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CHAPTER 16
Luca
“Why don’t you sing something for us, Scarlet?” Mom says after taking a sip of her wine. For all her jitters and nerves, anybody would think it’s her girlfriend who’s about to meet her parents. Since I asked if they’d be willing to have dinner with Ruby, Mom hasn’t been able to contain her excitement.
Scarlet smiles, taking Elio’s hand when he offers it to help her to her feet. Molly is having a rare evening with a sitter, though I can tell it bothers my brother and sister-in-law to be away from their child. We’re sitting in the study, waiting for my woman’s car to arrive.
Scarlet sings, her voice flowing angelically. Elio watches her with a look of pure love on his face. I wonder if that’s how I looked last night in the museum with my woman, staring into her captivating eyes.
“Never alone,” Scarlet sings. “Always together. We found our home…”
She lengthens the note, meeting eyes with Elio. Even Dad has a sentimental look on his face. Scarlet’s mom, Jessica, wraps her hands around a glass of orange juice. We share a look, as we have many times. Though my issues never got as bad as hers—I was never dependent on pills—we can both relate to the struggle of becoming sober. Though mine was more like, I’m done with this hollow life. Hers was an uphill war against an addiction that, for a while, looked like it might not release its hold.
“Wonderful,” Mom says, clapping her hands, then turning to Dad with an arch to her eyebrow. “Now it’s your turn, my love.”
Dad laughs gruffly. Apart from a few tics, which are holdovers from the stroke, he’s just like the man I’ve known my entire life. “You’d have to force me.”
Mom grins. “Don’t tempt me.”
As far as I can tell, they’re pretty much the same as they were before the cheating scandal came out, before the stroke. It makes sense, I guess, since Dad already knew about the cheating. I often still find myself watching, wondering if a relationship can overcome it.
I can’t even think about my woman being with another man, and it’s only been a week. What will it be like after years? I’d kill any bastard who touched her.
Liar, a vicious thought taunts. You let Nate live.
My phone vibrates. It’s the driver. Sir, she’s here.
I’ll be right down.
“Why don’t you just have him bring her up?” Mom says, with a note of demand.
“Because I want to get her ready for the hyenas,” I joke, rising to my feet. “You’re acting like you’re going to tear her to pieces the moment she walks through the door.”
“Oh, please,” Mom says, laughing. “Can’t I be excited? Until recently, I thought both of you boys would be loners for life. Well… you, Elio. Nobody would describe you as a loner, Luca, would they?”
She means it as a joke, but I look at her coldly. “Don’t say that sort of thing in front of Ruby. I don’t want her thinking about me with anybody else.”
“Doesn’t she know about your past?”
“I don’t have a past,” I snap.
“Luca…” Mom’s using that don’t lie to your mother tone.
“Just because I partied and hung around with women from time to time, it doesn’t mean I slept with them all, does it?”
I leave the room, not wanting to start an argument tonight. This dinner is supposed to be about letting go of the outside world. Outside this penthouse, there are concerns we’ll have to deal with, like wolves waiting in the dark. Now, for a little while, we can forget. We can be normal, whatever the hell that means.
“Master Marino,” Sebastian says as I pass him in the hallway. He’s been the butler since I was a little kid, a tall, thin man with white hair and unique-looking, nearly purple eyes.
“How goes it, Seb?” I say, smiling.
“Busy as usual. If you don’t mind me remarking, you have a different energy this evening.”
“Don’t tell my mother, but I’ve found the woman of my dreams, Seb. That’s why.”
“I’m happy for you.”
I ride the elevator down, walk across the private parking garage, and open the rear door to let my woman out. My breath catches when I offer my hand, helping her to stand. She’s wearing an elegant, form-hugging dress that glistens from her neck to just below her knees. There’s a subtle slit up one side, classy, showing a hint of her tempting thigh. She’s combed and pinned her hair back, holding it in place with an encrusted jewel as though she’s forcing herself not to hide behind her hair. Subtle makeup touches her features, bringing out her natural beauty.
“So?” she says, nerves making her voice tight. “Luca?” She waves a hand in front of my face. “Earth to Luca?”
I reach out, sink my hands into her hips, and pull her in for a kiss. She makes that just-Ruby noise of pleasure.
