Page 43 of For Better or for Ransom

Had Leonardo realized he had feelings for Sandro before things got serious in the relationship and made Jasper Fairbanks move locations to make sure he’d had a shot at a future with Sandro perhaps? Or had it just been that Leonardo didn’t feel like moving to Atlanta even for a few months and he’d given Jasper the excuse of wanting to be close to someone? It was too much of a coincidence though. Sol stole a quick glance at her lover across from her. By the looks of Luke’s face, he was having similar thoughts.

Sol guessed she and Luke had been looking at each other for way too long because Divya took over questioning. “So Leo didn’t mention threatening to leave The Single Dad Situation or having doubts about doing the show?”

“Threatening to leave the show? No, Leo loved the script. He gave it to me so that I’d read it too. We both agreed it was exactly what he needed to do next in his career. Even if his manager didn’t agree…”

Divya checked her notes. “That would be Robert Lancaster?”

“Yeah, Bobby! Leo told me some stuff about him. If you ask me, it’s a miracle he has the career he has with him as a manager. But I guess not even an incompetent manager can fuck up something when someone is as talented as Leo is.”

Aw. Sol was melting. She wasn’t normally the sentimental type but hearing Sandro speak so unabashedly about his lover’s talent was making her all gooey. Even Luke seemed if not touched, at least distracted by it. She wasn’t sure what it was about that particular case, but her detective lover didn’t seem to be exactly on his A game, as much as it pained her to admit that.

A phone started ringing somewhere in the apartment and that took Sol out of her reflections. Sandro jumped on his seat. He ran to his bedroom, following the sound of the phone.

“Argh!” he grumbled from the other room.

The phone stopped ringing and Sandro came back to the living room. “Sorry about that. It’s freaking Isabel. She’s relentless. She won’t give up.” He let himself fall on the chair again, nervously raking at his messy hair and slouching his shoulders. This version of Sandro Palau had nothing to do with the very curated one on his social media presence.

“What won’t she give up?” Luke asked.

“She wants me to do El baño de Edipo. She found a theater, bigger than the Casanova. Says we could start next week. But I can’t…” His voice broke. “It’s not that I don’t want to do it. This would be huge for my career. But this is theater. You have to give it your 120 percent every night. Right now I can barely manage showering and getting dressed, in this…” He made a dismissive pass down his clothes. “I still don’t know how I did it the night Leo disappeared. I think I was convinced he’d be back any minute and even catch the ending of the play. Now it’s different.”

If Luke had so much of an inclination to bring Sandro’s name back as a possible suspect for Leonardo’s disappearance, Sol was going to have a few words with him. The guy was crazy in love—and visibly suffering. And Luke had asked Sandro if he thought Leonardo was seeing someone else!

“Let me go back to something,” Luke said.

Both Divya and Sol grunted on their seats. They could see Sandro’s pain and were sending Luke a warning: back the fuck up. Luke’s face turned to his work partner and his love partner. Sol glared at him. She knew Divya was doing the same. Something changed in the male detective’s expression as he turned back to Sandro.

“Divya and Sol think I’m an arsehole because I’ve asked you a few hard questions. So sorry about that.” Luke threaded his fingers through his hair, the way he did when he was nervous—or trying to cover it.

“Anything if it helps you find Leo.”

Even if Luke wasn’t looking at her, Sol glared at him again. Come on! Sandro was so sweet.

“Just a couple of last questions and I promise to get out of your hair—for now.”

Sol rolled her eyes. She was going to have a few words with fucking Luke Contadino when the interview was over.

“I take it Isabel doesn’t know about you and Leonardo?”

Sandro chuckled. “The woman is so self-centered we could probably have made out right in front of her and she wouldn’t have realized. All she cares about is the show.”

“How often is she calling you?”

Sandro looked at the ceiling. “Twice a day? Sometimes maybe three times, I think.”

“So quite insisting…”

“She’s desperate to get me back in the play—no matter what. She’s offered me more money twice.” Sandro sighed. “I know I should take it and do it. It’s not like opportunities like this happen every day.”

Sol’s heart tightened. She was feeling for the young actor. On the one hand, he was faced with a possible career-changing job. On the other, he was aching for his lover.

25

Luke

You’re a bloody twat.” Divya made her feelings known to Luke the moment they were back on the street.

“What she’s saying,” quipped Sol.