Page 80 of Tinsel in Telluride

“So you went after me,” I conclude, my voice nothing more than a shattered whimper.

“Fuck, Leigh.” Luca takes my hands in his, desperation radiating from his strong grip. “Please look at me.”

I drag my gaze to meet his, praying he doesn’t see the hatred in my eyes and mistake it for being directed at him. Because while he may have been the one who pulled the trigger, he didn’t aim the gun. His parents did.

Luca brings our hands to his lips and presses a kiss to my palm. “I’m not proud of what I did. I just—I thought if I did something to help, my parents would finally see me. Maybe they would invite me to the adult table and trust me with family affairs. I just wanted to be more than the son they could advantageously marry off.”

“Were they proud of you?” I ask, needing a silver lining to make it all worth it. “After you framed me.”

“For a time.” He pauses. “Then Enzo and I were drafted.”

“For the majors?”

He nods. “Our parents didn’t even know we’d been scouted. They never showed up to a single game. Baseball wasn’t one of their approved activities since it didn’t benefit us when it came to following in their footsteps and taking a role in the family business.”

“But you didn’t do any of that.”

“No. When Enzo declared he had no desire to play major league ball, I opted out, too, and convinced everyone I wanted toplay college ball, so I’d have a degree to fall back on. The two of us went on to play at Stonewall, much to our parent’s dismay.”

“Which is where you met Holt, Bash, and Jack.”

“Exactly.” He exhales a dry laugh. “And I’m grateful every day we did.”

“I feel like I’m still missing a piece of the puzzle. Yesterday you said you didn’t go home for Christmas that year, and I vaguely remember there being a stir up around that time over you and Enzo, but I was already the black sheep in town, so our family didn’t hear much.”

Luca frowns, and there’s nothing soft about the way he grits out between his teeth, “That would be right about when our family disowned us.”

“What!” I jerk back, my anger rising for him. “How the hell did we miss that?”

He waves his hand mockingly with a fairy godmother flair. “Because, to my mother, appearances are everything.”

God, what it must have been like to grow up in a house like that. Where everything you did was viewed under a microscope, but ultimately didn’t matter because it wasn’t good enough. Then to be disowned. I can’t even imagine.

“What happened?” I ask, because now I need to know how and why he broke free.

“When we declined the draft, my parents assumed it was because we would be taking over the family business. Enzo had zero desire to run hotels or become a politician and make backdoor deals with every lobbyist from Michigan to DC.”

“And you?”

“Needed to make sure Enzo was set, but still had every intention of entering the draft after college.”

“Let me guess, your parents were not happy about that.”

“Smart girl,” he says, tipping his head at me. “My parents proceeded to pull out every stop—from bribes to blackmail—butmy stubborn ass twin wouldn’t budge. It even got to the point where they agreed toallow me to play baseball if I could get my brother to come back to Shady Grove and keep with their perfect little plan.”

“A stupid plan, really. Even I know you would never betray your brother like that.”

“Exactly.” He nods in agreement. “And at that point, we already had Jack and the guys, and we were beginning to see what a family you choose could look like.”

“But you still want your family.”

He ignores my question, but I don’t need an answer.I can see it plain on his face when he talks about them. He’s been hurt and betrayed by them, but this man has all the loyalty of a golden retriever. If Enzo said he wanted to go back to Shady Grove, Luca would be the bridge. He can’t help it.

“Leigh.” He waits until my eyes meet his and continues.“I am so sorry for what I did to you and all the pain I caused. I was stupid and reckless, and you didn’t deserve any of it. I know you don’t trust me. I wouldn’t trust me either, but fuck, I hope someday you can learn to. Because I meant it when I said family is the most important thing to me. And like it or not, you might be a part of that now. I want you to be a part of it.”

Luca offers me a smile, but again his eyes betray him.

He wants it all. His brother and what they’ve built together. The family that disowned him. And me. He’s been chasing this dream since he was nineteen.

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