Page 59 of Built

I pull off my hoodie and stop at a corner, bracing against the wall for a sickening moment. Have I just doomed my parents to an ongoing legal battle that will cost them the Inlet Views? That could bankrupt them?

Things have been tight lately as it is. Bookings have been down and tourism still hasn’t recovered from the upheaval of the last few years.

The thought of giving up the one thing I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember kills me, though. When I’ve finally got her. When, even now, she’s waiting in bed for me.

“Fuck!” I slam my open palm against the brick wall and instantly regret it. At the sting, I suck in a breath and curse again.

What the fuck am I meant to do here? And do I tell Mia? This is the last thing she needs right now.

TWENTY FOUR

Mia

I know something’s up the moment Luke finally gets back. For starters, when he comes into the apartment, he doesn’t come to bed. I listen to the soft sound of the door opening and closing. The tap runs and a few noises come from the kitchen, but then nothing. Tegan went out for drinks with a work friend of hers, and she told me she’s not planning on coming home until late, so it’s not her.

I’m not asleep. I went to bed early, but I haven’t been able to get to sleep yet. I reach out and find my phone on the floor to check the time. Ten thirty.

Slipping out of bed, I pad out to the living room. Luke is sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. He looks up when he hears me. “Hey. Sorry. Did I wake you, baby?”

I shake my head. “No, I just came to make sure you’re OK.”

He sighs. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He sets aside the glass of water by his feet and gets up. “I’ll come to bed. Come on.”

He tries to steer me towards the spare bedroom, but I’m not having it. Something is wrong and I’m going to get to the bottom of what it is. I used to give Oliver a wide berth when he got like this. If I didn’t, he’d snap my head off, so it was never worth pushing it.

Luke’s not Oliver, though. Thank God.

Gut instinct tells me he needs to offload whatever this is.

“Hey.” I plant my hands on his shoulders and push. I’m not strong enough to move him if he doesn’t want to be moved, but he sinks back onto the sofa and I climb into his lap. I take his face in my hands and direct his gaze to me. “There’s something up, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

He sighs. “Come on, Mia. You’re tired. You have to work tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”

I shake my head. “Uh uh. No way. Now do I have to kiss it out of you? Or tickle it out of you?” I shove my hands under his shirt and run them up his firm abs and he squirms.

“Really, Mia! I didn’t want to worry you.” The effect of his words is somewhat spoiled because he’s laughing and squirming under my questing hands. This is fun!

“You know what worries me?” I stick my finger into his belly button and he yelps. “When there’s something wrong with my man and he won’t let me help.”

“Mia...” He catches my hands in his and stills them. What he says has the laughter dying on my lips. “It’s your dad.”

“Huh?” I blink at him. He’s gone very still. So have I.

“Your dad got my number. He sent me a message to meet him. That’s where I went. I should have told you, but I thought it could wait until morning.”

I frown. “What did he do that for?”

Luke sighs again. “To warn me. Threaten me, really. He says has a case against my parents and he told me he could make it go away, but only if I stopped seeing you.”

“He what?!” I hold my hand to my mouth, unable to breathe for a moment. I never thought my father would do something like this. “He said that?”

“He told me not to tell you if I wanted him to help my parents.”

I scowl. This clearly has nothing to do with an offer of help. “Oh, my God, Luke, I’m so sorry.”

“Baby, it’s not your fault. I would never think that.”

“But if you’d never gotten involved with me, this never would have happened. I don’t know how, but somehow Dad’s gone looking for this case. This can’t just be a coincidence.”

---