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We sink passionately into the intimacy. Then he takes my hand, and we keep walking. For some reason, an instinct hits me that he’s lying somehow, but I’m not sure why I think that. It’s like a vague alarm is blaring in my mind.
“Are you sure there wasn’t another reason you asked about Mom and Dad?”
He pauses, looking down at me, chewing the inside of his cheek. When I first saw him in the gym—not even a week ago, which feels wild—I could’ve never imagined Luca Marino seeming nervous. He sighs, taking my hands. The way he holds them, it’s like we’re standing across from each other at an altar.
I push that thought down, feeling so freaking ridiculous.
“You’re better at reading me than most people,” he says quietly.
“There is something, isn’t there?” I reply, squeezing his hands tighter.
He sighs. “It’s like I said. Something’s throwing us together—fate, destiny. Something, Ruby, or maybe this city’s just smaller than it seems.”
“Explain,” I say, my voice trembling slightly. I can’t help it. Suddenly, it feels like this entire thing has been leading to this, whatever it is. It doesn’t seem good. He’s gone from joking about history and being intense about spanking to seeming downright miserable.
“I thought I recognized your dad the first time I picked you up,” Luca says. “Then I learned your surname. Paulie Fitzgerald.”
“Paulie?” I murmur. “Nobody calls him that.”
“My dad did. My brother did. I was only a kid, but I recognize him.”
“Wait, what are you saying?”
“He worked as a courier for the Family… and I think he worked security for a while, too.”
“He works in construction,” I snap, but Luca just stares at me calmly.
“Maybe he does now,” Luca replies. “Listen, this doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad man. It doesn’t mean?—”
“It means he’s a liar,” I cut in. “What about now? Does he still work for you?”
“No,” Luca replies. “I would know. I’ve been running the Family… mostly.”
“So why is he handing strange men packages in the middle of the night?”
Luca tilts his head at me. “What?”
I search his intense eyes, looking for any sign of deceit. I wonder if I’d be able to read it if it was there, or maybe I’m kidding myself. Perhaps he could dance circles around my curiosity, treating me like some in-the-way kid, easily placated with a lie or two.
Quickly, I explain what I saw before Luca picked me up.
“That has nothing to do with us,” Luca says quietly. “As far as I know, at least, but I can look into it.”
“This was supposed to be a fun date,” I mutter. “Now we’re looking into my dad.”
He smooths his hand up my arm. “When you pout like that, I want to kiss you more.”
I pull my hand away. “My entire worldview about my dad is crumbling. I’m not really in the mood.”
He wraps his arm around me. When I move to pull away, he pulls me against him, holding my shoulder supportively. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he says fiercely, “but I’m going to be here for you. I’m going to help you. I’m going to protect you. It’s my job.”
I can’t fight him for long. The sense of comfort his embrace provides is just too intimate, too reassuring. I lean against him and close my eyes. “Your heart is beating so fast.”
“It’s you,” he whispers, kissing my head.
I slide my hands around his body, squeezing onto his back. “I’m not sure I want you to look into Dad.”
“Why not?” He strokes his hand through my hair. When I don’t reply, he says, “Are you scared of what I might find?”
“Yeah,” I say, relieved when he can read me and I don’t have to say it. “What if Dad isn’t the man I thought he was? He’s always been so loving, so caring. Even when he and Mom fight, Mom always takes it to the next level. Not him.”
“You don’t know who that man in the car was,” Luca says. “You said it was dark. You don’t even know if it was a man. Maybe your dad bought something online. As for his time in the Family, he was never really in. He never hurt people. He just carried messages. Stood guard at some meetings.”
“As far as you know,” I murmur, looking up at him. “But you were just a kid, you said. You could be wrong. He could’ve done worse.”
Luca swallows, his fingers trailing through my hair. “Whatever he’s done, Ruby, it’s nothing compared to me. I’ve taken lives. I’ve hurt people.”
“You said they deserved it.”
“They did, but not everybody would agree with my assessment. Maybe you were right to be scared of me.”
“It’s too late for that,” I murmur. “I’m not scared anymore.”
This time, I’m the one who leans in for the kiss. I wrap my arms tightly around him and lose myself in the feeling of his lips and the closeness of our bodies. With his heat wrapping around me, with his body pressed against mine, I can forget about everything: Nate and the photo, the divorce, Dad’s possible involvement, even the stuff with Scarlet—the past rearing its accusatory head.
