Wish I Were Here

Chapter 33

I yank open the door to the DeGreco’s lobby and run inside. It’s dark, all the lights are off except for the emergency ones by the stairs, and my footfalls echo across the tile. Luca’s not here. Maybe he’s still upstairs with Mrs. Sterling, or maybe he went to bed. I check the elevator to see if I can tell which floor it’s on, but the numbers are burned out.

It’s broken again.

“Damn it, Mrs. Hartman,” I mutter. I don’t believe in ghosts, but if my identity can disappear and then magically reappear, I’m not ruling them out, either.

At that moment, I hear a muted shuffle from behind the front desk. Of course. The elevator is broken. I sprint around to the other side and stop short. And then the back of my throat aches with emotion. Because there on the floor is Luca. He’s lounging on the pillow that Mrs. Esposito in 6D gave him, feet crossed and tattooed arms propped behind his head.

I tower over him, and he looks up at me. “Hi.” His lips curve into a hint of a smile. Just enough to make me want more.

“Hi,” I repeat. My heart pounds, but it has nothing to do with my run over here. “How’s Mrs. Sterling?”

“She’s fine. Beat me at poker again.”

“I think you’re letting her win.”

He shrugs, and I know he’d never admit it.

I take a step back to lean against the wall opposite him and slowly slide down until I’m sitting on the floor. He pulls himself to a cross-legged position, and in the semidarkness, our eyes meet.

I grab a corner of his blanket and twist it in my hands. “I know Mrs. Sterling had her stroke the day you were sorting the mail. That’s how my letters got lost.”

He nods slowly.

“That must have been so scary for you.”

Luca blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m just glad I was there.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you.” I stare past him, at the underside of the front desk. “I’m sorry I was so wrapped up in following the rules that I missed the fact that you’re the most caring, thoughtful, good-hearted person I’ve ever met.”

His mouth curves upward. “I forgive you. You had a bad couple of weeks.”

“See, that’s what I mean.” Suddenly, these few feet between us are too many. I push away from the wall and crawl over to the blanket nest. “You take care of everyone. Your family, the people in this building… and me.” I inch closer. “I don’t know what I would have done without you these past few weeks.”

“You’re the most capable person I’ve ever met,” Luca says. “You would have figured it out on your own.”

“I think I’m done with being on my own.”

And then Luca gives me that crooked smile, the one that’s just for me, and he reaches out a hand to pull me against him. “Well, it’s a good thing, because you have a lot of people who care about you.”

And then he kisses me.

I inch closer, sliding onto his lap and pushing him back against the blankets. His arms wrap around me, gently shifting me sideways so I’m lying next to him on the pillow, and then he kisses me again. When we finally break apart, Luca props himself up on his colorful arm, bending it under his head so he can look me in the eye. “Moonstone,” he murmurs.

“Yes, Elbow?”

“Watching you juggle tonight was amazing.”

“That was a onetime thing,” I warn. “So, don’t expect it to happen again.”

“You keep saying that, but…” He draws out the words like he doesn’t believe me one bit. “Mrs. Goodwin told me earlier tonight that the community center made so much money just on ticket sales alone that they can cover the last 10k they needed to buy the building. So anything they make on the auction can go toward funding new programs.”

I close my eyes. “Don’t tell me.”

“The community is very interested in juggling lessons.”

“I wonder whose idea that was.”

“We’ve got one guy on board to teach the class. But do you know anyone who might be able to assist him? Maybe someone with teaching experience…” He cocks his head. “Like a professor, for example?”

I lean back to look in his eyes. “I am never going to escape my clown destiny, am I?”

“Why would you want to?”

I think back to an hour ago when Dad and I were up on that stage together. Matching each other step for step, throw for throw. I can still hear the hoots and cheers from the crowd. Dad’s shows bring real joy to people. And then there was that day in the gym when Dad taught the whole group how to juggle. You couldn’t miss the pride and sense of accomplishment on their faces when they landed a catch. “You’re right,” I admit. “Why would I want to?”

Luca’s smile widens. And in that moment, I know that not only will he coax me to juggle again, but I might as well give up on coasters, and someday, I’ll probably end up with a tattoo.

But I don’t mind one bit. I reach up and run my fingers down Luca’s shoulder to the edge of his T-shirt and then across his colorful arm. “Sal was right. Something might seem like a disaster and turn out to be a beautiful, wonderful opportunity.”

Luca’s eyes widen. “What did you say?” He springs upright like a jack-in-the-box. “ Who? ”

I stare up at him. “Sal. You know. That sweet older man with the butterscotch candies. He gave me some advice about my identity disappearance. And he was right.”

Luca blinks at me over and over. It goes on for so long that I begin to worry. Finally, he chokes out, “That’s impossible.”

I push myself up to a seated position next to him. “What’s going on? Did something happen to Sal?” My heart squeezes. “Now that I think about it, I didn’t see him at the party.”

Luca slowly shakes his head back and forth. “Sal wasn’t at the party, Catherine… because he died last year. Sal was my grandpa.”

Now my mouth drops open. “That’s— no. ” But I know Luca would never make a joke about something like this. “Then who was the guy I met in your car? That day you picked me up from my meeting with Dr. Gupta? We chatted while you went in the pharmacy.”

“The day we went to the pharmacy, it was just me and Mrs. Goodwin. You waited in the car alone.”

“No, I’m sure he was there. You introduced me.” Except… the memory hovers at the edge of my consciousness…

I’d introduced myself when I got in the car, and Mrs. Goodwin had remarked that she already knew who I was. Is it possible Mrs. Goodwin and Luca didn’t know Sal was there? Is it possible Sal wasn’t there?

“Luca, I’ve seen him half a dozen times in the stairwell. He gave me butterscotch candies, and I ate them. They…”

“Made me think of my grandpa.” Luca looks as dazed as I feel. “That day when you got out of the car. You smelled like butterscotch.”

That moment when Luca leaned in, and I thought he was going to kiss me.

Luca’s gaze drifts to mine. “How did Grandpa look? How…” His voice breaks. “How was he?”

I grab his hand and squeeze. “He was wonderful.” I slide closer. “I’m so grateful I got to know him.”

“I bet it was Grandpa who meddled with your identity.” He gives a stunned laugh and shakes his head. “It had to be.”

And then it comes back to me, too. Some days, I’d simply like to be… nobody. Sal was there. Even if I didn’t say it out loud, he heard me. And somehow, he knew I needed this. I needed an opportunity disguised as a disaster. And maybe he knew I needed Luca, too.

Luca’s eyes soften. “Your apartment used to be my grandpa’s. It took me ages to rent it out. But then you came along, and… I knew you were the one.” He pulls me against his chest. “Maybe Grandpa knew you were the one, too.”

We drift back down to the floor into our nest of blankets. I lay my head on Luca’s chest, and he tucks his arm around me, settling his hand on my hip.

“You know,” I muse. “This strange nest on the floor is actually pretty comfortable.”

“The elevator is out…”

I nod. “It’s been a hard couple of weeks for Mrs. Hartman.”

Luca raises an eyebrow like finally I’m getting it. “Half the building will be heading home from the fundraiser soon. So I’m going to need to stay here to make sure I’m available to take them on the freight elevator.”

“Would you like some company?” I glance up to meet his eyes.

Luca cocks his head, squinting at me like he can’t quite decide. “Well… technically, sleeping on the floor isn’t permitted. It’s all laid out in the building’s manual of rules and regulations.”

“That’s fine with me.” I lean in and press a kiss to his lips. “Don’t you know that these days, I’m breaking all the rules?”