Better Be True Read online

  She nudged one in front of him. “You know you need to alternate to avoid getting sick.”

  “Thanks.” He pushed the tumbler aside and took a drink of water. “But I’m not drunk. That’s my first one.”

  She sniffed his drink. “Good. This smells like straight bourbon.”

  Nico snorted. “I asked him for a splash of Coke, and he took me literally.”

  “Sorry, boo, I had just gotten out of the shower when you texted me.”

  “It’s okay. I know you have stuff to do.”

  “Nothing is more important than being here for you.” She pulled him into a one-armed hug. “What happened?”

  Nico choked back a sob. “Luke . . . Kent got dumped and he shows up at our door with his luggage. I told him he wasn’t welcome, and he said Luke told him he could stay.”

  He still couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to.

  “And?”

  “I told him he was full of shit. Guess he expected that, ’cause he asked me for my email so he could send me the proof.”

  “Proof?”

  “An email chain from their work accounts. Luke said he could stay. When Kent asked if I’d mind, Luke said he’d talk to me, and I’d be fine.”

  Elisa sucked in a breath, and he nodded. “I know. He promised me yesterday he wouldn’t bring him around. That’s what hurts the most. He said he wouldn’t. But first time dickwad asks for help . . .” He shrugged.

  First time Kent calls, Luke forgets his promise to Nico and sides with Kent.

  “Oh, boo.” She sniffed and started to cry. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

  “No.” He pulled her closer. “You didn’t do that. I did. I wanted to talk to him. You just gave me the nudge I needed.”

  She shook her head against him. “I did it. You said this would happen, and I told you it wouldn’t.”

  “It’s okay.” It wasn’t. Not even close. “Better I know now.”

  Elisa leaned back and cradled his face in her hands. “Always the strong one.”

  Only he wasn’t. One wrong word, and he’d be bawling on her shoulder. “I need a favor, E.”

  “Anything.”

  “I can’t go back there. It hurts too much.” In two hours, it went from being the happiest place he could remember to the worst.

  “You can stay with me until the wedding.”

  “Thanks, E. You’re the best.”

  Luke

  Luke awoke after a patchy, worry-filled sleep to the empty space where Nico should have been sleeping.

  Wherever Nico had gone last night, he hadn’t come back.

  Morning. Midmorning. Afternoon. When the day ended, he raced home. Still not there.

  Luke checked his phone for the billionth time, but Nico hadn’t read any of the texts he’d sent. He’d tried calling, but it went straight to voicemail.

  “Damn.” How did things get so fucked-up? Yesterday, he was so sure they were good.

  The front door shut.

  Luke tensed, stomach somersaulting.

  “Nico?” he rushed around the partition and stopped. Not Nico. Elisa. Elisa using Nico’s key.

  She glared at him in a way that would make Nonna proud. “I’m here to get a few of Nico’s things.”

  Luke blanched, ice spreading through his veins. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, not kidding. And before you start trying to explain, don’t. Nico’s such an amazing person, and you broke his heart.”

  Hearing that nearly destroyed Luke, but he hadn’t done it. “He’s got this all wrong, Elisa.” He couldn’t let her leave without finding some way to get a message to Nico. She was his only link to him.

  “Right. He got it wrong.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I convinced him to talk to you.”

  “Elisa—”

  “Just stop, Luke. I’m on Nico’s side. Always will be.”

  “Good. Then give me three minutes to prove to you I didn’t lie to him.” Luke stuffed his shaky hands into his pockets and pulled out his phone. “Here, look.”

  Nico

  Elisa: Where are you?

  Nico: Esposito’s. Wrapping up for good. Plus checking up on your cake.

  Elisa: Esposito’s at the Market or the main one on Passyunk?

  Nico: Main one. Why?

  Elisa: Wait for me, I want to talk.

  Nico: Can’t we talk when I get to your place?

  Elisa: See you soon, boo.

  Damn. So he wouldn’t be crashing another night with her?

  He pushed his phone into his pocket as Estelle met him at a corner table, an envelope and a sheet of yellow paper in one hand and two cups of coffee in the other. “Thank you so much again for jumping in to help us out so much.” She set one coffee in front of him and took the other seat at the table. After taking a sip, she slid the envelope over to him. “Here’s your final paycheck.”

  Nico accepted the envelope and set it aside. “Thank you.”

  She reached across and squeezed his hand. “You’ve been a godsend, Nico. I wish you didn’t need to leave so soon. I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too. But it will be good to spend some time at home before school starts.” Meaning: he needed to get out of the apartment, permanently. ASAP.

  “I’m being selfish.”

  He snorted. “I’m no prize. Ask my dad.”

  Estelle laughed. “You know Rocco called him before we hired you. You’re a good kid, Nico. The customers loved you.”

  “I enjoyed it.” A lot. “Now’s the time to focus on Elisa’s wedding.”

  “Thank you again, sweetie.” She patted his hand and slid the yellow paper across the Formica table. “Everything’s set. Rocco’s going to start on the cake tomorrow, and it will be ready Friday afternoon. We’ll deliver it to the Union League first thing Saturday morning.”

  Nico scanned the invoice, checked the balance owed, and then reached into his backpack for his billfold. “Papà put money in my checking account to cover this, but if you’d rather I use a credit card, I can do that.”

  “From you, we’ll take a check.”

  He wrote out the check and passed it to her. “Do you mind if I sit for a few minutes? My sister is meeting me here.”

  “Of course. I’d love to meet her.” She patted his hand again and stood. “Thank you again, sweetie. I’m not sure how we’d have managed this summer without you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She marched back behind the counter, and he sipped his coffee, bouncing his leg nervously as he waited for Elisa.

  All Nico had to do was get through the next day and a half until his family arrived on Friday. Then he had a ready-made excuse for avoiding Luke. He’d be staying at the hotel with his family. And . . .

  He swallowed.

  Goddammit. This was why he didn’t want to go all in. At least if he’d kept his distance, he wouldn’t feel so worthless again.

  He slammed his eyes shut. Who was he kidding? No matter how it ended, it was going to hurt, but at least he wouldn’t have known Luke didn’t want him.

  The bell tinkled, and his sister entered the shop. He forced a smile but dropped it when he saw Luke slinking in behind her, looking as miserable as Nico felt.

  “Seriously, Elisa?” He’d told her he couldn’t face Luke. “After everything I did for you this summer?”

  “I know, boo, but before you lose your shit, you need to listen.”

  “Fuck that. I’m outta here.”

  She blocked his path and put her hand on his chest. “No, you’re going to listen. When I say I love you to the moon and back, I mean it. You need to hear what really happened.”

  “What really happened is he told Kent he could stay.”

  “No, boo. He didn’t. I checked out his story. It’s true.”

  “What?” Nico’s knees nearly gave out. He inched back and plopped onto his chair. “You checked? With who?”

  “That’s for Luke to say.” She framed his face w
ith her hands. “Just hear him out. If you still feel the same, you can come stay the next two days. But I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

  She smiled and pulled her hands back. “You two talk while I go check on my wedding cake.”

  Luke needed a push from Elisa to move closer. Shuffling his feet, he slowly took the seat across from Nico. They watched each other until Nico couldn’t stand the silence. “I’m listening.”

  Not the friendliest opening, but despite what E said, he still hurt.

  “Nico, I’m so sorry you’re hurt, but I swear I didn’t send those emails. Kent did.”

  “Kent?”

  “I was talking to Coury about how he had the balls to ask me to stay and how I said no. I thought I heard someone outside my door, but I didn’t check at first. After I told Coury how I promised you I wouldn’t bring him around you, Kent walks in and says he needs to speak to me. He wouldn’t leave, so I left. I . . . I never locked my computer.”

  He wanted to believe it, but believing left him shattered. “And how did E check this out?”

  “I left to call Coury back.” He pulled out his phone. “I called him at 11:09 from outside the building. When I told her this, she told me to call Coury and give her the phone. She grilled him for a few minutes and then asked how she could help.”

  Nico squeezed his eyes shut. The emotional Ping Pong match he was living left him disoriented. Luke touched his hand.

  “Nico, I swear, I didn’t send those emails. I meant every word I said to you on Monday. I want you. Just you. All of you. The way you want to be. No filters, no changes. I know it looks like I betrayed you, but . . .”

  “You didn’t.” He opened his eyes and felt a new clarity. “I believe you.”

  “You do?” Luke sounded as relieved as he looked.

  Nico nodded. “After spending the summer with you, it’s easier to believe you than those emails.” He turned his head toward his sister. “And if you could convince her, you must be telling the truth.”

  Luke got up and launched himself at Nico. “Oh God, thank you.” He crushed Nico in a bear hug.

  “I’m sorry, Luke. I should have given you a chance to explain.” He should have done so many things different during the summer.

  “Please don’t be sorry. I almost believed I sent those emails.” He let out a giddy laugh. “You warned me that first day when we drove from Harrison.”

  Nico put his fingers on Luke’s lips. “Shh. I don’t want to see or talk about him anymore.”

  “Right. But I need to see him again. At least one more time.”

  “Don’t hit him, Luke. He’s not worth it.”

  Luke grinned. “Hitting him won’t be as satisfying as what’s about to drop on him.”

  “What are you up to?”

  Luke

  Luke: Can you come to my office?

  Kent: Planning to apologize for being a dickwad to me?

  Luke: Something like that.

  “Okay, I’m here,” Kent said before he stepped through the threshold to Luke’s office. “Let the apologies—”

  Luke almost found the deflated expression worth the angst Kent had caused Nico. Not quite, but it was a start.

  “Hello, Kent,” Chris said. “Please come in.”

  Luke’s small office was crowded, but everyone stood at the edges to leave room for Kent.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Something unusual happened on Monday that I need your help with.”

  “Monday?” Kent shot Luke a plea for help as the noose tightened.

  Fat chance. “You remember, the day you refused to leave my office when I was trying to talk to my roommate. That Monday.”

  “Um. Okay.”

  “So. Luke told us someone used his email without his authorization at around 11:10 a.m.”

  “He mentioned that.”

  “I asked the IT department to run a diagnostic of his computer.” Chris pointed to the guy seated behind Luke’s desk.

  “I ran the IP address and found that two different firm emails were used at the same time from this terminal. One using the desktop Outlook app, the other using the web-based version.” He spun the screen around so everyone in the room could see. “Luke’s email was using the desktop app. Your email, Mr. Waller, was using web-based Outlook.”

  “Luke was using my email account?” Kent’s voice shook, and Luke snorted.

  “Nice try.” Chris nodded to someone in a suit. “Mr. Young?”

  “At your request, Mr. Rayner, I reviewed the security footage. Mr. DeRosa was seen exiting the building at 11:08 a.m. He didn’t return until 11:32 a.m. carrying a Panera Bread bag. We also pulled the floor lobby video and Mr. Waller entered this suite at 11:02 a.m. He left at 11:14 a.m., one minute after the last email was sent from this terminal.”

  “Thank you.” Chris turned his attention on Kent. “Using another employee’s email without authorization is grounds for termination.”

  “I didn’t send those emails. Someone else must have done it.”

  “No one else sent them. You did.” Chris nodded toward Mr. Young. “We spoke to Nico, who told us how you arrived at his and Luke’s apartment and showed him these emails. You said they were from Luke. Since both emails were written on this terminal, your claim that someone used your account lacks credibility. In fact, your admission inculpates you in the unauthorized use of Luke’s account.

  “Your internship is terminated. Mr. Young will escort you back to your cubicle, where you will collect your personal belongings, turn over your ID badge, and then vacate the premises. You are also barred from entering this building without further written notice.”

  He flicked two fingers, and Mr. Young motioned for Kent to leave. Sparing a last angry stare at Luke, Kent shrugged away from Mr. Young’s grasp and walked out of the office.

  The IT guy left, leaving Luke with his managing partner. When Chris didn’t leave, Luke knew what was coming next. It wasn’t how he’d expected the summer to end. He had regrets, but not for making sure Kent answered for what he’d done.

  “I’ll get my things and leave my badge here, Chris.” He dug the hard plastic rectangle out of his pocket and set it on the desk. “Thank you for everything, and I’m truly sorry for what happened.”

  Chris nodded and headed toward the door. Instead of leaving, he swung it shut. When he turned, he motioned for Luke to take his seat.

  His legs were like jelly, so sitting wasn’t hard. Chris still hadn’t said anything as he used Luke’s other chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said back. “You think you’re being terminated as well?”

  “I can’t imagine the firm has time for this kind of petty stuff.”

  “You didn’t need to tell me. Had you kept quiet, we’d never have found out.”

  And Kent would have gotten away with it. But that wasn’t his motivation. “Nico needed to know the truth.”

  “Nico?” Chris raised an eyebrow. “Not the firm?”

  “The firm does too, but I’d be lying to you if I said that was my motivation.” It might have saved his internship if he’d lied. “Kent really hurt Nico with this deception.”

  Chris uncrossed his arms, reached forward, and picked up Luke’s badge. “You’re right about the firm not wanting to deal with drama. Any time an accountant is making waves, it generally isn’t good news. Our clients prefer we be noticed as little as possible.”

  Luke swallowed the bile rising in his throat as Chris turned Luke’s ID card around and around. Telling his parents he’d wasted his summer was going suck. Even more so when he told them it was a failure in part due to Kent.

  “But they also prize integrity.” Luke snapped his gaze back to Chris’s. “It’s one of the hardest traits for us to measure during the summer program, because it’s rarely an issue.”

  He tossed the badge in Luke’s direction. It skidded across the hard surface and into Luke’s lap.

  “Go home and relax tonight.” He smiled as he stood. “I’ll see
you tomorrow. Oh, and Luke?”

  “Yes?”

  “How about you and Nico come for dinner next weekend? The kids keep asking about you.”

  Luke swallowed a sigh of relief. “Let me check with Nico.”

  Luke stopped halfway up the stairs. The aroma coming from their apartment had him salivating.

  Nico was home.

  Thank God.

  “Nico?” he called as soon as he shut the door.

  “In the kitchen.”

  Where else? Smiling, Luke moved around the wall to find Nico working in front of the stove. “Smells great. What is it?”

  “Spaghetti aglio e olio. Which is spaghetti with olive oil and garlic.” Nico stirred the garlic in the frying pan with a wooden spoon. “Along with lots of fresh parsley and pine nuts. Nonna makes hers with anchovies, but I like it without.”

  They looked at each other, wordlessly acknowledging Nico’s absence. How he’d run. Luke caught a glimmer of fragile uncertainty in Nico’s eyes and smiled gently.

  “Really? You don’t like Nonna’s cooking?”

  “Shush.” Nico waved the spoon at Luke, smiling. A real smile that made Luke’s heart skip. “Trust me, you’ll be glad I left them out. They make it too fishy.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” He leaned in for a kiss, and Nico didn’t disappoint him. It reeked of the domestic bliss he’d glimpsed all summer. “Let me change, and I’ll help you.”

  “It’s almost done, but thanks.” It looked like Nico had it under control. He always did.

  “Okay. I’ll be right out.”

  He quickly changed into khaki shorts and a salmon polo shirt. His stomach rumbled, and he emerged in record time. Nico, however, wasn’t in the kitchen. “Nico?”

  “Here.”

  Luke turned left, and Nico held out a black tux. “What’s that?”