Page 67 of Worth the Risk

I shrug. “Nothing. Just thinking about something.”

Thinking about my girl.

But I’m not ready to tell Arianna that Hannah is back in my life. Because, honestly, Hannah and I still need to talk. Lay all our cards on the table, and make sure we’re on the same page.

Jesus, the puns.

I’d be sick of myself if I wasn’t so damn happy.

As Ari steps out to take a phone call, Stone leans down. “Reason you don’t want Princess to know about your girl?”

“She’s friends with Hannah. I want to be sure Hannah is one hundred percent on board before we tell friends and family. I’d hate to jump the gun and spook her.”

“Dude, if you spook her by getting excited to tell your sister, she’s not the right girl for you. Just saying.”

I ponder Stone’s words before replying. “Yes and no. There are other circumstances at play here, and I just got back with Hannah yesterday. Once I speak with her, I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops. Until then, I’m being respectful. But enough about me. Why do you call my sister Princess?”

Stone chuckles bitterly. “Because she is a princess. Baby of the family. Got everything handed to her. Shopping is an extreme sport for Arianna. I bet all she has to do is tear up and your parents give her whatever she wants.”

“Well, I don’t like to see any of my sisters cry, but you’re wrong on a lot of things there, Stone. She’s not the spoiled princess you’ve made her out to be.”

“She’s the one who told me she was a princess, Luca.”

“When?”

“Shit, I don’t know. Fifteen years ago, maybe?”

“Jesus, Stone. She was a kid. Most little girls think they’re princesses, or hope to be one. She was like ten. Which means you were around twenty. What the hell were you doing chatting with her anyway?”

Stone sighs, running his fingers through his perfectly quaffed hair, giving him the effortless tousled look that women love. Yeah, I know. I’m a guy, but I notice shit. “Dom dragged me to something. Hockey game for you, maybe? Princess parked herself next to me and bragged about how she had all the men in your family wrapped around her little finger.”

That part isn’t wrong. Arianna has always had a way of sucking you in. She’s beautiful, a ray of sunshine, and her glass is always half-full. No matter the trials and tribulations that life threw her way, she remained optimistic. And Stone doesn’t know a fucking thing about what my sister has been through.

As I see Ari walk back in the door, I speak quietly so only Stone can hear. “You’re wrong about her. I’m not stupid. I can cut the sexual tension between you two with a piece of paper. Just know if you fuck around with her, Dom will murder you.”

“She’s jailbait, man. Besides, I’m not interested. Never gonna happen,” he murmurs.

Lies.

Pretty sure I said that about Hannah, and look where that got me.

I’m going to enjoy watching this train wreck happen. Arianna is going to chew him up and spit him out, and if I had to guess, I’d say Stone begs her to do it again. She’s going to break him, and I can’t fucking wait to watch.

“Cocco!” I hear my mom call as I walk through the front entry of Everlasting Inn and Spa. Mom sweeps out from behind the concierge desk, her knee-length cardigan sweater billowing behind her as she slides over to me. Sofia Santo doesn’t walk or run. She glides. It’s remarkable, really. I’ve never seen a woman hold herself so regally. My mom has an effortless quality that I’ve never seen repeated … until I met Hannah. My southern belle is all grace and strength. Until this moment, I never realized how much she reminds me of my mom.

“Hey, Mom,” I say as she pulls me in for a hug.

“This is a surprise. Don’t you have a game tonight?” Mom asks.

“I do. I was on the west side of town, so figured I’d come say hi and see if I could take my favorite mom to lunch.”

“Your favorite mom, huh,” she teases. Her smile makes me chuckle. Generally I look like my dad. I definitely get my height from him, and I’m the tallest of all my siblings, but not by much. Leo and Dom both are only about an inch or two shorter than me. But my eyes and my smile are both from my mom. And while my dad has a stoic and distant personality, my mom is a social butterfly. Clearly I get that from her as well. “What are you really doing here, Luca?”

“Can’t I come visit when I want?”

“Yes, but this is unusual for you.” She studies me carefully, and I try to keep my expression as benign as possible. As her eyes narrow, I know I did a shitty job. “This involves a girl.”

I let out an outlandish guffaw and roll my eyes. “What? Why would you say that? That’s absurd, Mom.”

---