“Oh, I love surprises,” Dawn said.
“Good, because I have one for you right now.” He rolled her onto her back and loomed over her. “Let’s smash.”
She giggled. “Such a romantic.”
“Yeah. I’m a chip off the old Fierro block.”
* * *
It was four in the morning, and Luca couldn’t sleep.
He glanced down at the gorgeous woman tucked in under his arm and couldn’t believe his luck. He was crazy about her. He kissed the tip of her cute nose and slipped out of bed.
An hour later, he had a pot of coffee brewing and a stack of pancakes warming, along with thick toast, bacon, and eggs.
“Hey, what are you doing up so early?”
“I thought I’d make us a big breakfast before I drop you off at work.”
“You don’t have to do that. Aren’t you on the evening shift this week? You should be sleeping.” She wrapped her arms around his middle as he filled two plates full of food. He leaned back and kissed her.
He was nervous. Really nervous. “Let’s eat.”
“Yum.” She scooped up some scrambled eggs. “Mmm… You are so good to me. I think I’ll keep you around.” She winked at him as she popped a piece of bacon in her mouth.
He hesitated. Would she still want to be with him after he told her?
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
He read the concern in her beautiful gray-green eyes. “I have something to tell you.”
“This looks serious. Is it your parents? Annette? The gang? Butts? What’s going on?” Her face was in full panic mode.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” To reassure her, he reached for her hand. “I just—”
“What?”
“I quit my job.”
She gasped. “You quit?”
“Yes. I told them on Friday.”
“That was two days ago.”
“Yes, yes it was.”
“Why didn’t you tell me on Friday or even before you decided to quit?”
“I didn’t know I was going to quit until Friday. I just… I realized I don’t want to be a cop.”
She sat there in silence, and that worried him. He began to speak and then couldn’t stop. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I was worried you would think less of me. That you’d think I was a quitter. After everything you’ve been through, I want to be the kind of man you can be proud of.”
“Are you kidding me?” She stood up and planted her hands on her hips. “How can you even say that? You are the most wonderful guy in the whole world. Never, ever think that I’m not proud to be with you.” She placed her hands on either side of his face. “I don’t care that you don’t want to be a cop. I care that you’re happy. You’re smart and brave, and you can do whatever you want with your life.”
“Whew. So you’re not mad I didn’t tell you?”
“I’m only mad you didn’t trust me enough to tell me. But I forgive you. Besides, I didn’t tell you everything right away, so let’s just call it even, and from now on, we’ll tell each other everything as soon as possible. Agreed?”
