An Echo in the Mafia (Echo Reid, Reid Family Book #1)

Part 64

Luke stared with a raised brow. Another present.

"Echo." He said, looking at her bright smile as she held it out to him. "This... you shouldn't have."

Echo shrugged.

"But I did." She said. Luke sat up, running a hand through his hair before taking the present from her. She watched as he slowly began to peel through the wrapping paper, pressing her hands together as she did and hoping he would be pleased.

"Travels into several Remote Nations..." Luke held in his hands two very old brown books and as he began to read the title on the inside he stopped. "Echo..."

She bit her lips, watching as he stared at her wide eyed.

"Echo... this..." He said, looking back at the books and flipping through the old pages gently.

"Gulliver's Travels." She said, "I heard it was a favorite."

"It's my absolute favorite." He said, shaking his head. "But this... it's a first edition. Echo, this had to be very expensive."

Echo's grin widened.

"It's fine. I have a rich husband who never let's me spend any of my own money so..." She teased and he started laughing. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. Was it excitement or nerves or... he placed the books aside on the nightstand before turning to Echo and pulling her towards him.

"Thank you." He said, tucking a finger under her chin and stroking it gently. "Thank you."

He kissed her softly and then allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. They sat there, arms and hands intertwined, as she told him about what to expect through the day. Plenty of food, plenty more drinks, and plenty of gifts to be exchanged. As he listened to her talk, he kept thinking about how incredibly humbling it was to be with her and how there wasn't anything about her he would change.

She could go back to wearing the jeans and old shirts, it would not matter. Then he chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Echo asked.

"Your old clothes." He said with a grin. Echo frowned.

"You know, you shouldn't have made so much fun of me for it." She said and he nodded.

"I know." He said softly. "I am... very spoiled."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically and he gave her a squeeze.

"But what I was actually thinking was how ridiculous you looked and how adorable it was all at once. I'd be okay if you went back to it." He said and she pulled away, raising a brow.

"You would?" She asked, disbelieving.

"I really would." He said seriously, "Not that I don't appreciate your more 'put together' look. I know you put effort into that for me, Echo, but if you prefer the jeans and shirts, I'm okay with that too."

Echo searched his face for a second, trying to decide whether or not she believed him and finding herself almost shocked when she realized he was being completely honest with her.

"Well, as comfortable as the jeans and big shirts are, and trust me, I might wear them here and there, I have to admit- I like the changes better too." She said, putting her head back on his shoulder.

"You do?" He asked. "You don't have to say that to make me feel less bad about it."

"Yeah." She said with a sigh. "Honestly, Luke, I've been fighting you on everything since the moment we met- do you really think I would just do something because you told me too?"

"No, that doesn't sound like you at all." He said with a chuckle.

"I don't know what it is about you, but I just don't want to let myself be a push over when it comes to you. Sometimes I concede because it's easier that way, sometimes I fight you just because I don't like you trying to boss me around." She said.

"That really wasn't my intention." He said.

"I know." She said, "but you do and maybe you'll try again in the future, and when you do I'll fight you on it, unless I agree it's a good idea."

"I'm glad it's you I get to fight with." He said with a smile. They really didn't fight all that much, not lately.

"And as far as my clothes go, I resisted in the beginning because I just wasn't used to it, I didn't know how to do it and it made me uncomfortable. But... once I tried it and allowed myself to experience a different thing, it turns out I like it better than I thought." She said.

"Echo?" Luke said after a few more minutes.

"yeah?" She asked.

"You impress me." he said.

"I'm not impressive." She replied, looking towards him.

"Yeah, you're impressive. I look forward to being impressed by you for the next 60 years." He said and she frowned.

"60 years? You actually expect me to live 60 more years?" She said with a laugh.

"Maybe more." He said with a chuckle but now he was reaching for her waist and pulling her over his lap. Echo looked surprised for a second as he stroked her back and shoulders, the silk of her night gown feeling wonderful against her skin.

"Oh... my..." She said breathlessly as he leaned in and kissed her, promising her more and more years every minute.

----

Christmas could only have been better if Luke hadn't been such a fucking idiot. He sat out on the terrace now, having taken a few moments to himself before dinner. Everyone inside the house was laughing or drinking, or just playing one silly game or another.

He'd practically split a seam laughing when Adelia and Maru decided they should play charades and it turned out that Echo's family took games very, very seriously. He and Adelia had never been this competitive, but it was wonderful to watch. Even his Echo seemed very invested in the game and had chided him more than once for not understanding what she was doing. She'd threatened on several occasions to trade teams and he was point blank surprised when she volunteered to switch partners with Romy so that she would be teamed up with Ben instead.

Romy was probably the most relaxed of the bunch, always watching, never too loud or excited but excelling equally. She gave him very precise and exact instructions on what he needed to be doing and somehow, they'd won. Of course Echo had been indignant over it and almost threw a tantrum when it happened but in the end, they all laughed.

The entire affair was much too wholesome and as he watched Adelia laughing and enjoying herself with Echo's family, he began to wish he could have something like this to offer her. Luke was now questioning a lot about his life. Of course, he couldn't change what he had been born to, couldn't leave the business even if he wanted to, but he could start to change things within himself. Whatever that meant, he hadn't figure out yet but he was optimistic. He had a feeling that with Echo at his side, he would figure it all out eventually.

Christmas would have been absolutely perfect if only he hadn't been such an idiot. He stared down at his phone now, the number no longer saved but the texts making it clear who was trying to reach him. Grace had called him at least 18 times since yesterday and the number of messages was excessive to say the least.

As he sat out in the cold, the sound of laughter faint in the distance, he wondered what the hell he was going to do. His own god damned foolishness had caused him to do something unforgivable. He gave Echo so much shit over an imagined kiss and he'd gone and betrayed her by sleeping with that witch. Try as he might, he couldn't remember exactly what happened but it was obvious- otherwise, why would he have woken up in her bed... like that?

"Hey, dinner is ready." Echo said, popping her head out the terrace door. Luke looked up at her and she frowned, noting the worry in his eyes. "Everything okay?"

Luke stretched out his hand, prompting her to take it and sit on the arm of the sturdy deck chair.

"Yeah, just something to take care of when we get back." He said, holding her close and wondering what the hell he was going to do.