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Ignoring that last comment, I changed the subject. “Having it on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day will mean postponing the honeymoon, regardless. How about this—we have it the weekend after the Super Bowl. That way, I can win the bowl for a second year in a row and then marry the girl of my dreams the following Saturday.”
There was a pause on her end before she heaved a sigh. “Okay, you cocky asshole. I’ll start making arrangements for that weekend.”
“Violet Hope Stevenson soon-to-be Thornton!” I hissed. “Are you cursing in front of my princess?”
“She’s at Shaw’s house, having a sleepover with Grier tonight,” she said, and I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “I’ve got plans for us tonight, big guy.”
My cock turned to stone in the basketball shorts I’d tossed on after my shower following practice. “Whatever you’re thinking about right now, keep it front and center in that beautiful brain of yours, Vi. I’ll be home as quickly as traffic will allow.”
“Drive carefully,” she urged in a sultry voice. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“See you soon. Love you.”
“I love you, Luca,” she murmured in that same sexy voice before the phone went silent.
Whistling happily to myself, I jogged the last few yards to my SUV and tossed my gear in the trunk before walking to the driver’s side. As I opened the door, a car pulled up beside me and braked so hard, the rubber on the tires protested. Frowning, I glanced down at the little sports car.
“Watch where you’re going!” I yelled at the driver and turned to get into the driver’s seat.
“Luca.”
Every drop of blood in my body turned to ice at the sound of that voice.
The fuck?
Chills of dread slithered down my spine, making my skin crawl.
Slowly, I turned my head to find Megan Hawthorn standing on the other side of the car.
She shouldn’t have been within a hundred yards of me, or anyone else in my family. The restraining order we all had against her was supposed to legally prevent her from approaching any of us. Yet there she stood, her eyes raking over me with a wildness I remembered from the day she’d attacked me because I’d refused to deal with her crazy ass.
“You shouldn’t be here. Do you want to go to jail?”
She smirked at me. The insane bitch actually smirked. “The latest restraining order became invalid at midnight. It’s no longer in effect.”
Fuck. That wasn’t good. Without that order of protection, no one in my family was safe from Megan’s brand of cray-cray. She could come and go as she pleased and torment my life all over again. Violence against women wasn’t something I tolerated, but Megan brought out a side of my rage that only few people could even make twitch.
She’d ruined my life.
Maybe I’d been a willing participant in the ruination, but she’d stalked me and found me at one of the lowest moments in my life. I’d been drunk and pissed and hurting so badly, not even the alcohol could numb the pain. The boy I used to be had thrown his tantrum and destroyed everything good in my world with one misunderstanding. Megan had taken advantage of that.
The man I was now, he understood all the mistakes I’d made back then and didn’t want to repeat them. Just being in this idiot’s presence could fuck everything up all over again. One wrong step with her could potentially tear apart my world and cause me to lose the two people I couldn’t live without.
I’d have to call Aunt Emmie and get her to renew the restraining orders. I’d thought she was on top of all that after getting new orders of protection for everyone the day of Shaw and Jagger’s wedding. But I’d have to deal with that later. From the glitter in her eyes, it was obvious Megan was there with a purpose.
Or maybe her brand of crazy had just intensified over the years since I’d last seen her.
“What do you want?” I gritted out, hoping to get this shit over with so I could put distance between us before some rando with a camera snapped a few pictures of me with the nightmare from my past.
“I thought, after all these years, you’d finally want to meet our son.”
Chapter 3
Violet
Putting the bowl of fresh salad on the table, I stepped back to look at my handiwork. I’d made a simple meal of steak and steamed veggies in consideration of Luca’s strict diet during football season. But he was going to cheat a little tonight with the tiny brownie cupcakes I’d made. After dessert, I planned on showing him the ultrasound pictures the doctor had given me at my appointment earlier in the day.
After his excitement about my announcing I was finally planning our wedding, I knew his reaction to being a daddy again was going to be epic. The excitement was killing me, and I couldn’t wait for him to walk through the door.
