“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you watch his videos?” I ask, thinking back to this morning when I was creating a social media grid and had to sort through video stills that were appropriate to post. His face mid-thrust. His abs. The women’s leg wrapped around his back. My stomach sours. “Never mind. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
She sighs and asks for a wine opener. I direct her to the kitchen drawer where it’s at and she opens and pours us two glasses. “Lizzy, it’s hard to search him and not see… stuff. Have you talked to him about how it makes you feel?”
“Jesus, Shay, don’t be so naïve. A man like that doesn’t let a woman dictate his career.”
Her brow furrows. “You just said it wasn’t a sham, so why wouldn’t your feelings play into his decisions? That’s how a relationship works.”
I take a sip. It’s a delicious red blend. Notes of wood and something floral. I study the bottle more carefully. “I guess that’s me downplaying my importance. I don’t know. It’s confusing. When he comes, I’m sure we’ll talk about things and where we stand.”
“And you’ll tell him it bothers you he’s screwing all day?”
“I don’t know if that’s what he’s doingallday. It’s a damn empire. It’s a ton of business and contracts and agreements. He has hundreds of employees that run things behind the scenes. That’s a lot of pressure on anyone. His dick keeps them employed. How am I supposed to say, sorry, my jealousy is more important than all of your employee’s livelihoods?”
“You need to think outside of the box, Lizzy. If he’s a wise businessman like you’re making him out to be, there’s always a way to work smarter instead of harder.” She giggles. “You can apply that literally to what he does. Get it? Harder?”
Rolling my eyes, I take another small sip and savor it. We chat a little more about her life and I give her an unopened bottle to take home. Her boyfriend picked her up and now I’m left to my own devices with negative thoughts swirling. What is Luca doing right now? “Don’t do that, Lizzy,” I tell myself. That’s a normal thing though, and I’m not giving myself permission to wonder. Shay is right. I groan and flop down on the white linen sofa in the den and give in. I press the button to call Luca.
When he slides onto my screen he’s shirtless, walking from a dimly lit room, a fucking set. “Hello you. How are you?” Luca says, smiling when he sees me. “God, I miss you.”
My stomach flips and I feel like I might be sick. “I’m good. What are you up to?” It’s a casual question people ask. Most times an innocuous answer follows. I swallow hard. “I miss you, too.”
He closes a door and sits down. He’s in a dressing room. “I’m working.”
I close my eyes. “As inoffensive as that should be, I’m going to let you go now.”
“Wait, you just called. I want to talk for a while. I have a few minutes.”
Swallowing down bile, I say, “If we talk any longer I’m going to start envisioning you working,” I air quote the last word, “and I won’t be able to stop thinking about it, and I won’t be able to sleep because jealousy will eat me alive. I’m not proud of the fact, but this is hard for me.”
Luca’s gaze goes distant as he mulls my words. “I’m not fucking anyone, Elizabeth. I was marking a scene for the actors. I’m getting ready to fly out, actually. I’m only here because it has a big production budget that I have to oversee.” His eyes narrow. “You don’t have to be jealous. There hasn’t been anyone since you, nor will there be.”
“Oh,” I remark. “I didn’t know. I just assumed. Now I feel bad.”He’s still walking around with beautiful naked chicks. Baby steps.The first thing I realized when I took over the social media accounts was that Luca wasn’t banging women who have been ridden hard and hung up wet. They are all…stunning. I wonder what their childhoods might have looked like to end up in a profession like this, but then I remember what Luca looks like and it doesn’t take a lot of guesswork to understand. An Italian Prince who is hung like a horse, where do I line up?
He reads the surprise on my face and his lips curl. “I’m offended you thought I would film without even mentioning it to you.” His phone jostles as he puts on a sweatshirt one-handed. “We’ve complicated things, remember?”
“Luca, this is your career. You don’t have to answer to me. I knew what you did before I ever fell into bed with you.” I might not have had that much of a choice being wooed in paradise, but I did know.
He shakes his head. “I told you when we were in Bora Bora that I wanted to rebrand and reconfigure my businesses. I’m slowly working myself out of acting to dealing with behind the scenes decision making.” He pauses. “It’s where I’ve wanted to be for a while. I guess I needed a reason to make the jump into the next phase of life.”
My heart flutters. “And I’m the reason?”
His gaze is dark and unfathomable. It sinks into my soul through a damn cell phone screen. “Yes. I can’t wait to see you, Elizabeth. How was today? You’re all moved in now?”
I smile wider in approval. “It’s amazing, Luca. I can’t wait for you to see it in person. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.” Going from living with Shay in her small house to this is dreamland status. It’s bigger and nicer than anything I envisioned for myself. “When do you think you’ll be here?”
He looks away from the phone. “I’m not sure. I’ll be in LA tomorrow. What do you need? Do you have everything you want? Say the word and anything is yours.”
He’s doing the thing I can’t get used to. The whole giving a shit and caring about my well-being thing, but also trying to buy me everything in the entire world. “Luca,” I chide.
“I know, okay. I’m just making sure. I’m not trying to smother you or spoil you or all the other things you accuse me of when I offer to… help financially. It’s just the one way I can make your life easier when I can’t be next to you. It’s the one resource I have that’s expendable and never runs dry. It’s what I can give you.”
I huff. “And what is it I offer you?”
“Elizabeth, you give me everything by existing. It’s annoying as fuck, but it’s also the truth. You were made to complete my life.”
I blush from head to toe. “Are you sure you aren’t talking about someone else?” I play coy. “Thank you for saying that. It means a lot. I do wonder though.” Gulping, I ask in a rush, “You’ll miss it? Being on camera with different women all the time. That seems like something any man would get a bit wistful thinking about. I don’t want you to resent what took that away.”
He shakes his head. “What people outside of the business fail to understand is, the sex is still work. A decade ago it was fun and I could fool myself into believing this is the only lifestyle that would fulfill me. It got old, and I kept going because I was good at it and I got used to it. Brick by brick, I built the production company. The branches of studios, the talent agencies, all of it came and I continued acting because it was expected of me.” He blows out a breath and cracks his neck. “Now I see what I’ve been missing.”
