Page 67 of Sparring Partners
32.
Adrian pulled up outside Luca’s cottage and switched off the engine. He’d packed up early at the farmers’ market, just as he did every week, giving the prissy market superintendent a grin and a wave as he’d left, taking no notice of the man’s squawks that he was supposed to stay until the market officially closed.
Picking out the key Luca had given him, Adrian smiled as he pushed it into the lock. Luca was working from home today, out of the way of the maintenance team who was doing something or another in his office. Calling in was off the cuff. His smile morphed into a grin. Perhaps it was time for Luca to take a break, a little R&R… Adrian’s dick twitched and fattened, and he adjusted himself, easing the tight pressure, as he stepped inside and closed the door.
Luca had a small home office, and Adrian poked his head around the door. The room was empty, the chair pushed tight into the desk, the laptop on top of it closed. Adrian snorted. So much for working at home. Back in the hallway, Adrian had taken no more than a couple of paces when he stopped and sniffed, his brow creasing. Luca’s expensive lemon cologne was light in the air, but there was something wrong with the fresh scent he was so familiar with. Not one scent, but two, the second heavier, richer. He sniffed again. It was familiar, but he didn’t like it. Too cloying, almost sticky.
Ahh…Perhaps he wouldn’t be surprising Luca after all. Alex was here, the two of them discussing hotel business before lapsing into chit chat, the way friends did.
Embarrassment twisted in his gut. He’d not seen Alex since that night, after the festival. Adrian grimaced. He’d been a prick, and no doubt that was how Alex would always see him, and with justification. Perhaps he should leave as quietly as he’d arrived.
Turning towards the door, he hesitated.
No. Luca had given him a key to come and go as he wished. And besides, creeping out felt wrong and cowardly. He had to face Alex at some point, even if it did make him want to squirm.
Voices, muffled by the cottage’s thick walls, came from the kitchen diner. Adrian pasted a smile on his face.
“Luca? I was on my way back to the farm but I thought…” He stared from the doorway leading into the kitchen. That cloying, heavy cologne, the one he recognised but couldn’t place. Not Alex, but Jonathan.
Talk stopped, sliced through with a knife, neither man moving as they stared up at him.
“Adrian.”
Luca jumped up from the sofa in the dining area, breaking the heavy stillness, leaving Jonathan lounging back into the cushions, a polite but chilly smile on his face. Sweeping his fingers through his hair, Jonathan’s smile never once wavered.
“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you. You said you were going straight back to the farm.” Luca squeezed his arm.
“Thought I’d surprise you.”
“Adrian…”
He dragged his attention from Jonathan, and met Luca’s steady gaze, unwavering and challenging. Adrian exhaled, ragged and unsteady.
“I’ve been having a sort out,” Jonathan said, his voice over loud and oozing confidence, “because I’m having the house redecorated. Much needed and long overdue, because I was thinking of selling. Charming though Love’s Harbour is, it really is a little too out of the way and rathertoorural.” His brows creased in annoyance. “The internet constantly dropping out can make life here somewhat difficult.”
“So you’re going back to London?” Adrian’s hard, stiff smile, still stuck to his face, softened and relaxed.Good. When are you leaving?The question tingled on his tongue.
“No. Or not quite. My consultant role is demanding more time in London, so thank goodness I didn’t sell up and cut all my ties there. I still have my house in Kensington, which of course is very handy for Harrod’s. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d miss the bustle and energy of the metropolis quite as much as I do. I’ve decided to keep the place here as a weekend getaway. I have, after all, made some good friends.”
Jonathan smiled at Luca, and Adrian swallowed the growl clawing at his throat.
“I called in because I found a couple of books I’d borrowed from Luca some time ago.” Jonathan nodded to the kitchen table, where a couple of thick paperbacks sat next to a heavy brown paper bag. “I was intending to leave them with a little note, not expecting Luca to be home, but he was, and it’s been super catching up.” Jonathan threw another smile Luca’s way, before picking up his mug from the coffee table and taking a slow sip.
“Now you’ve returned them, we wouldn’t want to keep you from your day.”
“Oh, you’re really not?—”
“Adrian, I invited Jonathan in for coffee. To say thank you, for returning my books.”
Jonathan smiled at Luca, before switching his attention to Adrian. “I’ve deliberately kept the day free.” He reached forward and plucked up a biscuit from the plate in the middle of the coffee table, and turned to Luca. “Vegan biscuits from the hotel’s kitchen, you said? They really are delicious, and they go terribly well with the coffee, which is a Guatemalan roast if I’m not mistaken.”
“I’m not sure, Adrian bought?—”
“That’s right. Very well spotted, Jonathan.”Top fucking marks.“In which case, can I get you another?” Keeping his voice steady and his stiff smile in place, Adrian forced himself to be the polite co-host.
“Why not? Black. No sugar.”
Adrian nodded. With his back towards both Luca and Jonathan, he closed his eyes for a second.
