Grumbling loudly, I stumble my way towards the suite door, rubbing my eyes as I go. The constant knocking on the door is enough to wake everyone who is anyone that may be staying on this floor and who is trying to sleep. If they are still asleep, it must be great to sleep through this annoying sound.
I haven't even checked the time to know what time it actually is. However, judging by the fact that it's still dark in the suite, I can only guess that it's not even sunrise. So as to why I'm answering the door at this time of the night when I wouldn't normally do so, says it all really. The knocking simply won't stop until I get up and answer the door.
I squint my eyes while my hands fumble with the lock on the door and open it far enough so I can see who is behind the loudness at the most inappropriate time. I moan when my eyes fall on the male standing before me.
"Luca," I yawn. "Wha-"
"Don't you normally get up at this time?" He pulls up the sleeve of his thin hoodie to look at his watch. "It's four thirty."
"Don't I what?" I open the door wider. "Luca, it's four thirty in the morning. I only got to bed not even four hours ago. Why are you at my door at four thirty in morning?"
"Hmm, my mistake." He pushes past me and flicks a few switches to turn the lights on on his way to the living room. "Have you never heard of lights?"
I gawk at him, letting the door close over. I follow him closely but keep my distance. "Luca, why are you here?"
"I'm taking you to see New York at one of the best times of the day," he finally answers. He looks over his shoulder at me before turning his attention to his phone which he now has in his hand. "I'll just wait here while you get dressed."
I shake my head before rubbing my eyes and yawning once more. "Luca, I will repeat what I previously said because I don't think you heard either yourself or me right – it's four thirty in the morning."
"I know."
"Why are you so alert at this time in the morning?"
"I am a man of business, Kaylee. I'm used to getting up early."
I roll my eyes at him and walk towards the staircase while mimicking his words to myself. "I'm pretty sure your daughter would rather want to spend some time with her dad on a Saturday morning."
"She's with her grandparents and has been since last night," he replies firmly.
I begin to walk back up the stairs. "Doesn't she ever ask why she doesn't see you that often when you're not working."
"Not when she has two nannies to help look after her," he says freely.
My eyes widen and I misjudge the next step, making me fall with a loud thud. My hands fall onto the wooden step in front of me to stop my face from hitting it, and I turn myself as gracefully as I can so I can sit on a step. I glare down at Luca as he stands on the first step with a concerned look on his face.
"Are you alright?" He asks with an outstretched hand like he's going to help me up.
I hold a hand up in a silent way of telling him I'm fine. "I-" I readjust myself on the step. "You have two nannies to help care for your daughter?"
I'm wide awake now at hearing his confession. My eyes have focused on him as I wait for him to answer me. I was aware of him having one nanny for his daughter, but two? Why on earth would he need two when one can easily do the exact same job as what the other is doing?
"She is only five," he adds like it's justification for having two other people looking after his daughter instead of himself.
"But she's your daughter," I recap.
"And I'm a businessman who works insane hours and travels the world almost every other day. I can't ask my mother or father to look after her every time I'm working because they work just as hard as I do. I need someone – or two – to take care of my daughter when I can't."
"Two? Two nannies? Luca, wh-" I begin.
Luca holds a hand up to silence me and I let my mouth stay open with shock. Two freaking nannies and it's his daughter! What the actual fuck?
"Kaylee, you need to bare in mind that the life I now lead is worlds away from the life I once had. I need things like this for my daughter because, without them, I wouldn't be able to do the things I do on a daily basis."
"Like taking me out on dates?" My words are said with a bite to them I didn't mean for them to have. I suddenly feel responsible for Luca not spending enough time with his daughter. I look away from him as sadness and realisation begins to creep over my body. "You . . . Luca, your daughter comes first before me."
"No she doesn't," he defends swiftly. "Both of you come first to me and both of you always will. I can't place either of you above the other. You're both too important to me to do such a thing."
"She's your daughter."
"And you were my ex-girlfriend who I've just gotten back together with after years apart. I am not choosing one of you over the other."
I get to my feet. "You say that out loud but we both know that your daughter will be your priority regardless of the words you just said to me."
He says nothing as his phone pings in his hand. He looks down at the screen briefly as I turn and begin walking up the rest of the stairs.
"Kaylee," he calls to me.
"You said you were taking me out," I call back without looking at him. "I'm going to get ready because I know for a fact that you won't leave if I told you I wasn't going."
By the time I'm in the back of the waiting blacked out Jaguar F-Pace, my gaze is on nothing but the passing buildings. I don't speak to either Luca or Carlo who is driving despite both of them trying to get me to interact with them. After a while, they got the fact that I don't want to speak and gave up trying to include me.
"Put this on," Luca eventually tells me.
I look down at the white satin material in his hand he's holding out to me. "And why would I need to wear a blindfold?"
"Because I want this to be a surprise," he answers.
"Just like you waking me up at four thirty in the morning was a surprise?" I raise a brow at him. I'm not acting myself and I don't plan on doing so considering the fact that I got woken up way too early to be dragged out on an early morning date.
"Please," he pleads.
I look at him but say nothing.
"I know you may not want to be here but can you do at least this one thing for me? I won't ask anything else of you for the rest of the day other than this."
I reach for the blindfold and put it on, choosing to tie it together at the back of my head without Luca's help. I adjust it over my eyes and sigh loudly while leaning against the door. "How long before we get to wherever it is we're going to?"
"Not long, Miss. Fletcher." Carlo answers.
"Sure it is," I mumble.
I can just picture the look on Luca's face at my response but I'm fed up. Anyone who gets made to get up early when there is no need to do so would act the same. I don't feel bad at the way I'm acting but if I knew where it was that we were going, that may change.
We drive for a bit more before coming to a complete stop. The engine is still going but the car doors unlock, and I'm being guided out the car with a hand grasping mine. I can tell its Luca who's holding my hand just by the way he's holding it – not too loose and not too tight. It's a relaxed hold which is more than what I can say about myself.
"I've got you," Luca assures quietly.
I only nod as I follow his lead.
"Mind your step here." Luca's hold on my hand tightens as I'm helped to step over something. "Mind your head." Luca's free hand finds the top of my head as I duck down slightly as a way of protecting me from hitting my head on whatever it may be that's overhead. "Just have a seat here."
I'm sat on a soft couch before Luca disappears from my side. I don't know how long he's away for before he returns and places a heavy blanket over my lap.
"Still trust me?" I hear Luca ask.
I shrug. "If you only wanted to kill me, there are better ways of doing so than this."
I hear him chuckle before a cool breeze sweeps over me. I pull at the blanket to try and get some more warmth in my body. Deciding to go with basic clothing choice of jeans, t-shirt, and a zipper is starting to make me wish that I put a jacket on. However, in my defence, I didn't know what or where we were going so I can't really complain.
"Feeling the cold?" Luca asks. He pulls the blanket away briefly so he can slip under it and cover himself with it, too. He places an arm over my shoulders and draws me into his side.
"When can I take this off?" I run my fingers over the blindfold.
"I'll tell you when. Just relax in the meantime."
Easy for you to say.
I think I may have fallen asleep after Luca told me to relax. I'm being shaken softly with Luca saying my name and telling me to wake up. I screw my face up as I open my eyes, almost surprised to see that I no longer have the blindfold covering them. I push against Luca's chest to sit up and glance around at my new surroundings.
We're no longer on land but on a boat. The sky is a mixture of different shades of orange before it fades into blue at some parts with the sun rising in the distance. The water is a reflection of the scene before us and I can't help but gasp at the natural beauty that is Mother Nature.
"Luca," I breathe.
His hand that was over my shoulders traces patterns on the space between my shoulder blades. "Now you know why I wanted you to wear the blindfold."
I turn to look at him, my mouth open in awe.
"Luca, we're on a boat. You own a goddamn boat."
"It's not my boat," he says in defence. He adjusts the blanket on our laps. "I borrowed it from Fredrick."
"Yeah right. I somehow don't think you managed to get this all arranged within a specific time frame if you didn't own it."
"You would be right," he agrees. "However, on this occasion, I actually don't own this. I had everything cleared with the captain and crew last night before I asked Fredrick."
"Bet he wasn't too happy with that."
I lean in closer to Luca who wraps his arms around me.
"He wasn't considering the fact that I called him at half three this morning asking to borrow it."
"Despite already clearing it with everyone else." I tut a few times with a grin. "That is rather sneaky of you, Mr. Madden."
"I know but it just means that I owe him one for this favour."
"As long as you're prepared for him cashing that in at any time."
"I am and I know all too well that I'm a pain in the arse at times."
I scoff. "Try most of the time."
He grins, his top teeth pressing down on his bottom lip. "I deserve that."
"I think the power you've accumulated over the years has gone to your head."
"You're pushing it," he warns.
I laugh.
"I know I can put you through a wave of emotions every day, but when I can make things like this happen-" He gestures to the sun rising in the horizon and his fingers flex on my side. "-even you have to admit that it makes everything worth it."
I look at him before looking back out at the sun. I take a deep breath and snuggle in closer to him.
"It does," I agree. "But only to a point."
He chuckles before placing a small kiss on the top of my head. "I have a lot of making up to do. Nine years worth to be exact."
"You've made a good start so far."
"And I will continue to do so for as long as you'll let me."
I look up at him. "Then you better start making a list of everything you've done so far because you've got a lot to do."
He smiles tilts my head up a bit more with a finger under my chin. "Then I can tick off kissing my girlfriend on a yacht at sunrise from that list."
His lips brush against mine before he presses them firmly to mine in a sweet kiss. I smile into the kiss, turning my body so I can kiss him at a better angle without craning my neck. The blanket that was over our laps falls to the floor as my fingers entwine behind Luca's neck, drawing him in closer to me while his hands find my hips under my zipper.
He pulls at me to move onto his lap which I do without any hesitation, the kiss deepening before the sound of a phone vibrating on the table close by has us breaking away.
I rest my forehead against Luca's. "And I thought Allison had bad timing."
"I don't want to answer that but I better," he sighs heavily. "It could be important." He presses a chaste kiss to my lips and helps me slide off his lap so he can get up. "Give me a minute and we can get back to this."
I watch him get to his feet and walk over to the table to answer his phone. He answers it swiftly with his back turned to me. I can't quite hear what's being said, not that I want to, so I busy myself with picking the blanket up from the floor. I place the blanket over my lap one more and look back out to the sun rising.
Out of all the things Luca has done to make me happy since he came back into my life, I would have to say that this tops the list. He didn't have to do this but he did. He didn't have to do anything he's done so far but he did it all as his way of proving to me that he wants us to be together for the long haul.
"Shit!" Luca curses loudly.
I look at him instantly. "What? What's happened?"
Luca groans loudly as he throws his phone down onto the glass top table. He grips the back of the nearest chair tightly with both hands and shakes his head. "My father has been called to work."
I frown. "And how does that concern you?"
"Everything was fine until now despite the earlier text I got from my father saying that my mother has to work this morning. He was happy to look after Louisa but now he's going to work so that means that there's no one to watch her."
"What about the nannies you have?"
"One is on holiday and the other doesn't work weekends when I'm here."
"So . . ." I look down at my hands as I twiddle my fingers.
"I didn't plan on this happening," Luca voices in frustration.
I press my lips firmly together and nod with understanding despite nothing being said of the unasked question. "We need to go back."
"Yeah," Luca breathes. I look at him. He's nodding uncontrollably with his hands now on his hips. "He said he can hold off going to work until I get there which is better than nothing."
"I understand," I say quietly.
It was the exact thing I told Luca about what would happen back at the hotel. His daughter is his responsibility and will always come first regardless of what he says. She's his flesh and blood and his sole responsibility despite his parents chipping in to help watch her.
"I would bring you with me to my apartment but it's too soon for the two of you to meet," he quickly interjects.
"I know," I concur.
"My father is cursing himself for this but one of his clients got arrested not long ago and he has to be there. He said he'll make it up-"
"Luca-" I get to my feet and walk to him, reaching for his hands when I get to him. "-it's fine. We had an hour or two with each other which is better than nothing."
"Not so good a perk of having a kid and being a single parent," he laughs.
I don't share his laughter because I'm secretly telling him 'I told you so'.
"Maybe," I start, drawing the word out until he looks at me with a sigh, "I can go and see some of New York on my own to pass the time. Might even treat myself to a few things. You never know. The rest of the day is my oyster."
"Then I insist that you take Jones with you during your outings."
I let go of his hands. "Luca, I don't need a babysitter."
"There's still people looking at you like a piece of meat since they found out you're dating me."
"And I can handle myself."
"Jones is going with you."
"Luca."
"No questions asked."
"Luca."
He picks his phone back up. He types away quickly before placing the phone back down on the table.
"It's done," he says firmly.
I push him away with a slight hit on his chest. "I hate you."
"Your hate generates from a strong form of love," he winks.
"Sure it does." I roll my eyes.
"I know it does."