“Keep going to the end of the street and turn left,” Luc told me. “Xavier’s not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Not unless he’s forced. And Gabriel will have a job on his hand. There aren’t many that would want him in charge.”
The rain had started to ease, making it easier to drive but I gripped the wheel a little tighter. The next words would send a ripple in our already unstable waters. “He made me an offer.”
A brief silence before curiosity got the better of him. “What kind of offer?”
“He’d look after me and the baby if I agreed to help him get that power. If I agreed to marry him. He’s pretty hell bent on getting me to agree. I got paraded at church like a prize cow and I’m sure everyone thinks that this baby is his.”
I had expected for Luc to yell but he was silent as I took the turning that he had told me earlier. “And what did you tell him?” Luc asked, surprisingly steady.
“I told him no and he told me to think it over,” I responded honestly. “I told him I’d give him an answer when I got back from the christening, which is what we were arguing about before I got into the car this morning. I’ve no intention of marrying Gabriel but I have every intention of staying alive as long as I can.”
“You’ve been playing him.”
“I’ve been trying to. I’m not sure I’ve been very successful. He seems to always have something planned out that I haven’t thought of.”
“Pull up here.”
I did as he asked, pulling up outside a large house concealed behind gates. “What are we doing here?” The neighborhood wasn’t one I was familiar with.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“That you couldn’t ask me at home?”
“No.” Luc unbuckled his belt a leaned toward me. “The house, Mia. What do you think of it?”
“It’s nice,” I answered him. Nice was an understatement. It was larger than Luc’s place and modern in its design, a brilliant white with sharp edges and plenty of space. Anyone who lived here would have more money than sense. This was the kind of house you expected to see celebrities and socialites totter out of in heels high enough they could break their necks.
Luc laughed before asking, “Nice enough to raise a family in?”
My head snapped back in his direction as his words sunk in. “You haven’t.” If there was one word to describe Luc, impulsive would have covered it.
“Not yet. I’ve been looking for somewhere for you and the baby. Somewhere spacious and close to family. You’d be near Dante here. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse would be for you to decide.”
“How long have you been looking?”
He looked me in the eye. “Since I found out you were pregnant.”
Duty bound Luc above anything else. He may have been blinded with rage at my actions but the fact he had a child on the way had pushed everything else to the back burner. He’d be honorable and provide for us and I respected him for that. A man of his word and with a moral code that had been set out by Charlie were his compass and Luc usually let it guide him.
“This would be ridiculous for just the two of us,” I told him quietly. A house like this was meant for a large family, not a single mother with one baby.
“Then let it be the three of us, Mia. Come home. Let it be the way it should have been,” Luc said to me, placing a hand on the side of my face. “Be mine again. I need you.”
We hadn’t discussed the state of our relationship, but it weighed heavily between us. Every look, every touch, set my skin on fire. These small pockets of time over the past two days had done nothing to satisfy my craving for him and instead, I grew hungrier. Then he’d kissed me, and I truly felt like I’d come home. The restless ache that had grown since the moment I’d left had finally been eased and I could breathe again.
My hand covered his. “I have always been yours.”
Luc’s lips brushed against mine and I melted into the embrace. After everything I’d gone through, it was difficult to believe we’d finally found our way back to each other and that things might be looking up.
“You can move back into mine until everything’s closed on this place. We’ll go back to Gabriel’s and grab your stuff,” Luc said as we broke apart. “You’re not staying there any longer.”
“Agreed.” I’d be happy to get myself out of that place and away from Gabe as quick as possible. All I could hope was that Gabe would let me leave as easily as he’d welcomed me.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Mia
“Don’t think I’m ever letting you drive again,” Luc muttered as we walked up to the front door of Gabriel’s property. The rain had finally stopped but the sun remained hidden behind heavy clouds that threatened another downpour. Luc had insisted on staying with me while I gathered my things from Gabe’s and I wasn’t about to turn him away. As we walked into the house, Franco came down the hallway. A flicker of surprise crossed his features as he took in Luc behind me.
