“Be careful,” he says and grabs my arm, helping me the remainder of the way to the car.
I get the distinct feeling that he’s helping me so that I don’t trample him a second time.
As we approach his vehicle out front, he unlocks the car and tosses our bags into the backseat before climbing into the driver’s side.
I slink into the passenger seat in the front, shut the door, and wait for him to scream at me.
But he doesn’t say anything.
At least not yet.
The silence is even worse.
The air is thick with tension, and while it’s chilly outside, the car feels a hundred degrees. I buckle my seatbelt, and he turns off the radio, driving us up to the wrought iron gates.
We wait for the guard to allow us to leave.
Slowly, they open the entrance and Luca slams on the gas, tearing out of the driveway in haste.
I’m silent. I don’t know what to say to fix the damage that’s been done.
I can hear each breath he takes. They’re long, pronounced, and filled with a sigh, like he’s inwardly fighting with himself.
After several minutes, I finally gather the courage to say something. “Can I explain?” My voice falters as I shift in my seat.
His grip tightens on the steering wheel, his jaw tense as he doesn’t so much as look at me.
“Explain how you lied to me. Sure, go ahead.” His tone is clipped, his anger edging its way out.
I deserve the wrath he’s waiting to set upon me. I can feel it coming, ready to be unleashed.
“When I was in high school, I got pregnant.”
His gaze flickers. “Boyfriend or—” He doesn’t even want to say the word.
“Yes, he was a senior on the high school varsity football team,” I say, as if that explains why I hate sports and avoid jocks.
“You slept with him and got knocked up. Got it.”
It’s much more complicated than that, but he’s right, that is what happened. I expel a soft sigh and tilt my head back, staring up at the car ceiling.
“You can hate me all you want, Luca. You don’t even have to marry me, but I just, I need to know that Zeke will be safe.”
He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated, and then slams his hand on the steering wheel.
“Fuck!”
I glance at him, silent, watching him fall apart because of me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“You don’t get to apologize and think everything will be fixed.” He shoots me daggers and then returns his focus to the road. Luca shifts in his seat and scratches his jaw. “Fuck.”
“Maybe I can take Zeke and leave town for a while. I won’t tell anyone why I’m leaving. Your family’s secret will be safe.”
He laughs darkly, and I feel the hair on my arms stand on end, like electricity humming through the air. “My father will never let you just run and disappear,” Luca warns. “He has men everywhere.”
“And you’ll be one of them,” I whisper, glancing down at my hands in my lap.
