Page 7

As first dates went, Luca had been on worse. Much worse. He felt a few memories trickle in and hastily shuddered, forcing them to scatter. Now, now, there was no need to relive any of those.

Noe had set Luca back on track when he’d strayed into interview mode. Still, Luca felt bad his date had needed to do it. Apparently, dating was too much uncharted territory for him to try and plan on his own.

This called for a sounding board. Luca knew precisely whom to ask, too.

He turned right at the next street corner and toward the his and the Brahmses’ ryokan. Hopefully they were in. Otherwise, Luca would go to bed and try again tomorrow.

The ryokan looked rather lively, with people coming in and out for drinks or baths. Three men came in with sake bottles and snacks, so they were planning on a fun evening. Luca dodged people and knocked on his friends’ door. “Anyone home?”

“We are, come in!” Sho answered.

Luca ducked inside and paused there for a second to get his bearings. The family had gathered around a small round table, with multiple pieces of paper in front of them. Letters? Looked like it.

“Evening, everyone,” Luca greeted before plopping down on a cushion. He had to stretch one leg out to the side to fit. These low tables and his knees were not friends. “Writing home?”

“Yes, actually.” Sho tapped his own letter. “I just received a letter from my brother after telling him we’d adopted Sakura. He’s thrilled. Threatening to visit soon to meet her. Sakura’s writing a letter to them to say hi.”

“Trying,” she corrected with a long sigh. “Papa, did I spell this right?”

Brahms leaned over, checked, then gave his “no” grunt before using a pen to fix the word.

It seemed Sakura’s skills with Aartan were improving, from the glance he caught of the paper. Watching one of the toughest, most taciturn men he’d ever met patiently help a little girl write a letter was heartwarming. Luca had always known Brahms was a good man, no mistake, but seeing him interact with his daughter still sparked joy.

Sho set his letter aside and frowned at Luca. “You had a dinner date tonight with Keller, didn’t you? Did it not go well?”

“I did, and for the most part it went well? Although it didn’t start out that way. Noe said it felt more like a job interview than a date, which I feel bad about. I didn’t mean to give that impression.”

“An interview? Did he smack you for being formal?”

“He was more polite than that, but he did tell me to stop interviewing him. I think I managed better in the second half of the date.”

“Why are you and my husband so alike in all the wrong ways?” Sho bemoaned against the tabletop.

“Practical,” Brahms corrected him, although there was a sparkle of amusement in those blue eyes.

“Practical schmactical. You two are just fucking lazy, in my opinion. An interview . Gods.” Sho lifted his head again to snark at Luca, “Why did you even think to interview him to begin with?”

“Because I needed to know if he’d fit my criteria?”

When Brahms gave an immediate nod of agreement, Sho flopped backward on the tatami mats and groaned. “Why are there two of them? Universe, quit making men like this. They’re giving me a headache.”

Sho was truly funny. Luca suspected half the reason why Brahms had married Sho was for the entertainment value.

With an impressive display of core strength, Sho sat up quickly, eyes narrowed suspiciously, which usually meant he was analyzing the situation at high speeds. “You’ve never had to ask someone out, have you? I bet you’re like Arman and every person you’ve dated was someone arranged for you.”

“You’d win that bet.”

“Oh gods. I understand part of the problem now.”

“I did just fine asking him to dinner.” Luca couldn’t help but point out.

Sho waved this away. “No, this is different. Different expectations. When a parent arranges an omiai, both children know the score. They know this is nothing more than a meeting to determine whether or not they’re compatible enough to get along together. You’re very much fact-checking at those kinds of meetings.”

That was all Luca was used to, and it was how he’d approached tonight. “I may have treated dinner like an omiai. I didn’t realize a first date should go differently. Brahms, how did you approach Sho?”

Sho snapped his fingers and used two of them to direct Luca back into eye contact. “Nope, don’t look over there. You keep your eyes right here. Focus here, ignore that one.”

Amused, Luca said, “He did propose to you successfully, so the man must have done something right.”

“His proposal only worked because I’d known him nearly seven years,” Sho negated with a roll of his eyes. “Not because he did anything right.”

Brahms snickered and didn’t bother denying this. “Did work.”

“You.” Sho’s gaze flicked sharply to his husband. “Shut it. No comments from you.”

Sakura’s dark eyes bounced between her fathers, and she asked with growing interest, “Papa, how did you propose?”

Sho gave his husband another warning look. “Sakura, we’ll tell you that story when you’re older.”

Knowing full well how they had gotten engaged—and how much of the story was for adult ears only—Luca tried to hide a laugh behind his hand. He didn’t do a good job at it because Sakura openly pouted.

“An-y-way,” Sho said loudly, clearly not willing to discuss the topic further.

Brahms finally pried his mouth open with a question. “Do you like him?”

“Noe? Yes, very much. We’ve agreed to a second date, in fact. That’s mostly the reason I’m here—to figure out how to approach the second date so I don’t make the same mistake.”

“If you could have him as a friend, would you?” Sho asked.

What a strange question. “Of course. Hell, I’ve already told him if dating doesn’t work out, then I still want him to come home with me. To fix the fortress, mind.”

“Did you really?”

“That’s what we mostly talked about during the second half of the date. We discussed what we wanted from each other, in terms of a relationship, but mostly we spoke of how the fortress is currently built and how we’d renovate it. It was much like speaking with a friend, and I enjoyed it, as Noe’s incredibly fun to talk to. We spoke for three hours and it felt like minutes.”

Sho sat back like a man satisfied. “Then treat him like you would a friend. Really, that’s what marriage is—marrying your best friend. He’ll be the person you spend the most time with for the rest of your life.”

Considering it was seeing these two married that had made Luca even think of this idea, he acknowledged Sho’s advice. He wanted what they had. “A friend, aye? All right, I can do that.”

“Just maybe throw in a little physicality,” Sho tacked on. “Not anything over the top, but some affection. The best relationship is friendship with physical intimacy added on.”

Also good advice. “I’ve already promised him I’d make an effort.”

“Clarify this for me.”

“Um, well, I know I like kissing him. So that, and cuddles, and hand holding—things of that nature I think I’ll be comfortable doing.”

“Oh-ho. You’re making more strides than I’d expected. Are you doing this solely for his sake, or do you feel like you’re attracted to him?”

“I…” Luca frowned, trying to frame tentative feelings into words. “I’m attracted to him as a person, I think is the best way to phrase it. I truly enjoy him. It’s not sexual attraction, I don’t think, but I like being near him.”

Brahms lifted his head and gave a small smile. “Best way to start.”

Oh? “Is that how it was for you with Sho?”

“It was.”

Interesting. Very interesting indeed. “That’s rather heartening.”

Sho didn’t seem surprised by this information, but he did give his husband a side-eye. Curious why he’d shared, maybe? But all he said was “I think with that mindset, you’ll be fine moving forward.”

Luca agreed with him. He’d still need to think of something date-ish to do, but that was on him. Sho had already given him all the advice he possibly could. “Thank you both. I’m off. Have a good night.”

“Night, then.”

Luca left with a lighter feeling, as he was more secure now about what to do. Of where he’d gone wrong, and how to avoid the same pitfall. It was fine. Noe knew he was floundering at all this.

Actually, come to think of it, he could model some of his behaviors off Brahms and Sho. He’d seen how they took care of each other, how they chose to spend time together. He could do some of that, couldn’t he?

In that case, he knew precisely what to do tomorrow.

The next morning, after breakfast, he went to a tea shop and had them fill a large bamboo thermos—a suitou—with Noe’s favorite matcha. Practically everyone carried a suitou of water or tea as a way to keep hydrated throughout the workday. He wrapped it under his coat to keep it warm and hurried over to the worksite where he knew Noe would be today.

It meant Luca would be a little late getting into the office, but it wasn’t like he’d get in trouble. Being a boss here did have its perks.

The second he spotted Noe, he felt a flutter in the pit of his stomach—anticipation more than nerves, or so he judged. Luca was determined to court this man right, which meant showing how much he liked Noe without holding back. It also meant taking care of Noe, even if it was in little ways, like bringing him warm tea on a cold morning.

His quarry stood near the wall, plans in hand and a serious look on his face.

“Noe.”

Turning, he blinked up at Luca in surprise. “Hi. I didn’t expect you here this morning."

“I didn’t mention it to you, no. Everything all right?”

“So far. Why?”

“No, no, I’m not here on official business. You just looked very serious.”

“Oh. I was just double-checking things and trying to measure with my eyes. It seems to be right so far.”

“Glad to hear it. I’m truly only stopping by.” Luca pulled out the suitou and handed it over to him. “Matcha, hopefully still warm.”

Noe looked a bit stunned as he took the thermos. “Thank you. Truth be told, I’m cold out here, so this is very welcome.”

See? This was a brilliant idea. Sho did things like this for Brahms all the time, and vice versa. Small acts of service said a great deal. Pleased with himself, he followed through on impulse and leaned in, kissing Noe’s forehead.

Chaste as it’d been, the stunned delight in those hazel eyes told the full story of Noe’s feelings. He also seemed a little off-balance, listing to the side a bit. Luca felt pleased all over again as Noe clearly hadn’t expected the kiss and loved it.

Not wanting things to get awkward—and trying to leave on a high note—Luca decided to exit gracefully while he could. “Have a good morning. See you for lunch at the wharf?”

“I, uh, yes.”

With a last smile, Luca turned about and headed for his office, trying not to hurry but also not sauntering. This acting casual was harder than it looked, but if nothing else, he’d conveyed a bit of his sincerity to the man he was courting, and that was all he’d wanted.

Now, what else could he do to make Noe happy? Because that had proven to be quite fun.