Page 81 of Until August

“I’m not,” I assured him. “It’s the furthest thing from my mind.”

“Same, dude, same. It’s the last thing I want or need right now. Love is a tender trap. Once you fall into it, there’s no easy way out.” He shuddered at the thought. “Okay. Gotta jet.” He bumped his fist against mine and headed out, the six-pack of beer cradled in one arm as he jogged down the stairs.

I closed the door behind him.

After he was gone, I made the bed and cleaned up before I went to pick up Sage. It was Memorial Day weekend, and he had the day off from school, so we were spending it together.

Since he only had a few days of school before summer vacation, I wanted to see more of him. Something I planned to discuss with Sasha later. We could work out a schedule that would benefit all of us.

Ever since the day I’d taken Sasha to the hospital, she’d been more generous about letting me spend time with Sage.

On the drive, Luca’s words came back to me. He hadn’t told me anything I didn’t already know. Nicola’s loyalty would always be to Cruz first.

I’d never been good at sharing and couldn’t say I liked it much, but these were unique circumstances.

I’d never ask Nicola to choose. That would be unfair. Not like she could erase years of memories any more than I could. And I wouldn’t expect her to.

But unlike Sasha, who had abandoned me when the going got tough, Nicola fought for her love and remained loyal throughout. It was admirable and said a lot about her.

Nicola thought she was difficult, but I saw it differently.

She was headstrong and tenacious. Stubborn and independent. A survivor who was so much stronger than she knew.

Nicola was worth fighting for. Defending. Protecting.

I had a feeling that falling in love with her would be easy, and losing her would hurt like hell.

But none of this had anything to do with me.

Her loyalty to Cruz would only be an issue if we planned to get serious. Or started talking about a future together.

Which we wouldn’t. We were just having some harmless fun. A fling. Sex with no strings attached.

Nobody would get hurt if we stayed true to that course.

Even as the thought went through my head, I knew I was fooling myself.

Someonealwaysgot hurt.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

Nicola

“If one more person asks mewhen I’m going to meet a nice boy and get married, I’ll throw this loaf of ciabatta at them.”

August

What are you doing tonight?

I smiled as I texted him back.

Nicola

I’m at a family thing. But I could get away later if you make it worth my while.

August

Oh, I’ll make it worth your while. That’s a guarantee.