Page 46 of Amore
“‘Needs to stay here’? What the fuck?”
Amore barked as Candace raised her voice.
“Let’s just go to your car.” Luke stepped around my dog and shut the door behind him, leaving me to wonder how much of a fight Candace was going to put up.
14
LUKE
Breakingup with Candace was going to suck.
It had been a long time coming, and I had to do it because, in the end, I would be happier. Not because of Frankie—even though she was a big part of it—but also because it would be a weight lifted off my shoulders. In the past two weeks, I had realized how clingy Candace was, and if I continued a relationship with her, it would only intensify.
“How could you?” Candace snapped.
I placed my hand on the small of her back, urging her to walk down the stairs. “Can we wait until we’re in your car?”
“Why do I have to leave, Luke? I’m your girlfriend.”
“Please?” I begged, not wanting to make a scene at nine in the morning in front of my neighbors.
“Ahhh!” She stormed down the stairs. “I knew this was going to happen.”
I didn’t respond until we got into her Camaro. “Look, Frankie is here because she was attacked last night.”
“Attacked?”
I explained about the guy breaking in and how Frankie didn’t want to stay at her house. “And”—I sighed, knowing where the conversation was about to go—“she asked me to be her private detail while she’s in Canada.”
Candace blinked. “Canada?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “For at least a month.”
“A month?” she shrieked. “You can’t be serious.”
I was leaving details out about my true feelings for Frankie because I knew it would only be the gasoline to fuel Candace’s rage. “I know, but I’ve known Frankie practically my entire life. She was my best friend growing up, and she needs me.”
“Ineed you.” Candace reached for my hand, and I let her. “We’re partners. What am I going to do while you’re away?”
“I haven’t talked to Hansen yet, but you’ll get another partner.”
“I don’t want another partner. I love working with you. I love you!” She squeezed the hand she was holding.
“Come on. You know if anyone were ever to find out about us, it would be bad.” I wasn’t touching the proclamation of her love.
“No one will find out unless one of us tells.”
“Look, it’s been weighing on me a lot, and I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Because of Frankie?”
I shook my head. “Before Frankie.”
“Everything was fine before her.”
I removed my hand from hers. “Candace, everything wasn’t fine. We were never going to be able to have a real relationship, and I think it’s best if we just end this thing between us—”
She drew her head back. “This thing? What do you mean ‘this thing’?”
