Page 99 of Worth the Risk

Being the consummate professional, Caroline managed to snag a rental on the outskirts of Denver that was fully furnished. She stayed there, far enough away that she wouldn’t run into anyone, but close enough she could still meet Woodward. When Jefferson showed up, he stayed with her. She let him into the underground parking lot to slash my tires, and she told him where I worked. Woodward supplied her with my detailed schedule so Jefferson could ‘deal with me.’ The longer I conveniently evaded Jefferson, the more unhinged both Caroline and Woodward got.

Luca told me about a woman outside the building the day we met, and we learned Caroline was responsible for that too. Evidently, Caroline had propositioned Luca a time or two, and when he kept turning her down, she was pissed. She was the one to start the rumor about Luca sleeping with Woodward’s wife. While Woodward was definitely more aggressive with his strategies to get Luca kicked out of the NHL, or at least traded from the team in a haze of disgrace, Caroline was really the puppeteer pulling the strings.

She didn’t take too kindly to finding out Luca was involved with me.

That’s when she convinced Jefferson to arrive at Claire’s apartment and drag me back to Georgia. Since Caroline was also sleeping with Jefferson, and he truly believed she would continue seeing him, he dutifully followed her directions.

She really must give an amazing blow job to have these two successful men willing to commit heinous crimes for her.

She attempted to claim innocence, but the terrible terrors, Jessica and Lindsay, came in clutch. They recorded Caroline in Woodward’s office multiple times in the weeks after I quit, ranting and raving about me. She despised me. She was incredibly jealous of me, it seems. Why a successful woman over a decade older would take it this far is beyond me. But here we are.

The case against Woodward was pretty cut and dried. He admitted his guilt, believe it or not, and due to it being his only offense, he received minor jail time and extensive probation. Even with the multiple women within the Wolves organization claiming sexual harassment, it was a case of he said versus she said. I chalked it up to a win that Woodward was banned from coaching any hockey team at any level in the U.S., and hopefully would go off into obscurity. He was handed divorce papers while awaiting his trial, not to anyone’s surprise. I held on to the video I recorded of the woman propositioning Luca at his hotel in Boston. Should Woodward ever surface again and try to start anything, I like having a possible insurance net to shut him up.

Jefferson had a worse time. The state of Georgia actually had a warrant out for his arrest, due to him abusing another woman he dated after I left him. He had to go through two cases. Colorado chose not to prosecute, and instead extradited him to Georgia. Multiple woman came out of the woodwork to claim abuse. He received a hefty prison term.

Caroline claimed innocence so strongly that a psychiatric team was brought in to determine if she was even lucid enough to stand trial. She was found incompetent to stand trial, and was forced into a mental treatment facility to help her regain her cognitive and emotional functioning. The trial has been delayed multiple times as Caroline still hasn’t been found competent. Each time, as soon as she sees me in the courtroom, she belligerently shouts at me and claims I’m the villain.

Unfortunately, my family did not support me in any of this. My mother went so far as to say Jefferson was a nice man who got himself into a ‘lick of trouble,’ and I should forgive him. Needless to say, I blocked both of my parents. They’ve yet to meet Melanie, and I don’t care if it ever happens. I don’t need that toxicity in my life. Besides, I have Luca’s family now.

Nick and Sofia are the most attentive grandparents I’ve ever experienced. They dote on Melanie the same way they dote on their other grandchildren. It’s a beautiful site to witness. Luca and I have date nights often because Sofia will show up and kidnap Melanie, promising movie nights, manicures, and anything else a three-year-old girl is interested in. At this point, Mel sleeps more at their house than she does at our own home. Sofia asked that Melanie call her Nonna, which confused the crap out of poor Mel. Ever the fixer, she now calls Sofia New Nonna and Luca’s grandmother Old Nonna. Old Nonna wasn’t too thrilled with the moniker, but now accepts it with a shrug of indifference.

Luca’s dad walked me down the aisle only a few weeks before Melanie was born, and he proudly announced that he wasn’t ‘giving away’ anything. Instead, he was escorting me into the family. Luca gave me a hard kiss as soon as Nick put my hand into Luca’s, which offended the poor officiant, who was already rattled from the chaos the entire Santo family brings anywhere.

It probably didn’t help that Luca’s grandmother pinched the officiant’s ass as he greeted her at the front of the church, then joked she brought her own wine in case there wasn’t enough to go around during mass.

We didn’t have a Catholic ceremony.

Luca’s family isn’t Catholic.

The officiant hightailed it out of there as soon as he had signed the marriage license. I wasn’t surprised.

“Bella?” Luca’s voice shouts as the garage door slams closed.

“By the stairs!”

As Luca rounds the corner and gives me a breathtaking grin, I feel the never-ending butterflies take flight in my stomach. Not a day goes by that I’m not captivated by this man. Now almost thirty-four, he has a few gray hairs in his scruff giving him a distinguished look. His arms come around both of us as he gives a quick kiss to Melanie’s temple before giving me a thorough kiss on the mouth. I can’t even hold in the whimper that melts into his mouth. I’ve become even more insatiable this pregnancy than I was with Melanie. Luca can barely keep up.

“How was practice?” I ask breathlessly once we finally break apart.

“Good. We’ve got some great kids this year,” Luca tells me as his hand finds my ass and squeezes.

Luca lasted about six months without a job before he finally admitted to being incredibly bored and without purpose. There were only so many odd jobs at the hotel he could take on, and his crabby restless attitude made everyone on edge. By a stroke of sheer luck, the high school hockey coach reached out to him and asked if he’d be interested in a part-time coaching position. He jumped at the chance. He told me all about coaching his cousin’s step-daughter whenever he had time in Colorado Springs, and he really enjoyed the challenge.

Luca completely flourished as a coach. So much so, in fact, that when the head coach retired at the end of the school year, the school board and athletic director quickly offered the position to Luca. He made sure I was on board before accepting the job. I thought I had seen Luca happy the times I witnessed him on the ice with the Wolves, but nothing compares to how he is now. He couldn’t be prouder of the kids he coaches, and he’s really found his purpose. I don’t mind the away games being much closer to home as well.

“How’s little man doing?” Luca murmurs as he caresses my stomach. Luca has always been the most affectionate man I know, but my pregnancies make him incredibly touchy. If he’s near me, he’s touching me in some way, whether that be a hand on my knee, fingers twirling my hair, or him pulling me into his lap so he can be all around me. After years of being starved for physical contact due to my uptight family and their ‘southern values,’ I’m not complaining at all about Luca’s attention. In fact, I crave it when we’re apart. He’s become my missing piece. The part that keeps me sane and nourished. My soul needs his to survive.

“Really pushing on my spine today,” I admit. I’m hesitant to tell Luca that I might be in labor. Little man is positioned quite differently from my pregnancy with Melanie, so I’m not completely confident that what I’m experiencing is indeed back labor. All I can say is, I’m in pain, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. But the nursery isn’t fully ready, and I’m determined to push through so I can get some more things done tonight.

Luca studies my face for a moment. “You’re in labor, Pixie.”

“No!” I sputter. “Not necessarily!”

“Baby, you’re nine months pregnant, and you’re obviously in pain. Let’s drop Mel off at my parents and go get you checked out. If you’re not, we can go hit that Thai place you love for a late dinner.”

I salivate thinking about it. I’ve craved a specific Thai dish called Chicken Satay. Luca has dutifully gone into Denver to a hole-in-the-wall Thai place to get it almost weekly for at least half of this pregnancy. It’s unlike any Chicken Satay dishes I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve begged the owners to give me the recipe. I wouldn’t be surprised if little man comes out and wants the amazing chicken and rice dish.

Ninety minutes later, after huffing about how wrong Luca was about me being in labor, I’m admitted to the hospital. Because of course he was right. I’m in labor.

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