I nodded dazedly, my mind still swirling with awe at what he’d done. At what it meant.
He pulled out my chair, and I sank into the comfortable leather, eyes flying over the array of food beforeus.
Collecting the fizz from the chiller, he removed the cork with a light pop and filled our glasses. Handing me mine, Luca held my gaze, a small smile pulling at his lips as he raised the glass to me in a silent cheers.
We clinked our glasses together. It transported me back to when he’d first come to my place for dinner and he’d rolled his eyes at the gesture.
“I visited my mom before I was supposed to go to the script reading. I told her everything.”
The glass froze an inch before it reached my lips. I had thought Luca was going to keep it a secret until he secured the role, so he could surpriseher.
“What did she say?”
“That I was an idiot,” Luca said, and I almost sprayed my wine across the table. I swallowed it quickly, the bubbles burning as they went down.
“I’m sorry—what?”
“I know. I still can’t believe it either.” He placed his glass down and wiped a hand over his face. “She was disappointed that I was chasing something I didn’t want—just because I thought she wantedit.”
“She doesn’t want you to get the part?”
“She asked if I wanted the part or only wanted it because I thought it would make her happy.”
“And?”
“I wanted the part for her.” Selecting a few meats off the board and placing them on his plate, Luca gestured for me to do the same.
“It wouldn’t have been a bad film to work on; I might have even enjoyed it. But I would never have considered it if it wasn’t for my mother.”
“And she genuinely didn’t care?”
“She gave me this whole speech about wanting me to be happy.”
“You know she’s right, though?”
“I came and found you, didn’t I?” His eyes met mine, their softness and vulnerability drawing mein.
“Me?” I stopped attempting to load food onto my plate, unable to focus on anything but Luca.
“You’re my happiness, Matilda.”
A rush spread through my chest, leaving me breathless and tender. A fragile part of my heart still couldn’t believehim.
“I was naive and unrealistic when I told you we should only be friends. We won’t everjust be friends.” He reached across the table, taking one of my hands in his. “Thinking about us has consumed my every waking moment—I thought I was sick with nerves because of the audition, but it was because I knew I’d made a huge mistake that morning at your apartment. Even if I did have to travel across the world, we’d find a way to make it work. When we met, I didn’t know you’d be the kind of person who’d make me want to be better—kinder, more trusting, more…loving. And it scares the hell out of me. Like, if I screw this up, I’m losing the one person who I want to be better for—the one person who makes me feel alive again.”
“You want to be more than friends?”
“No, I don’t want to be just more than friends. I want you to be mine, Stevens, if you still want tobe.”
Do I want to be Luca’s?
That was the most ridiculous question I’d ever heard.
I wasn’t going to let himgo.
“I want that more than anything.” The words flowed effortlessly from my lips, as if they had been waiting for this moment. “I would be stupid not to want a future with you.”
“I’m the stupid one. It took me too long to realize I was making the wrong choice.”
