Page 33 of Ruthless Passion

Luca's bashful with a grin spreading across his face, holding up a single finger. "That would be my quote from the Times article. You looked me up on the internet, Jett?"

Jett nods with indifference and a yawn. "I couldn't let a stranger hang out with my mom or in our house. The internet told me everything I needed to know. You make great movies and have a ton of money. Don't give any to Collin, though. Granddad says he has to work hard for it. I'm going to work hard for mine too so one day I can get a car like yours for Mom to drive every day."

His voice trails off as he folds his arms on top of the table to rest his head on it, sleep settling back over him without a single bite of his dry cereal.

"Looks like you made quite the impression, Mr. Devlin." I smile at him and wonder how I'm going to get Jett back into bed without waking him.

"What it looks like is his mom is raising an exceptional young man. The information he read about me confirms what he already knows, thanks to you."

I push out a deep exhale because his words make me feel seen. I don't feel like the best mom most days. Most days I'm overwhelmed, drowning in the never-ending list of things to do. Cook, clean, work, Mom, adult, sister, friend, chauffeur … a myriad of jobs for one person to make life livable and then, rinse and repeat.

"Thank you, Luca. You have no idea how much that means to me. I feel so invisible most days."

He steps close to me, lowering his forehead to press against mine. "I see you, Jo."

Lingering in the moment for a second more, with a yearning for this feeling to come every day, I shift away from him, looking at Jett. "I have to get him back to bed and you were on your way out the door. I don't want to hold you up, Luca."

"How are you going to get him up the stairs?" He eyes me from head to toe.

"I may be small but I am mighty," I flex my arm to make a puny muscle before laughing. "Mighty enough to grab Collin to haul him to bed. Please, you've already done so much."

Luca narrows his gaze at me. "I can have him in bed before you get Collin in here. The sooner we get Jett back to his room, the sooner you can get some rest. I expect you in my office later, contracts signed, so we can start going over the Starlight script."

Yes. Work. Can't forget to be an adult today.

"Okay. Are you sure?" I ask him but Luca's already in motion, scooping Jett's limp sleeping body into his arms. Jett's mouth drops open as his arms fall outward. It looks like Luca's trying to handle an octopus.

I choke back laughter, not wanting to wake my son up as I show Luca to his room up the stairs at the end of the hall. I open the door, where the sight is shocking, to say the least.

"I can't believe it," I whisper, looking around the room as Luca places Jett in his bed. He draws the blanket over the sleeping boy, smiling softly as we back out of the room. Right outside the door, I tell Luca. "It's clean. His room is never tidy, but it is now."

"If he's quoting that article, right under my quote about a successful man beating the sun to work, there's another quote where I emphasize keeping a clean house to keep a clear mind."

"He's like a sponge. Jett really wants to be like you. To think, all it took was a cool car to turn on his responsibility."

"I did that interview over ten years ago and still cringe at some of the things I said in that piece. I don't want him to take everything to heart." He sighs.

"I'm just happy to see his floor. Jett does the same thing with Collin. He plays football because Collin does. He listens to everything Collin says because he's one of the best players at his school. That car knocked over this domino of growth."

"That will change." He laughs to himself. "I think once he hits the age of eleven or twelve, he'll be thinking for himself and not so easily impressed. What time does he have to be at school?"

"Eight."

"Okay. I'll have a car brought to you within the hour."

"Wait a minute. That's way too much, Luca."

"Read your contract, Jo. As lead actress, it's crucial I get you to and from set on time. Don't worry about the cost, it's part of the production budget. If you run into anyone else looking for a quote, forward them to my office. I'll take care of it. Let me take care of you." Luca winks, gives me a chaste kiss, and leaves before I have more time to protest his generosity.

As promised, there's a luxury sedan waiting outside my door within the hour. That new leather smell, remote control start, shiny clean exterior and smooth untouched steering wheel push a sigh of relief out of me as the sound of another car door slamming steals my attention.

Duke.

The surprise in his blue eyes as he runs his meaty fingers through his buzzed-cut, blonde hair brings a smile to my face, but I suppress it as much as possible. With my phone in the house and Jett getting ready for school, I don't want to trigger his temper with my happiness.

"Hey, uh, I showed up this morning because I figured Jett might need a ride to school." Duke's confusion is steadily morphing into frustration.

"You figured wrong and why would you even think to show up here? Unannounced and the day after you terminated your rights? After everything that happened yesterday? What's going on Duke? What do you want?" I ask him, taking a step back to keep the car between us.

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