Page 27 of Ruthless Passion

11

JOSEPHINE

The fear in Luca's voice worries me as I try to call him back, only to get his voicemail over and over again.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Jett asks as we sit beside Mojo in the waiting room of the E.R.

"Nothing, kid," I tell him, trying to tamp down the anxiety of not being able to reach Luca. I pull the hair tie off my low ponytail, letting my curls fall over my shoulder to separate the tangles before swaddling them back into the same ponytail.

Jett leans over to Mojo, who's now wearing pain plainly across her face. "Mom's worried about you. She's doing that thing with her hair again."

"She shouldn't be. I told her some aspirin and an ice pack will be fine. It's probably a sprain." Mojo assures me through her words to him.

"Don't believe her, Jett. If she were so okay, she wouldn't have swayed on her feet like she's had too much to drink."

Jett's gorgeous blue eyes dart between us. "Why would drinking too much make her sway on her feet?"

Innocence pours out of him, bringing my hand up to ruffle his curls.

"Monique Shewster?!" A nurse calls out from the desk. We share a smile of hope as we wave her over, but it's not to bring Mojo to a bed. They want her to fill out more paperwork and make copies of her ID.

"I don't want you guys here all night," Mojo says. "Take that nice car and go home."

"Whoa, who's that?" Jett's line of sight is trained on the revolving door as Luca strolls into the hospital like a man on a mission. Exhaustion blends with anxiousness, coating his expression as he turns from side to side, undoubtedly looking for us.

It doesn't take long for him to spot me and walk to us when I notice about six other guys who look ready for a fight. I'm on my feet by the time he's standing in front of me with Jett about a step behind me and Mojo using the arm of the chair to keep pressure off her foot.

"I'm so sorry, Jo. My phone died. Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?" He rattles off one question after another. "I should have come with you."

You already did, I think to myself with a grin of remembrance, pushing my smile to my cheeks.

"I'm okay, Luca," I assure him, my eyes scanning his face. I reach up to gingerly touch the side I hit and notice some fresh damage. My eyes glance down to his hands which are cut from an obvious fight.

"Ma Mojo was walking weird and Mom said we had to bring her here in case she has a concussion. She could have CTE like Duke the Puke."

Jett's words force Luca to take a deep breath and me to chuckle. Luca steps back to peer down at the most important person in my life standing behind me. Jett side steps me, full of courage, and extends his hand. "I'm Jett Hansen. Nice to meet you. Who are you?"

"I'm Luca Devlin, Jett Hansen. But you can call me Luca."

"You can call me, Jett." He smiles.

Luca speaks calmly but not in a way to baby Jett as he says, "I'm the guy making the movies your mom is going to be in."

Luca shakes Jett's small hand with the corner of his mouth turning up in a smile. Luca's gaze shifts to Mojo, whose eyes are opening and closing slowly from the growing pain. He looks at her dangling foot. The ankle is about the size of an orange. He shakes his head. "How long have you guys been here?"

Jett shrugs and plops down into the seat beside Mojo while I tell Luca. "About two hours, maybe? I thought we'd be able to leave by now. You could take your car back and we could take a taxi home."

Jett interjects. "Aw, Mom, but that car is so cool. Everybody in my class needs to see me tomorrow morning when you drop me off."

"Jett, enough," I admonish him. He pouts and sinks back against the seat with his arms folding across his chest.

"Josephine, I gave you the car to use while I get new tires put on yours. Also, it's getting a tune up, oil change, and new brakes. I'll have the scope of work and receipt sent to your email from the service center."

"Yeah, why is my car at the Ferrari service center? Isn't that a bit overkill for my tiny little hatchback."

Luca hooks a finger under my chin, drawing my gaze into his eyes that are as blue as Jett's, saying, "I told you I'd take care of it. People do things for me when I ask them to. You guys sit tight."

I want him to kiss me and then I don't because so many people can see us. The most important opinion already has stars in his eyes after realizing the cool car belongs to the cool guy named Luca.

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