Undeniably Claimed

Chapter 55: The Family

"Sophia this is Tessa, my previous housekeeper and my nanny." Sophia gives a head nod as she clings to his arm. Luca then turns to the man, "And her husband Leo who use to be our butler."

Sophia's eyes softening as a love story between the housemaid and the butler already begins to formulate in her. The man chuckles as the red head beauty's face. The woman gives a slight twitch to her lips as she also looks at the young woman's face. Sophia reaches her hand out to the man first who takes it shaking it firmly before she turns to the woman. Tessa steps forward to be toe to toe with Sophia. The beauty gulps under her gaze clearly scared making Tessa soften. 

Luca watches as Tessa assesses Sophia before abruptly bringing her in for a hug. His love is clearly thrown off as she remains stiff but Tessa doesn't remove her from the embrace as she rubs her back up and down comfortingly. The older woman's eyes meeting his and he sees the same light they had given him all those years ago. She was happy for him. 

Sophia relaxes eventually not expecting a hug from the critical woman. However when the woman, Tessa, finally steps back she can see the mystified eyes and gentle smile. It was clear she had passed some kind of test for the woman. The man, Leo, wraps her hand around his arm before ushering her towards the dining room. Sophia and Luca stand there watching as they disappear into the noise of the other room. 

"They are incredible people." Sophia turns her head to his voice finding his eyes having a certain twinkle she has seen before. It was when he talks about family. It's easy to see he loves these people as his own. "I still can't believe they are together after all this time."

He begins ushering her to the door. "Were they together when you were born?"

"No," he says shaking his head. "They got together shortly after the twins were born. Something about Leo finding Tessa holding my brother seemed to spark something for him."

"Do they have a family of their own?" 

Luca shakes his head negatively, "Tessa was not able to carry." Sophia's mood dampening at the news. "It's alright though, they thought of us kids as their own. We practically thought of them as another set of parents."

"It's amazing how much of a support team you have." Sophia's words coming out just above a whisper. Luca stops never thinking about it before. His gaze finding hers momentarily.

"I suppose you are right. Finding my mom led me to have a much larger family."

"How much..." her words die off as they step into the dinning room. Her nerves spike at the amount of people in the room. 

"What in the world?" Luca says as his gaze filters over everyone. He thought it would be his parents and his three siblings. 

Sitting at the table chatting away sat his parents, his siblings, Cami and Theo, Tessa and Leo, then his mother's parents. He was unsure what was going on. Feeling her grip tighten on his hand makes him look to her to find her seeming to pale under the soft glow of the room. He goes to speak but a loud voice cuts her off. 

"THERE'S MY GIRL!"

Cami stands up leaving her spot by her husband to come to the couple. Luca opens his arms ready to hug his aunt but the embrace never comes. He finds her completely hugging Sophia like she would disappear. Sophia gives him a smile over his aunt's shoulder. He chuckles as the others stand up from the table and begin to greet them. His mother finding him first as she gives him a firm hug before releasing him to his siblings. Cassidy practically beaming as she looks at him, he chuckles in return to her giddiness. His father and uncle Theo coming next to give him a hand shake. He glances over to find his love already engulfed in a deep hug by his mother. Her eyes were closed and she had a serene smile on her lips as she held his mother warmly. 

"My grandson!"

His eyes snap to find his grandfather coming to him with open arms. He smiles happily embracing the older man. His deep chuckle bringing forth so many happy memories. This man taught him so much and gave him the love that he had always wanted. Luca's dad's dad wasn't bad, just wasn't around enough. His mother's father made the time when he could which was often with him handing the business to his son. 

He gets released only to be embraced by his elegant grandmother. She looked just as poised as she always had. He swears the woman had quit aging at 36. She doesn't not look her age. He hugs her back recalling all the cookies that ate together when they would sneak away to the kitchen. She steps back giving him a beautiful smile that lights her whole face. Her gaze drifting to his love. 

Sophia blushed not realizing she was staring. Luca reaches for her hand tugging her to his side. She looks to the couple once again and can faintly recognize the couple. The woman looking beyond gorgeous while the man seems to have aged well. She would be a happy wife if Luca looked like him when they get older. 

"Tesoro, this is my grandparents Derek and Reece." 

The woman's smile broadens as an sultry giggle escapes her as she reaches out to hug the beauty. Sophia practically melts at her comfort. She has been embraced by every member of the Sanford household so far other than Theo who winked at her before getting smacked on the back of his head by his wife. 

"Tesoro?" Derek asks with amusement in his eyes. Luca nods as his eyes remained on the beauty in his arms. Reece and Derek sharing a knowing look and melting realizing where he got the endearment term from.

"It's nice to meet you both." Sophia says reaching out for a handshake to the elder man. He takes it giving it a firm shake. "I actually recognize you both."

"Really?" Derek says turning his gaze to the red hair beauty. 

She nods at him, "you are Mrs. Sanford's parents. You were the couple that built D&R from the ground up. It is a magnificent company."

Derek laughs at the young woman who seems to know her business. Reese still smiling but amused now as well. Luca kisses her temple chuckling under his breath. 

"I'm glad to meet a woman who knows her stuff."

She blushes not realizing how that may have come out. Luca steps in to help, "So if you two are here does that mean-"

"WHO missed his favorite uncle?" 

They turn around hearing the new voice. A blonde man stands at the entrance to the dining hall with his arms wide out and a grin on his lips. 

"His favorite uncle is sitting right here jackass." Luca looks to find Theo glaring at Chris before nudged in the ribs by his aunt. He chuckles before turning back to Chris. 

The man strolls into the room like he owns it. He could be a handful and only hoped he behaved around Sophia. He throws his arms around Luca embracing him tightly and squeezing. Sophia looking on amused until he releases Luca and turns to her. Luca snorted watching as her eyes went from amusement to panic almost instantly. Chris hugs her lifting her off the ground making Sophia gasp. Luca chuckles at her but a narrowed gaze from her shuts him up. Once Chris has safely put her back on the ground, he walks over hugging the other members already sitting around the table. Sophia comes to his side wrapping her arm through his. 

"So this is the family?"

Luca's eyes softening as they go from each face around the large table. His lips held in a gentle smile. "No." 

He turns to look at her. with her gaze already set on him. "This is our family."