“In his defense, Wintervale is a great vacation destination. My family used to visit there every Christmas break. They loved it so much that my parents moved there,” Rigby said.
“Yeah, but he’s going there to work, not play.”
“I’m sure I could find someone to play with if I was so inclined,” Luca assured him. “But not all of us can be as lucky as you.”
Zio scoffed. “Between the two of us, you’ve always been the lucky one.”
“I think Armand has officially tipped the scale in your favor in that department,” Jude teased. “Hopefully, karma will deliver a cutie for Luca to fall for next to even out the balance.”
Luca shook his head in disagreement. “Please be careful what you wish for. The last thing I need is love complicating my life.”
“Sorry to break it to you, but you just doomed yourself,” Rigby said with a laugh. “Mr. I’m-Too-Busy-For-Love is going to find himself enamored with a cute spitfire named Albie who’ll show him the error of his ways.”
“I love how you assume a cute spitfire is what I’m looking for in a partner.” Luca chuckled. “I mean, you’re notwrong. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed someone spirited. But Albie is the son of the hotel owners, so that would be a terrible idea.”
“I’m calling it now. You’ll have your fire-and-ice romance in Wintervale,” Jude declared. “If I’m right, you’ll arrange for Rigby and me to stay at that awesome Luxurian Hotel in Osaka you booked for him before.”
“I’d do that for you, even if you’re wrong. I’ve got more points than I could spend in three lifetimes.”
Jude pouted. “Come on, at least give me the illusion of having to fight for it. That’ll make victory sweeter than you being a nice guy and giving it to us.”
Luca laughed at his antics. “Fine, I accept your challenge. Happy?”
He hugged his boyfriend to snuggle up against him. “I am now that I’m with Rigby.”
“If nothing else, I’ll need to get a partner to keep up with all the lovey-dovey cuteness around here.”
“As somebody who avoided that for a long time, I can assure you it’s worth it,” I told him. “Life is more fun to share with somebody you love.”
He tilted his head in acknowledgement. “We’ll see what happens. Now, what are we going to do for dinner?”
As everyone began discussing options, I checked in on Zio. “Doing okay?”
He beamed up at me with happiness. “I’ve never been better.”
“I can say the same thing, thanks to you.”
Zio leaned closer to rest his head on my shoulder with a smile as we joined the discussion. It was one of the best feelings in the world.
* * *
My dinnerwith Zio’s brother and friends was an enjoyable way to spend the evening. There was a special magic that came from having such tight-knit friends. I was happy that he had that kind of bond with Rigby and Jude.
Luca leaned over and told his brother, “I’ll be back.”
Zio nodded in acknowledgement as he continued paying attention to Jude’s outrageous story about his sister’s latest antics.
I assumed Luca would go to the bathroom. However, he caught my eye and tilted his head toward the exit for me to join him before going outside to wait. While I never wanted to lie to my boyfriend, I made an exception for a tiny, harmless one. “I have to make a quick business call. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” He squeezed my hand before I got up to leave.
There was a pleasant crispness to the air when I exited the restaurant. Luca was waiting for me off to the side of the pathway to the parking lot. “I hope you don’t mind that I wanted a moment alone with you to talk.”
“Not at all.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’d expect nothing less from an adoring older brother to somebody as sweet as Zio. To protect him is only natural.”
“He hates it when I worry, so I try not to show it too often.” Luca sighed as he ran his fingers through his chestnut-colored hair.
“Because it makes him feel bad that you have to worry about him, so he wishes he was strong enough you didn’t have to,non?”
