“Nothing. Jax is just being a pain in the arse. What’d you get for dinner?” I diverted. Luca didn’t look convinced, but he let it go.
When I went to lift my arse off the sofa, I whimpered, and Luca was at my side. He wrapped his arms around my waist, bending down and kissing me softly.
“Hey, pretty girl.”
My knees went weak at his words. “Hey yourself,” I replied as I snuggled against him.
“Are you two joining me for dinner or are you going to spend all night canoodling? ?” Jax asked, sounding exasperated.
“Is that an option?” I teased, watching Jax wrinkle his nose as he unpacked the bags.
Just when I thought Luca couldn’t get any more perfect, I saw how much Chinese he’d brought over. Guess dinner tomorrow night was sorted too.
“Come on. Let’s eat while it’s hot.”
Staring at Luca, I couldn’t help but lick my lips. And it wasn’t the smell of orange chicken that was making me ravenous either. Luca was standing in front of me looking like dessert. His hair was still damp and dripping on the collar of his tight white t-shirt. But it was the grey sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips that had me wondering if he was wearing boxers or briefs underneath. Or maybe, if I was really lucky, the only thing under the thin grey material was his magical pogo stick I couldn’t wait to ride.
“Elise?”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?” Jax asked, looking smug.
“No, sorry. I was…”
“Picturing Luca naked?” Jax offered. He wasn’t wrong. Didn’t mean I was about to admit it though. “Don’t worry, I was too.”
“And, with that, let’s eat,” Luca said, changing the topic.
It was weird. Luca and Jax didn’t shut up as they ate. I might as well not even been there. For two guys who had absolutely nothing in common, they were talking a hell of a lot of crap. When Luca invited Jax to Phoebe’s birthday party, I choked on my wine. Even more so when Jax agreed.
“You know it’s a three-year-old’s birthday party. The food will be fairy bread and meat pies,” I confirmed, wanting Jax to know exactly what he was getting into.
“It’s a family birthday party. It’s just going to have a unicorn cake and more marshmallows than any human should be allowed to consume,” Luca redefined. When I looked at him with questions written all over my face, he continued. “Jax is family. He should be there.”
“And I will be.” Jax smiled widely.
I knew how important being accepted was to Jax. So many times he’d been tossed aside because of who he was. Having Luca accept him without question just confirmed how freaking perfect he was.
After dinner was done, I shooed them into the lounge while I cleaned up. Seeing them sitting there, shooting the shit, made my heart soar. Luca fit so seamlessly into my life it was like he’d always been there. Wiping my hands, I tossed the tea towel on the bench and went to join them. A normal person would’ve been able to walk into the lounge room and sit down without any drama. Not me though. That’d just be way too easy. I tripped on the pair of heels I’d dropped by the couch, twisted and fell into Jax’s lap with a thud.
“Shit, Elise!” Jax exclaimed, adjusting me in his lap.
“Are you okay?” Luca asked.
I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. Only I could humiliate myself by tripping over my own shoes.
“I’m fine,” I grumbled as I scrambled off Jax’s lap.
Luca reached out and grabbed my wrist, gently tugging me towards him. When he settled me into his lap, I tried to wriggle off, but he wasn’t having it.
“What happened?”
“I tripped over my bloody shoes! See, Jax? I told you they were going to kill me!” I was blaming Jax, after all, it was allhisfault. He was the one who made me buy them for the event the other night and somehow, I’d survived.
“Blame the shoes,” Jax teased.
“They looked damn good on,” Luca offered before leaning up and whispering into my ear, “and they were pretty damn hot digging into my arse too.”
