“Everyone has a father, Sophia,” Luca insisted. He understood what she meant, but she still had a father.
“I know that,” she said, “but I’ve been on my own my whole life. For all I know, he’s been dead for years.” The thought of Sophia being all alone for years made him sad for her. He knew how much that hurt, and he wished that she had never had to go through it.
“I think that we should change the subject,” she whispered. “I’m all talked out about parents who didn’t want me.”
“What would you like to talk about then?” Luca asked.
“How about you show me to my bedroom?” she asked. “I’m exhausted and would like to get some sleep, if that’s okay with you.” He knew that she was right—she needed some sleep after being on the run from her stalker for so long, but he was selfish and wanted to talk to her some more.
“Okay, as long as you let me wake you up for dinner,” he insisted.
“That sounds good to me,” she agreed. “You know that I’m always hungry. That’s something that hasn’t changed.” He remembered her raiding the refrigerator in their foster home. Occasionally, she’d get caught and wouldn’t be able to havedessert with the other kids, but Luca would always sneak her up some after they finished their chores.
“I remember,” he said. He stood from the sofa and pulled her up with him. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room so that you can get some sleep. Dinner is at six. Does that work for you?”
“Yep,” she agreed. “And Luca,” she said. He turned to look at her, and she smiled up at him. “Thanks for everything.” He would do just about anything for Sophia, but she didn’t know that yet. Luca hoped to change that, though, and soon.
SOPHIA
Sophia walked into the kitchen the next morning and looked Luca over. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts, and she was pretty sure that was about all. She felt ready to burst into flames, and that had everything to do with her sexy as sin foster brother. Hell, she needed to stop saying that—even in her own damn head. They weren’t related, and that meant that she could look at him however she wanted to.
Luca turned around and smiled at her. “You’re still noisy when you get moving in the morning. Have you ever been able to sneak up on anyone?” he teased.
“Ha, ha,” she drawled.
“Coffee is on the counter, and I’m making pancakes and bacon,” he said. Her stomach growled as if responding to him, and he chuckled.
“Well, you didn’t wake me for dinner,” she accused.
“To be fair—that’s the other thing about you that hasn’t changed. You’re a pain in the ass to have to wake up. I tried, really Idid, but every time I poked you and told you to wake up, you mumbled something about not wanting to go to school.” Sophia smiled. She had never been very happy about having to wake up for school every morning, but if she didn’t, she’d end up in a place much worse than any foster home she had been in.
“Sorry,” she breathed, “I don’t remember any of that.”
“You’re like a zombie, Sophia,” he teased. “I figured that you’d wake up if you got hungry.”
“Well, I’m hungry,” she said. Sophia walked across his kitchen and grabbed a mug from the cabinet over the coffee pot. She was going to down a cup of coffee, and then maybe she’d be able to keep up with Luca.
She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip, humming her approval, leaning her hip against the counter. “I have to go to work today,” she announced. She wasn’t really asking for his approval, but she was in a way. Sophie had asked Luca to help keep her safe, and she would need him to agree to her going to work for a bit.
“No,” he breathed. He was always a man of few words, but his response was ridiculous.
“I need to let them know that I might be a little, um, distracted until this thing with Peter is over,” she explained.
Luca smiled at her, just enough to let her know that he was listening, but she could tell that he wasn’t about to give in to her request. “Where do you work again?” he asked. He knew exactly where she worked and what she did. She had kept him updated about her life, unlike him.
She took another sip of her coffee and sighed. “You know that I teach second grade during the school year. But I also work afternoons at the little independent bookstore downtown—Page & Bean. Teaching doesn’t pay great here in town, but it helps pay the bills, and I love it there.”
His jaw tightened. “Has Peter shown up at either place?” he asked.
She nodded, “That’s actually where things got worse with him. Luca slid a plate of pancakes in front of her and leaned against the counter, his arms crossed. “Tell me how things got worse with him,” he ordered. She could tell by the stubborn look on his face that he wasn’t going to let her off the hook. No, she was going to have to tell him everything if she had any hopes of finishing her coffee or eating her breakfast while it was still hot.
Sophia hesitated and then took a quick bite of her food before answering. “Yesterday, after school hours, I went in for my shift. Marlene, the owner, pulled me aside before I even clocked in, and she asked me if everything was okay.”
“What did she mean by asking you that?” Luca asked.
“She told me that a man had been stopping by twice a day, every day for almost a week,” Sophia admitted quietly. “When I asked her what he looked like, she perfectly described Peter. I knew that it had to be him, but I refused to let him scare me off. I wasn’t about to give up a job that I loved just because he was sitting outside of the store trying to get his chance to talk to me.”
Luca went very still. “You’re not telling me something,” he said. He was right—she was leaving a lot of the details out because if she told him everything, he’d never let her go into the bookstore.
