him. Wasn’t that the beauty of it?
Diego thought so.
• • •
“Flight LBO573 to …”
Hearing his flight number, Diego stood and adjusted the backpack on his shoulder at the same time he reached for his phone sitting on the arm of a seat next to his. Rose joined him, her hands tittering at her front and twisting in that nervous way of hers. The paint spatters on her fingernails that she hadn’t been able to remove after her art session that morning had his chest growing tight with fondness and the sense of home.
“Hey, I love you, okay?” his sister rambled, still keeping her hands at
her front though he could tell the only thing she really wanted to do was reach out and grab him. Probably to pull him into her and hold him as tightly as she could. So then, he wouldn’t leave. She wouldn’t be terrified. “Call me as soon as you land. Remember to—”
Diego closed the space between him and Rose and hugged her. The act quieted her instantly, and it took all of one second before her smaller arms locked around his back. A good few inches taller than her, he was able to drop a kiss on the top of his sister’s head. He heard her sniffle but by the time they separated, any tears she might have shed were dried into the black, cotton hoodie he’d settled on wearing for comfort during the flight.
Rose let out a shaky breath, meeting his gaze. “You’re going to be great, Diego.”
“Will I?”
“How can you not?”
He didn’t know what he was going to be.
Or even what he was chasing.
But it was something.
Diego planned on finding it.
Overhead, the same message from before repeated loudly.
Rose gestured at the line for security. “Go. But call me.”
“I will.”
One more hug later, and Diego joined the rest of the waiting people to go through security. He could have worried about a lot of things in that moment, but the only thing he really thought about was that he hoped his skateboard made it through the flight under the plane without any damage … even if he could replace it relatively easily.
Stupid?
Yeah.
But hell …
He didn’t care about the rest.
He couldn’t.
Once he was on the plane and found his seat, Diego pulled out his phone. Ready to turn it on flight mode, he decided to check his social feed one more time. His most recent post was right at the top when he tapped on the icon, and the app filled the screen. A shot of the airport’s sign that he’d caught on his way by.
Catch you later, NY, was his chosen caption.
He clicked on the star icon under the picture, bringing up the many likes and comments attached to his post. Usually, his posts filled up so much that he couldn’t reply or like every single one anymore. He did like to scroll through the top few quickly because they continued to update with new ones and that was how he was able to see the most.
A black heart emoji comment happened to be right at the very top when he refreshed. The comment was attached to a username he hadn’t noticed before—thatgirlluv. There wasn’t a profile picture. The profile was also private without an option to follow or friend request when he checked.
It didn’t matter. He knew and so did she. They would simply meet up later. Right now, his whole life was waiting. He needed to catch up with that.
BIO
Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, three cats, and four dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, a snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a spouse calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something ... when she can find the time.
Find Bethany-Kris at her:
WEBSITE
OTHER BOOKS
Boykov Bratva
Fractured Ties
Essence of Fear
The Guzzi Legacy
Corrado
Alessio
Chris
Beni
Bene
Marcus
Renzo + Lucia
Privilege
Harbor
Contempt
Forever
Cusp
Renzo + Lucia: The Complete Trilogy
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Duty
Vow
One Last Time
Andino + Haven: The Complete Duet
John + Siena
Loyalty
Disgrace
John + Siena: The Complete Duet
John + Siena: Extended
Cross + Catherine
Always
Revere
Unruly
The Companion
Naz & Roz
Guzzi Duet
Unraveled, Book One
Entangled, Book Two
Cara & Gian: The Complete Duet
DeLuca Duet
Waste of Worth: Part One
Worth of Waste: Part Two
Standalone Titles
Pink
Pretty Lies
Dirty Pool
Effortless
Inflict
Cozen
Dishonored
Donati Bloodlines
Thin Lies
Thin Lines
Thin Lives
Behind the Bloodlines
The Complete Trilogy
Filthy Marcellos
Antony
Lucian
Giovanni
Dante
Legacy
A Very Marcello Christmas
The Complete Collection
Seasons of Betrayal
Where the Sun Hides
Where the Snow Falls
Where the Wind Whispers
Seasons: The Complete Seasons of Betrayal Series
Gun Moll Trilogy
Gun Moll
Gangster Moll
Madame Moll
The Chicago War
Deathless & Divided
Reckless & Ruined
Scarless & Sacred
Breathless & Bloodstained
The Complete Series
Maldives & Mistletoe
The Russian Guns
The Arrangement
The Life
The Score
Demyan & Ana
Shattered
The Jersey Vignettes
FANTASY ROMANCE
The Hunted: A 9INE REALMS Novel
Find more on Bethany-Kris’s website at www.bethanykris.com.
Copyright © 2020 by Bethany-Kris. All Rights Reserved.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted material is illegal and punishable by law. No parts of this work may be reproduced, copied, used, or printed without expressed written consent from the publisher/author. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in reviews.
eISBN 13: 978-1-989658-26-0
Editor: Eli Peters.
Cover Design © Mignon Mykel at Oh, So Novel
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, corporations, locales and so forth are a product of the author’s imagination, or if real, used fictitiously. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.