Page 43 of Luca

“I’m sorry you don’t have a dress,” Luca says, looking down at the jeans and sweater I hastily put on before leaving the house. Of course, he’s dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, which is the staple uniform of the guards at my house. Well, I suppose it isn’t my house anymore.

I shrug. “Considering we’re running from my brother and the Russians, I don’t think it matters what I’m wearing in the grand scheme of things.”

“Fair point. Maybe I would have liked to see you in white though.”

“Maybe I would have liked to not have to marry you to save myself from a Russian psychopath and my brother, but here we are.”

Luca’s eyes drop to the floor and his jaw tics with frustration. He’s trying to make this better for me. I don’t think he regrets the decision he made to come to Boston years ago to avenge his parents’ murders, but I do believe he regrets my being pulled into this situation.

“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” I say, feeling a pang of remorse at my harsh words. “You’re risking your life to help me.”

“I understand, Giada, more than you could imagine. I know what it’s like to be lied to by someone you care about. I can’t expect you to trust me yet, but I hope I can prove to you I’m not here to hurt you or use you.”

“Maybe you can put that in your vows?” I joke quietly, lifting the corner of my mouth in a small grin.

Luca’s eyes brighten with my joke, a touch of relief in his gaze. “That might get a strange look from her.” He nods toward the woman standing behind the desk, watching as the couple in front of her share their first kiss as husband and wife.

There’s one couple in front of us, and when they get to the part where they’re exchanging rings, Luca looks at me with a sad smile. “I don’t have a ring for you.”

There’s something about the dismay on his face that thaws a tiny part of me. It’s such an inconsequential thing, considering I don’t think either of us woke up this morning thinking this is where we would be. The disappointment he has because he can’t give me some small sense of normalcy in the incredibly abnormal situation makes me feel…I don’t know, less angry, less alone.

I reach into my pocket and pull out a small gold band, holding it between us. “This was my grandmother’s. My uncle gave it to me on my last trip. Said my mother would have given it to me herself, but…” Everyone knows she died when I was a child.

“Giada, I don’t want you to use that for this wedding. After all is said and done, what if you meet the man of your dreams and want him to slide that ring on your finger? Your mother would want you to wear that ring as a sign of love and commitment to the man you choose to be with, not me.”

At one point I thought Luca was the man of my dreams, but I don’t tell him that. “My mother would want me to marry someone who promises to protect me. That’s what you’re doing. I don’t think she would have a problem with me using this ring, so you shouldn’t either.”

Luca nods and takes the ring before putting it in his pocket. “I do want to protect you, Giada. That’s what I’ve always tried to do.”

The last couple before us finish with their short ceremony and we get up to walk to the desk, handing the license to the woman’s cheery-faced assistant. She smiles and signs the paper as the witness then the justice of the peace begins her speech. Luca and I stare at each other, and I barely make out what the woman is saying through the noise of rushing blood in my head. The urge to cry takes me by surprise. The man in front of me was the star of this little fantasy when I was younger, and now it’s my reality. But this reality leaves so much to be desired it’s almost laughable. In exactly none of my fantasies about this moment did I consider the only reason he would be marrying me was because my brother was about to hand me over to a ruthless organization. I imagined a look of love and devotion in his eyes, not the apologetic one I see now.

Luca slips the gold band on my finger and repeats the words he’s supposed to. I do the same, minus the ring, and a moment later, we’re pronounced husband and wife.

“You may kiss the bride,” the justice of the peace says.

I stand in front of Luca, momentarily frozen, my heart galloping in my chest as he leans in, his soft lips brushing mine. A zap of electricity runs through me at the contact. His kiss is gentle. He doesn’t try to deepen it in any way, but holy shit, I wish he would. That thought takes me by surprise as I back away from him and stare into his blue eyes. Confusion and surprise flick through his gaze, the same as mine, I’m sure. What the hell was that? I’ve kissed other men, hell, I’ve done more than that, but never have I felt tiny fireworks explode throughout my chest at the simple touch of a man’s lips to mine.

Luca clears his throat and the trance is broken. He thanks the justice of the peace and her assistant before we turn and silently walk out of the building. I feel like I should say something. I don’t know what, but the silence between us is weighing heavily on me as I still taste him on my lips.

Luca guides me back to the car and opens the passenger door. When he gets in on the other side, his body turns toward mine and he studies me for a moment. “That part’s done. I need to call my cousin,” he says after a few beats of crushing silence.

And there’s the stab to the heart. I didn’t necessarily think he was going to wax poetic about marriage and commitment or be overly joyous that I was now officially his wife. But to say absolutely nothing about what I know he felt in there when we sealed our marriage vows stings in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

He pulls a phone from his pocket and brings it to his ear. “Hey. We need to talk about my leaving. And by talk, I mean I’m leaving with Giada. Today.” Luca is silent for a few moments as he listens to his cousin on the other end. He looks at me and offers a small smile then steps out of the car, but I can still hear the muffled conversation.

“Listen, Finn. We’ve been doing it your way, and I understand, but Carlo hasn’t been here in months, and Giada got word that she needed to pack her things and be ready for some Russian to pick her up later today. He was going to ship her off to marry a man who will do God knows what to her. I’m done fighting in the shadows, Finn. And I’m not going to stand back while he hurts an innocent. I’m getting out, and Giada is coming with me.” Luca watches me through the dusty window and listens to his cousin before briefly closing his eyes.

“Too late,” he says and opens his eyes again, looking at me with steely determination. “Well, she can’t exactly marry the Pakhan’s son if she’s already married. I married her, Finn.”

He gives Finn our location then it sounds like he tries to apologize. I can’t lie to myself and say that doesn’t scare me, especially considering Luca told me that Carlo went after Finn’s wife. What if Finn decides that Luca’s decision puts his family in too much danger? He’s the head of the Irish mob. If he wants to send me back to my brother, he has the power to do it, and if he’s anything like my brother, Luca doesn’t stand a chance, which means neither do I.

Luca gets back in the car and blows out a breath. “We’re going to Finn’s penthouse in Boston. He’s meeting us there.”

“Is he upset?” Is he going to send me back?

“He was…surprised.” Luca gives me a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine. We’ll go to the penthouse, and Finn will help us figure it out from there. Carlo can’t get to you now.”

I appreciate that he has faith in his cousin.

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