I chuckled and pecked his lips once more. Then I let go of him and turned to Ben.
“Seems only fair,” I said, and leaned down to kiss him, too.
Ben’s calloused hand clamped around the back of my neck and held me there as our tongues tangled. I don’t know which one of us whimpered, but I reveled in the sound.
When he let go, I raised a brow at his dumbfounded expression. Yes. The amount of emotion between all three of us was insane already. The nuance was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Now I just needed to not let my newly healed body get too horny before my brain caught up with everything.
We fell into a heap on the bed, then Ben snorted. I guffawed. Max started to laugh. I felt like kicking my heels with giddiness.
There on the bed, we laughed until tears were running down our faces. I’d never been so content, and we were only just beginning.
The next day, I finally bit the bullet and called my mother. I’d been putting it off, because I knew what she and my father both would think about my recent… life changes.
I’d sent them messages that I was alive and doing well and staying with a friend since I fled New York after coming back to the States.
I curled up on the window seat in the kitchen. Nobody else was there. I knew Carys, Kye, and Brodie had gone to do a grocery run. Max was studying for his GED. He’d fallen behind a little, but both he and Carys were supposed to finish around Valentine’s Day. Rian was doing laundry for everyone because he enjoyed being useful that way, and I could occasionally hear him talking to Cindy the cat who was helping. Holden and Ben were at work as usual on a weekday.
I sighed and tapped her contact, then swiped to call.
“Luca?”
“Hi, Mom,” I replied as I stared out of the window at the snowy yard. It struck me that this was the first time in months that I’d been able to talk to her without gasping for breath.
“Are you okay?” she asked, and I could immediately tell what she wasactuallyasking.
“Yes. I’m perfect.”
She gasped quietly, clearly having made the connection, but the sound carried over to my new ears anyway. “Y-You know what—”
“I know.” There was a tickle around my eyes that signaled imminent tears. “I know. But I chose to live.”
“Your Nonna—”
“Will be thrilled that I’m still around. Your prejudice is on your own, Mom. As is Dad’s. Nonna has nothing to do with your beliefs, and you know that.”
She was quiet for a while. It was as though she didn’t know what to say.
So I spoke instead. “I’ve paid your mortgage. Aunt Rose and Uncle Joey’s, too. I’ve also put some money into your account. That’s the last you’re getting from me.”
“Luca you can’t be—”
“Would I and my two partners who are both male werewolves be welcome at your table?”
Maybe Max and Ben weren’t quite my partners yet, but I was making a point.
The deadly quiet at the other end of the call was enough of an answer.
“Va bene, Mamma,” I whispered. It was okay. It had to be. Because I couldn’t undo anything, nor did I want to. “Ciao.”
I ended the call.
Closing my eyes, I let the tears fall. I thumped my head against the wall behind me. After a couple of thuds, a hand cushioned the next contact. Then Rian wrapped his arms around me.
“It’s going to be okay. We love you, Luca. Just as you are.”
I knew that, but boy was it good to hear the words out loud.
Chapter Eight
