Falling Into Love with You (The Hate-Love Duet 2)

“Don’t wait for a ‘perfect moment,’” Amalia advises. “Just let it blurt out of you, whenever you can’t hold it in any longer.”

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll say it first.”

Amalia looks at me the same way Mimi always did whenever I’d said something stupid. “Don’t worry about being first, Adrian,” she says. “Tell Laila you love her whenever you’re ready, whether Laila has said it or not. Better to have spoken what’s on your heart and risked it all, then wonder ‘What if?’ later.”

I nod. “That’s good advice, Abu. Thanks.” I bite my lip. “I’ve got a favor to ask you. Laila is out of town until Tuesday, and all my friends are scattered for the holidays. I don’t want to spend the night, all alone, in the huge house I share with Laila. So, I was wondering if I could stay here with you?”

“Of course, you can.”

My heart leaps. “You don’t think Reed will mind?”

“Reed would insist on it.”

My shoulders soften. “It’ll only be two nights. And I won’t bug you. I’ll just say hi to you, here and there, in between whatever you’re doing.”

Amalia smiles. “You can stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you. I’ve got a bag in the car. If you’d said no, I was going straight to a hotel.”

Amalia scowls. “No more hotels for you, Adrian, unless you’re on vacation. If ever you need a place to stay, you’ll always come here. Do you understand?”

My heart bursts. “Yes, ma’am. Although I’m sure Reed will have a slightly different opinion.”

“No, he won’t. I’ve mentioned to him how much I adore you, and he was highly supportive of me taking you under my wing.”

“He was?”

“Of course. Reed thought it was very sweet that we bonded when you stayed here with the show.”

I run my finger over the rim of my mug for a moment, trying to imagine Reed and Amalia’s conversation about me, but it doesn’t compute. The Reed Rivers I know would cut off my balls, dip them in eggs and breadcrumbs, bake them at four hundred degrees, and eat them with a nice aioli sauce. “Reed must be a lot nicer behind closed doors than he seems, huh? I mean, if you like him so much.”

“Reed is a prince among men and also a shrewd businessman. A man can be both.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m neither.”

She chuckles. “I don’t know about that. You seem like a prince to me. At least, a prince in training. I’m sure Laila would agree.”

I smile shyly. “Laila calls me The Beast, actually. You know, like in Beauty and the Beast?”

Amalia’s dark eyes sparkle. “I’d bet anything that’s Laila’s highest compliment.”

“Yeah, when she says it, she gets a naughty little gleam in her eye that gives me a little zap where it counts, if you know what I mean.”

“Adrian. That’s not what I meant.”

I laugh. That’s exactly how Mimi used to say my name when I’d said something kind of naughty. I ask, “Will you say that again for me, Abu?”

“Say what?”

“My name. Like I’ve gravely disappointed you.”

Amalia pauses, looking lovely. But, finally she humors me and repeats my name. This time, looking positively charmed by me.

“Thank you. I like hearing you say my name like that. You sound just like Mimi.”

Amalia lays her hand on mine. “I’ll always be here for you, Adrian.”

“Thank you.” I look down at my mug of tea. “I realized something after Mimi died. Even if you’re lucky enough to leave this earth with white hair and wrinkled skin, there’s still far too little time. And I don’t want to waste mine. Not a second of it.” I run my fingertip over the rim of my mug again. “Last week, I was able to sell a house I’d bought for Mimi for a tidy sum. So, I’ve decided to use that money to buy a place of my own and ask Laila to move in with me, when the show is over.”

“How exciting. Congratulations.”

“Hopefully, I’ll get the courage to say the magic words to her before then. If not, that’d be pretty awkward, huh?”

Amalia chuckles.

“I don’t want to ask if I can move in with Laila at her condo. That’d feel like me mooching, you know? Like me asking Kendrick if I can sleep on his couch, rather than The Beast turning into The Prince and inviting Belle to live at his castle.”

Amalia puts her palm on her heaving chest. “Maybe you’re not a prince in training, after all.”

I shrug. “I’m a little nervous Laila will turn me down, only because she loves the little condo she bought herself. She’s super proud of it. So, I think I should buy a place that’ll knock Laila onto her ass, you know? Some place that’s a huge step up from her condo, where she’ll be excited to live with me.”