Page 34 of Tinsel in Telluride

And to think I was so close to avoiding him.

“Let me know if you get that stick out of his ass,” Holt hollers.

“I didn’t know it could be removed,” I mutter loud enough for them to hear me, relishing in the laughter from Enzo, Holt, and Bash just as much as the exasperated sigh that comes from Luca.

The sun breaks over the mountain, causing the snow remnants on the deck to glitter as Luca follows me toward the guest house.

His footsteps behind me stop before I reach the door, and I turn around to face him.

“I sent off the test this morning,” he says before I can start.

Ah, so that’s why he’s already in such a foul mood.

I lift my phone and check the time. “It’s only eight thirty. How did you manage that?”

“I drove it to the airport so it would be on the first flight out to a facility I trust,” he says it as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. Like anyone could just snap their fingers and make it happen.

Releasing a weighted sigh, I meet his icy blue gaze, praying he hears me when I tell him, “I’m not here to screw you, Luca. If you’re Zach’s father, then I want him to know you. I?—”

He throws up a hand, stopping me. “Listen, I don’t have the time to get into everything right now, and I’m pretty sure I’m still too angry to talk about all this between us. I just wanted you to know it’s been sent.”

I hold his stare but ultimately give in. As much as I want him to understand that I’m not the bad guy, he just told me he’s not ready to talk, and I have to respect that.

“Thank you for your honesty.”

Luca nods and pulls out a folded-over manila envelope from the pocket of his peacoat and offers it to me. “Here’s the Monarch Hearts stuff for you to look over while we’re gone today.”

I take the folder and slide out the paper clipped stack of papers. It doesn’t take me more than a few moments to flip through it.

My jaw drops, unable to process what I’m seeing. “Luca, this is a full proposal ready to be presented to the commissioner.”

“I know.”

I don’t need to look up to know he’s wearing a smug smile.

Looking deeper into the document, my voice goes high. “It even has the section I add to each one for team specific ideas.”

This must have taken him hours and a shit ton of forethought to put together. Usually it takes an entire week of sitting down with a team and hashing out all the mandatories, wish lists, and what we can and can’t make happen for each club.

But Luca has thought of everything. I mean, of course I still need to do a deep dive and make sure, but on the surface, it looks better than even something I could have come up with.

It’s immaculate.

“Phillip let me take a look at his proposal,” Luca explains, like he didn’t go unnecessarily above and beyond. “You just need to look over it and approve it.”

I don’t bother hiding my shock. “How—I mean, why would you do this?”

Luca gives a sheepish pop of his shoulders, his confidence wavering. Though I don’t miss the glint of pride in his eyes. “I figured we’d have more important things to talk about.”

“This is—it’s impressive.”

“Thanks.”

Time passes like molasses. Each of us awkwardly staring at the other, neither of us knowing how to maintain this moment of peace without ruining it.

Luca runs a nervous hand through his jet-black hair. “I, uh—better get going. We can discuss it after you have a chance to thoroughly rip it apart.”

A sarcastic remark sits on the tip of my tongue, but I bite it back. He deserves this win for all the work he put in.

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