Swallowing around the sudden lump in my throat, my voice tightens.“Sometime after I got home yesterday.”
“Yesterday,” he hisses, and I just know someone is about to be in big trouble.“That chair, you want it to come?”He takes obvious note of it being my bed for the moment.I nod, and he types some more before putting his phone away.
Watching Lucca maneuver around what has been my home for almost a year, I’m hit with a sense of foreboding.Things like this don’t happen to me.But after grabbing my medication, phone, and charger, he wraps my blanket around me and scoops me into his arms, much too gently for a man his size.
My lone crutch clatters to the ground, and he doesn’t even care as he starts to leave.I want to protest harder, but who am I kidding?I could barely make it to the bathroom this morning, and I’m so tired of always being worried about the gas and power being cut off.I can’t keep living like this, and for once, I want to be greedy.I want Lucca to be my white knight, or is it dark knight?
CHAPTER8
Lucca
Stubborn.The woman in my arms is far more stubborn than anticipated, and I don’t like it one fucking bit.My cousins, Cormac and Salvatore, would say it’s because I’m used to women falling at my feet.Perhaps, there’s a slim chance they could be right.
Again,don’t have to like it.
I carefully place Coco in my SUV’s backseat, and Preston raises an eyebrow in question, but smartly keeps his trap shut for once.
“You can’t kidnap me.”Her grumpy face doesn’t fool me one bit.This woman has spent too many years living on the defensive, protecting herself from heartbreak, but her eyes reveal how much she wants this.Even if her fear gives her a fight.
“It’s not kidnapping if you come willingly,” I respond, buckling her in and turning on the heated seat.I wrap her blanket around her legs, then give her phone to her.“And look, you can even call for help if you really want.”Her eyes drop to her lap, where the phone rests.
Without waiting for an argument, I close the door and tell Preston, “Call in a few people, pack everything up, and bring it to the house.She has this huge chair in her living room; make sure there’s space for it in my home office.”
“You’re just leaving me here?I’m not a fucking mover.”His arms fold across his chest, and he levels me with a glare as I shrug and take the driver’s seat.It’s been a while since I’ve driven myself anywhere.I always have a shadow with me.
“You’ll figure it out, old friend.”
He snorts but does as I ask without argument for once.Coco is probably wearing him down.
Slamming the door shut, I glance back at Coco to find her eyes still locked on her phone.“Did you call?”Her head pops up, glare firmly in place.
“Why are you doing this?”
Her vulnerability catches me off guard.
“Why not?”Much as I’d like to give her more, I can’t.Not yet.
She grinds her teeth but says nothing else.The silence speaks volumes between us as I expertly maneuver the vehicle through the city.Coco doesn’t realize it yet, but as she tracks our journey, she unveils precisely what I need to know—that her life has been one of hardship.She carries so much pain within her that it emits from her pores.
Her eyes light up as we pass Campus Martius Park, where the city prepares to erect the Norway Spruce tree for the light ceremony in the coming weeks.
“Would you like to go?”I ask as we stop at a light, turning slightly so she can see me as well.
“I’ve never been,” she says wistfully as a finger draws little stars in the condensation on the window.
“I would like to take you, Coco.”Saying her name is addicting.“A date.”
Slowly, her head turns towards me, and her sparkling green gaze finally falls on mine.They reflect a dash of excitement before she attempts to mask it.“Like, a real date?”
“Is there another kind?”She shrugs.“Yeah, a real date.We’ll do dinner, come watch the lights, then get drinks before going home.”You can’t miss the heat in my words as I say home.
Just as soon as she’s cleared, we’ll be in bed together, and if I have my way, we won’t leave it for days afterwards.
“Okay,” she whispers.“Okay, yes.I’d really like that, Lucca.”She sits up straighter and holds my stare.
Reaching back, I ignore the honking vehicles behind us and stroke the exposed skin of her knee, watching as a beautiful blush works its way up her body and blossoms into her cheeks.
“Then, it’s a date.”Turning forward again, I finish the drive home, planning everything that needs to be done before the ceremony.That includes buying her a lovely dinner dress, a warm outfit for the outdoor ceremony, a cocktail dress for drinks afterwards, and finally, a negligee for our night together.Which also means a hotel room for the night so she can change between events.
