Faith and Lies (Vera Reid, Reid Family Book #2)

Part 30

"You."

Luke raised a brow and looked around him, confused. You... You? Surely no one was referring to him, Luke Farina, as... you? 

"Hey! You..." 

Again, he turned, his eyes wide as he searched the room. Both his brows were now wrinkled together, a look of almost horror as he spotted two men sitting at the table behind him, one of them signaling for him. 

"Yeah, it is him." One man said, smiling at his friend. 

"I told you." The other replied. Luke stared incredulously for several seconds. This was what he got for stopping for lunch in the city. He hadn't intended to do so. Generally, he liked to go home and have lunch with Echo but today's meeting had run a little longer than intended and so he stopped at the first decent looking restaurant with a bar. 

"Do I know you?" Luke asked in irritated tones. To the side of the bar, one of his men was sitting, enjoying his lunch as he watched on, amused. It was true that the boss had softened quite a bit since he met his wife, but the man could still be such a snob. He could tell by the ticking at his temple that he was not amused in the least by the two men.

"You're Luke Farina." The first man said and Luke frowned. 

"I know that." He muttered, preparing to turn away and go back to his food. Their interaction had only just started and it was already more irritating that he could bear. 

"We just saw a presentation on The Ark. Very impressive work." One of the men said, approaching him at the bar and making himself comfortable on the seat next to him. 

Luke was dumbstruck. Most people knew better than to just approach him. Even if these men weren't aware of who he was, where in the world had they gotten the idea that they could approach him? It wasn't like he was the friendliest looking man. The scar usually did the trick.

But Luke hadn't noticed how much his demeanor had changed over the last couple of years. He didn't look like he was always secretly pissed about something, he smiled when he wasn't aware of  it, and even the way he spoke had changed dramatically. Of course, how would strangers know that?

"Thanks." Luke said, taking a sip of his drink and signaling to the bartender. 

 "And teaming up with the Reid family on it, brilliant move." The man continued casually. 

"They're the best." The other man said from his other side. Luke was suddenly aware that he was surrounded and suddenly wishing he had let Echo convince him to stay in bed today. He sat quietly, nodding with a fake smile and trying to drown out their incessant chatter as he waited, impatiently, for the bartender to reappear with his check. What in the world was taking so long? 

Luke's eyes darted to his man at the end of the bar, who nodded to him and began to stand, understanding that he should bring the car around. Was that... was he laughing? Luke frowned. The man was very obviously trying not to laugh. Luke shook his head, the men were getting too comfortable around him. If Marco was around, this wouldn't be happening. 

"and of course, marrying the Reid girl makes you family. Smartest business move yet." One of the men blurted out, making the other chuckle and fully capturing Luke's attention. He turned, noting for the first time that the men look rather disheveled, flushed even. They were drunk, but that wouldn't save them. Without another thought, he reached out, making the first man's eyes widen as he grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the stool.  

The restaurant grew quiet and now all eyes were on them. If Luke wasn't Luke, if he didn't practice control in everything he did, things could and would get very ugly at that moment. Instead, he took a deep breathe, recalling the gentle smile waiting for him at home- the one that made him promise not to get into any trouble every morning. With a shrug, he dropped the man, who in his inebriated state managed to land flat on his bottom with a resounding "fuck" escaping from his lips.