Page 8 of Amore
I ran the pen down the list, looking to mark off the Jamesons, when my gaze landed on a familiar name. “Holy shit,” I whispered.
“Everything okay, mate?” Booker asked.
I blinked, looking up at him. “Yeah, sorry. You’re all set.”
“Have a good night,” Peyton said as Booker took her hand.
“You two as well.”
I looked back down at the clipboard.
Frankie was coming.
Frankie was coming to a sex club.
Time seemed to slow down as I waited with each car that arrived. What was I going to say? What would Frankie say? Would she remember me? It had been nine years, and I looked different. I was bulkier and no longer a teenager, to say the least.
A limo pulled up, and the moment Frankie stepped out after actor Nick Jennings, everything stopped.
My breath.
My heart.
My world.
Nick held out his hand for her to take, and they walked up the stairs. My heart hammered in my chest. I was going to pass out. The last time I’d seen Frankie was the best night of my life. It beat the day I graduated from college and the day I graduated from the police academy. It was the day afterthat nightwhen my heart had been ripped out.
As Frankie ascended the stairs on Nick’s arm, she looked at me. Our gazes locked, and we smiled at the same time. It made my heart swell, hoping it meant that she recognized me.
Nick handed me his card, and I wasn’t sure if I should greet her first. Was she dating Nick Jennings, or was she only his guest to get in? “Ms. Borelli should be on my guest list tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, meeting Francesca “Frankie” Borelli’s stare.
“How are you, Luke?” she asked with a smile.
“I’m good, Franks.” I grinned. “Funny thing, I was just thinking about you.”
3
FRANKIE
I hadno idea Luke was living in Los Angeles. How long had he and I been living in the same city again? It wasn’t as though we were friends or I was still friends with his sister Lucy. Afterthat night, I couldn’t face him again, and I’d stopped talking to his sister, who had been my best friend at the time. I’d blamed it on college when Lucy had tried to reconnect. It had been easier that way because I’d gone to Juilliard in New York, Lucy to Kansas State, and Luke had still been in high school.
“You were thinking about me?” My heart fluttered in my chest at his declaration.
“Had Italian food.” He winked.
I snorted a laugh, remembering how he and Lucy would tease me about getting the lyrics wrong to a song. “Well, I’d love to catch up. Maybe we can grab coffee sometime.” My heart was pounding in my chest, and I felt Nick’s stare, but I didn’t look at him. My gaze was locked on Luke. Nick and I hadn’t been together long. We’d finished filming a movie a few weeks before and then started seeing each other. Hollywood relationships rarely worked out, and while I liked Nick, I wasn’t in love with him.
“I’d like that.” Luke smiled.
“Can I give you my number?” I didn’t have my phone with me because, under the rules of Sensation, phones weren’t allowed inside the mansion.
Luke glanced at Nick and then back at me. “Yeah, of course.”
He dug in the pocket of his slacks and pulled out his phone, handing it to me. I entered my cell into the contacts, and gave it back to Luke. “I leave for Canada in three weeks. I’ll be gone for about a month or so. Maybe we can catch up before I leave.”
“I’ll give you a call,” Luke replied.
