AllFreeNovel
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“Here we are.” He set a plate in front of me and in front of his seat.
I stared down at Luca’s perfect egg raviolo. “We’re doing courses?”
“Of course.” He grinned and cut into the pasta, nodding as the yolk oozed out. The pleased look on his face made me bite my lip to keep from laughing.
My perfect perfectionist.
I put my napkin on my lap, cut into my pasta, and took a bite. Since Luca had been home, we’d been eating like kings. He’d missed his kitchen, and I’d missed the magic he worked in there.
“So, what are your hopes for in the new year?” I asked as Luca took a sip of his wine.
“Time,” was all Luca said, the candlelight dancing in his eyes as he gazed at me.
“That’s it?”
He set his glass down and nodded. “I want us to start our life together, free of the bullshit of the past few years. If a baby happens to be a part of that, I wouldn’t be upset.”
Avoiding my wine, I took a sip of water to hide my smile.
Luca didn’t know my period was a day late. My OB told me it could take up to a year to get pregnant after getting off birth control, but it looked like we may have gotten lucky. I’d decided there was no better way to kick off the new year than to find out if we were going to be parents, so I counted down the minutes until I would take the pregnancy tests stashed up in our bathroom.
“What about you? Any New Year’s resolutions?” Luca wiped the bottom of his plate with fresh bread.
“Grow the business and hopefully grow our family.” We shared a dreamy smile. I wondered if he was picturing a little baby with his dark hair and my green eyes. “Maybe not so many dead bodies.”
Luca laughed loudly, leaning back in his chair. “That would be nice. I’ll do my best to keep you clear of all that.”
“I know.” I took the last bite of raviolo.
“Thank you for being there when I took care of my father’s men. I know it was hard, but I needed them to see your strength. They need to know you could’ve just as easily shot them. If I’m going to run this family, I want them to respect you and if they can’t do that, fear you.”
“After Cy—” I waved my fork in the air before setting it on the plate. “Watching you take care of your father’s lackeys was nothing.”
Luca’s face glowed as he looked at me. “And that’s why you’re their worst nightmare. You’re a legend at this point, and they don’t even know about my dad.”
“I’m surprised Lorenzo hasn’t ratted me out.”
“Me too.” Luca stood and stacked our plates. “I’ve actually been thinking about that. It would be such an easy way to put a target on your back and destabilize the family, but he hasn’t pulled the trigger.”
As I tried to figure out the ass-backwards logic Lorenzo might have been using, Luca went to the kitchen.
The Fourth of July gala stood out in my mind. The way he talked about me and my relationship with Luca was unhinged. He thought if he was the boss, he would be entitled to me, that I’d swoon just because he was the head of the family.
How ridiculous.
I didn’t fuck the last boss. I killed him.
Luca set a beautiful plate of scallops in front of me, the smile on his face dimming as he caught my expression. “What’s wrong?” He sat, covering my hand with his.
“I think I know why he hasn’t told everyone I killed your dad.”
He squeezed my hand in encouragement.
I swallowed and said, “He wants me.”
“We know that.”
I shook my head. “No. I think he wants me by his side. Like the spoils of war or something.”
