The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception #2)(70)

Lina tapped her nails on her mug. “He is all of that, and yet he’s never brought a woman to a family gathering. He’s never had a serious relationship. Not since… I don’t know, high school?”

“Lorena Navarro,” I was saying before I knew what I was doing.

“How the heck—”

“We talk,” I said quickly. “He mentioned her name.”

I looked behind her, pretending I was inspecting the beautiful flowers adorning the window, because, God, I was getting so good at this “lying by omission” game I was playing. And the skill didn’t feel good. I hated myself for it. But how could I tell Lina that her fear was in fact a disaster waiting to happen? That Lucas’s juju worked, and that it worked so well, his magic was actually helping me with my book? That today, after Lina and Aaron had left I’d been finally writing? That a nozzle had been turned on and a stream of emotions and ideas and inspiration was starting to pour out?

Lina frowned but seemed to buy my explanation. “It’s not like he’s been in a place long enough for a relationship to stick. And with all those tournaments all around the world, he spends six months away and then he’s back home for another six. Or just three. Or who knows. So, I guess it makes sense that he’s never settled down?”

No one has ever broken his heart, he’d said.

And yet, no matter how much he traveled, it seemed like a wonder to me that no one had snatched him up so far.

“Him being here, on vacation, it’s no different,” Lina continued.

I thought back to last night, Lucas confiding in me about his injury. No one but me knew that his break was permanent.

I needed to be careful with my choice of words. “How is it not different?”

“Who’s saying he won’t use his juju on you? You’ll giggle. He’ll smirk. You two will do the nasty. He’ll leave. And boom.”

I swallowed, the thought of him leaving making me dizzy for all kinds of reasons. “And boom, I’ll get hurt?”

“Yes, exactly. And I’ll have no choice but to murder him.” She blew air through her mouth. “And as I mentioned, he’s kind of my favorite. And I… ugh, I really don’t want to. Not when I’m actually worried about him.”

I didn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue.

Lina’s mouth fell. “I think there’s something wrong. Abuela told me she caught him having a panic attack. Before his trip.”

My chest hurt at that. At the thought of such a solid, strong man undergoing such a thing. It made me wonder what had happened to him exactly.

Sadness coated my best friend’s face when she continued. “Apparently it was Taco that went to fetch Abuela and brought her to Lucas. Thank God he had emotional support training.”

“He does? I had no idea, Lucas never pos—” I stopped myself, catching my slip on time. “Lucas never said anything. Neither did you.”

Lina nodded. “When Taco was a pup, he was placed with one of Abuela’s neighbors, a retired policeman that suffered from PTSD. The man passed away soon after.” She sighed. “Heart attack. The family was so devastated that they couldn’t deal with a pup on top of everything, so Abuela offered to take care of him for a few weeks. In one of Lucas’s visits, the two of them met and, well, they fell in love with each other. When weeks turned into months and the family wasn’t showing any signs of wanting to take care of Taco… Lucas adopted him.”

“So, it wasn’t Lucas who named him?” I said, when in reality, this story was making me feel all kinds of new things for Lucas.

“Oh no.” Lina chuckled. “That was the man’s granddaughter.” She shook her head. “Anyway, after the panic attack, Abuela suggested he take a trip. A change of scene to clear his head.”

“And he came to the States,” I concluded, and Lina nodded. I felt my throat work as I tried not to let everything I was feeling affect my voice. “I’m sure that whatever it is, Lucas will come around and tell you. He loves you guys, and maybe he just needs time to do it on his own terms.” I paused. “Sometimes, when we’re in pain, we need to come to the realization on our own that we need help. Before we can ever accept it.”

Lina’s hand reached out across the table and grabbed mine. “Ugh, you really are wise, best friend.”

I wasn’t. I really wasn’t. But I gave her a smile and hoped she’d still love me when I told her everything that I was keeping from her about Lucas.

“Anyway.” Lina waved her hand in the air. “Are you sure you don’t want to come stay with Aaron and me? There’s a spare room and more than enough space in his apartment. Our apartment, now.”

“I’m sure,” I told her confidently. The last thing I wanted was to disturb two newlyweds.

“All right. If you’re sure.” She shrugged, checking the time on her phone. “It’s getting late, and I told Aaron I’d help him with dinner.”

“Yep, let’s go.” I braced my hands on the table and pulled my chair back. “I should get back, too. Lucas has probably started with dinner already.”

Lina tsked. “That’s why you don’t want to leave him for us.”

I knew exactly what she was talking about, but I played dumb. “Huh?”