I wiped my tears with my t-shirt after I'd pulled into the garage that evening.
Taking a few deep breaths, I composed myself outside in the breezeway before I opened the door to go inside.
As soon as I walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of something delicious.
I walked into the kitchen to see Luca standing over the stove, stirring something in a pot.
"Are you making... actual food?" I asked, eyes wide.
He laughed at this.
"This is a recipe my mom used to make for us; reserved only for special occasions. Her grandmother, who was from Sorrento, used to make it for her."
He looked down anxiously at whatever was simmering in the pot.
"I feel like I've probably fucked it up," he admitted, laughing.
"It smells amazing," I said assuringly.
"It should be almost done. I figured we could eat out on the deck, if that's okay."
I turned to look outside and my jaw dropped.
I slowly walked towards the open deck doors, seeing the table laid out with a white table cloth, candles, silverware, and a vase of red roses. There was music playing softly from a speaker I couldn't see and dimmed Edison string lights were strung up along the ceiling over the deck, adding to the romantic ambiance.
Turning back to Luca, I stared at him at a complete loss for words.
"I felt a little guilty about proposing to you in my closet," he admitted, ladling what looked like gnocchi into two dishes.
"I didn't mind," I stuttered out, watching as he approached and set the plates down on the table at each place setting.
"I know you didn't," he assured me, standing back up. "But I feel like I've got groveling to do for more than just that."
Before I could tell him otherwise, Luca reached out and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me in to plant a prolonged kiss on my forehead.
I didn't realize I had leaned into him until he pulled away and I nearly fell forward.
"Take a seat, I'll get the wine," he said.
I did as instructed and Luca returned to the table shortly, carrying a bottle of red wine boasting an expensive-looking label and two glasses.
Luca sat down in front of me and began to pour the wine, stopping as he put my glass down in front of me.
"Are you okay? Have you been crying?" He asked, suddenly very concerned as he noticed my puffy eyes.
Don't ruin this moment, please, I begged myself.
"I'm okay," I said quickly. "I just came from the Lincoln's office. I talked to Mady for a while. I miss her a lot."
Luca nodded slowly.
"How is she?" He asked.
"About the same."
I looked down at my plate and picked up a spoon.
"This looks amazing," I said, staring down at what I had correctly guessed to be gnocchi, which swam in some kind of tomato sauce.
"How is it?" Luca asked apprehensively, watching as I took the first bite.
"Oh my God, it's phenomenal," I said honestly, giving him a thumbs up.
He shook his head as he took a bite.
"Not as good as my mom's."
"Well, I think it's delicious," I assured him.
I took the wine glass in my hand and took a sip, watching Luca as he ate.
All I could hear was my dad's voice in the back of my head, screaming violent threats at the man who sat in front of me.
"Amore?"
Snapping out of my trance, I saw Luca watching me carefully.
"Sorry," I apologized. "What did you say?"
"I asked what you did today," he said.
"Oh, um, I went to Cristina's house and helped out there."
His eyebrows furrowed.
"Who?" He asked.
"Cristina... I think Norah said her last name was Amherst?" I said slowly, trying to recall.
"Oh, yeah," he said, the name becoming familiar. "I know of her. She used to work with my mom. Doesn't she have ton of kids now?"
"She does have quite a few," I laughed.
"Speaking of kids," Luca started.
I took another sip of wine, knowing exactly where he was leading the conversation.
"Since we're practicing for that now," he added, laughing. "How many kids do you think you want later down the road?"
I hummed, contemplating my answer.
"Maybe three? Four?"
He nodded thoughtfully.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Amore, I'll give you as many babies as you want."
I couldn't help but laugh as I rolled my eyes playfully.
We talked through the remainder of dinner, finishing nearly a quarter of the bottle of wine.
Luca poured me another glass to take with me to my bath.
As I sat in the tub, watching the steam rise above the bubbles that were floating along the surface, I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to the voicemails.
I quickly finished the wine and washed off, knowing what I had to do.
No more going to bed with secrets, I reminded myself.
After putting on one of Luca's t-shirts, I went downstairs to find him.
He sat on the couch front of the giant TV, watching the hockey game that played in its last period.
He turned, hearing me walk in.
I smiled as I took a seat next to him, putting my legs up to lay in his lap.
Luca laid a hand on my thigh, his attention returning to the game. I sat on the couch and watched the remainder of it with him, listening to the way he scolded the referees like they were listening to him.
As soon as the game was over, with results that frustrated Luca, he reached out and turned the TV off, tossing the remote onto the ottoman.
"What's wrong?" He asked, turning to me, resting his arm along the couch behind my head.
I took a deep inhale before I spoke.
"I heard the voicemails," I admitted.
I immediately noticed the way Luca's face fell.
"And Lincoln told me what happened in Vegas," I added.
"Oh, did he?" Luca quipped rhetorically.
I nodded, not knowing what else to say.
Silence fell over us as I watched Luca stare at the wall in front of the couch, thinking.
He turned to me with a fixed expression and I spoke before he could.
"I'm not mad at you," I clarified quickly. "I just..."
My eyes began to water, my bottom lip trembling as I spoke my next words.
"I just wish you had told me," I said, my voice breaking with each word.
I drew in a deep, shaky breath.
"How was I supposed to tell you that?" He asked me slowly. "You would have thought I was lying. You didn't trust me. How could you? I was just a monster your father hated."
"I hated you," I admitted. "You uprooted me from all I had ever known. I held that against you for so long. If you had just told me the reason you brought me here was to keep me safe-"
"You wouldn't have believed me," he said. "I had no proof anything happened in Vegas except for the bodies of the men your father killed trying to get to me."
"You came to my house," I cried. "You knew how he felt and yet you still came after me. Why? Why risk your life for that?"
"I was much more frightened of a mate-less life than I was of your father," he admitted. "I couldn't have imagined doing anything different."
"Why does he hate you so much?" I asked. "He didn't know we were mates when he tried to kill you..."
"People in power are only threatened by those with more power," Luca sighed. "I guess I had too much of it for his taste."
We sat in silence for a few more minutes.
The guilt I felt for having treated him the way I did for so long was overwhelming. If only I had known what he was protecting me from... If only I had known what was going on...
"I thought it was me this whole time," I said. "I thought my dad was only doing this because of me. I was an idiot and thought I could fix this. I just didn't know..."
"I wanted to tell you," he admitted, his voice low. "I laid awake so many nights thinking about it. But then I found out that your relationship with your dad wasn't great to begin with. You didn't have a support system in me yet because you didn't trust me. I didn't want you to feel completely alienated. There was a part of me that hoped this would be resolved amicably and you never had to know. We've been sending your pack treaties for weeks now."
Luca was right. I couldn't help but remember how I felt when my dad hung up on me after I called him the first week I was in Montana. How I felt when I heard the voicemail for the first time in the kitchen.
If I had known he had tried to kill Luca, I would have been completely crushed. Emotionally separating from my family while I was trying to separate myself from my mate would have cause me to spiral.
"Is there anything else you haven't told me?" I asked, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
He took a deep breath and turned to me.
"Only that I love you."
I felt my heart stop in my chest.
Everything was caught in my throat. I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe.
I felt like I would pass out when he leaned in slowly to kiss me, his lips barely skimming over mine.
"I love you, too," I whispered, meaning every syllable.
Luca pulled away slightly so he could look into my eyes.
"But do you trust me?" He asked.
I found myself nodding.
"I do."
He leaned back in and kissed me. His arms immediately wrapped around my body to embrace me, pulling me flush against him.
The kiss was slow, neither of us rushing through it.
I savored the taste of his mouth on mine, our wine-stained lips flavoring the kiss.
His fingers tangled through my hair, pulling it out of a ponytail.
Luca pushed me back against the couch, hands sliding under the t-shirt I wore. I moaned against his lips as his hands traveled across my naked body.
He pulled away suddenly, cursing under his breath.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I don't have condoms down here."
With that said, Luca lifted me over his shoulder and carried me up to his bedroom.
I pulled off my t-shirt before he laid me down on the bed.
"You being naked under my shirts all the time now has me thinking you knew this was going to happen," Luca admitted, laughing as he pulled his own shirt over his head.
"You made me dinner with candles, roses and expensive wine," I pointed out. "Was I wrong to assume this is how the evening would end?"
He gave me a devilish smile as he took off his pants.
"Baby, I would say the evening has just started."
- - -
"How about this one?"
I held up the hanger to my neck, the dress it held splaying across my body.
"It's too Laura Ingalls," Norah commented, waving her hand.
I put it back on the rack, continuing to sort through the dresses.
Letting out a long, exasperated sigh, I pulled out another dress.
"This one?"
"Too J-Lo," she said, shaking her head.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Not if you're looking to be Carrie from the Pack, but I thought we were looking for dresses appropriate for a Luna to be inducted in."
I rolled my eyes, laughing, as I put the dress back on the rack.
We had been looking all day for something I could wear to the induction ceremony the next night. We had been to five different stores and still had no luck. We were digging through racks at a high-end store in a last resort to find something.
"What about this one?"
I turned to see Hanna standing a few rows down in the store, holding up a long, mint green satin dress.
"That one's pretty," Norah said.
I nodded, walking over to her.
Hanna handed me the dress, shoving her hands into her pockets after she'd done so.
"I just like the color," she mumbled.
"Good find," I assured her. "I think this one is perfect."
Norah nodded in agreement.
I looked down at the price tag and felt myself begin to get sick. Norah, seeing the look on my face, smacked the tag from my hand and yanked the dress from my grip.
"We're getting it. Luca has already told you he was paying for it and it was nonnegotiable," she said firmly. "So go try it on and don't give me crap excuses. I'm ready to be done shopping and go get lunch."
I couldn't help but laugh at her outburst as Norah dragged me over to the fitting rooms, handing the dress to the associate who led me to a curtained room.
Thanking her, I closed the curtain behind me and began to undress.
The dress slid over my head and down my body like butter. I ran my hands down the material, feeling the softness of the satin beneath my fingertips.
It fell just above my ankles and the satin tie around my waist accentuated the curve of my hips.
I stared anxiously at the thin straps along my shoulders.
Opening the curtain, I stepped out to see Norah and Hanna waiting just outside the room.
Both of their jaws dropped as they saw me, making me smile.
"I really like it," I said. "But do you think it'll be too cold to wear something sleeveless? The ceremony is at midnight."
"You're getting that," Norah said. "It's perfect. I don't care if you freeze, it looks great on you."
Hanna nodded in agreement.
I shrugged as I turned to look in the mirror once more.
"Okay then."
I stepped into the dressing room to change back into my clothes just in time to hear my phone buzz in my purse.
I pulled it out to see Luca's name across the screen and opened the phone to read the text he'd sent.
I love you
I felt a smile immediately rise to my lips.
He couldn't stop saying it. He'd said it more than a hundred times in the past two days. And I couldn't help but say it back. I wanted to scream it. Get it tattooed on my forehead. Print it on a t-shirt in big, bold letters that read 'He loves me! And I love him!'
I returned the text with an identical message.
Putting my phone down, I began to take off the dress. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, noticing the matching bra and panties I'd put on that morning.
My smile turned to a smirk as I picked my phone back up and snapped a picture.
Before I could scrutinize the way the lighting made my cellulite stand out or the way I'd forgotten to suck in my stomach for the picture, I sent it and then shoved the phone back into my purse.
I changed back into my clothes, my stomach lurching as I heard the phone buzz with Luca's response.
I couldn't work up the courage to open the text as I left the changing room.
After we had paid for the dress and left the store, I tucked the dress and it's bag into the Jeep before we walked over to a restaurant to get lunch.
My phone felt like it was burning a hole into my purse. I was dying to pull it out and read Luca's text, but I knew I couldn't do it in public.
There was no telling what that man had said.
After ordering my food, I excused myself to the bathroom, pulling out my phone as soon as I was locked away in the stall.
I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as I read his response.
Jesus Christ
I wish you could read my fucking mind right now
I smiled as I typed my response.
Don't think I have to read your mind to know what you're thinking
I watched the text bubbles pop up as he responded.
You better be on your way home if you're sending shit like that to me.
Still in Missoula :( Probably won't be home until later...
You're a tease
As I was typing a flirty response, he sent another text.
Call me
Before I could tell him no, he was calling me. I immediately declined the call and sent him a text.
I'm not having phone sex
I'm in a public bathroom
Go to the car
I shook my head at his persistence.
Sorry, baby
Gotta go eat lunch. I'll see you later though ;)
I walked out of the restroom as he typed a response.
What is my name in your phone?
My eyebrows furrowed.
Deciding I would tease him further, I responded with a nickname I came up with on the spot:
Lulu
What am I? Twelve?
Change it
I laughed, sitting down at the table where Norah and Hanna were talking.
To what?
Daddy
I felt a blush creep to my cheeks and Norah leaned over to see what I was looking at on my phone.
I immediately turned the phone face-down on the table.
"You don't want to read my texts from your brother," I warned her.
Hanna scowled from where she sat across the table, getting my hint.
The phone buzzed again and I lifted it to glance at the screen.
Did you change it?
No, I like Lulu better
I could practically hear his voice when I read his response.
You've never called me that and you're not going to start
I smiled as I replied.
Never called you Daddy either
That'll change tonight
I laughed as I put my phone down, trying not to look as flustered as I felt.
Norah took my phone and read the texts.
"Oh my God," she said, laughing. "If my fourteen-year-old sister wasn't sitting here, I'd tell you what I call Ben during... ya know."
"I'm going to puke," Hanna said, faking a gag.
I shook my head, turning to look out the window of the diner we sat in.
I felt my heart drop as I saw the man who was sitting at the bus stop across the street, watching us.
"We have to go," I whispered quickly, already standing from my chair.
"What? Why?" Norah asked. "We just ordered."
"The Alpha from my old pack is here."
- - -
Oof couldn't help myself there with that cliffhanger, sorry guys.
As with last week, I'm taking the weekend off from posting. I'll be back on Wednesday morning though! Gotta rest up and put my phone down for a while. I catch myself constantly checking Wattpad throughout the day to read comments and, while most of them are positive, I have to stop and remind myself that it isn't other people's approval that I seek to enjoy writing.
It can be draining so I have to make myself step away sometimes. I encourage you guys to take a break from something that isn't fulfilling this weekend too :)
See you all on Wednesday!
Blow a kiss, goldfish!
MaybeManhattan .x