Page 97 of Worth the Risk

“It’s kind of a test, I guess.”

“Testing me?”

“Testing us.”

“Luca, you’re worrying me.”

As we turn into Luca’s childhood neighborhood, I see every Santo family member standing outside a large and stately home. “Why are they all outside?”

“Shit. I hoped they wouldn’t do this,” Luca mutters. He stops the car a house away and turns to me. “Back when Alex was in high school, he got this idea that any Santo kid had to cross the threshold of our parents’ house by carrying their partner.”

“Okay? That doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.”

Luca’s eyes bare into mine. “No one ever made it, Pix.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” I ask, irritation evident in my voice.

“It means that something always happened to the couple. Dropping, tripping, people refusing to participate. It became the way we determined if a relationship would be successful.”

“You can’t mean everyone, Luca.”

“I do. Everyone failed … until Gia.”

“Travis carried her over the threshold?” I whisper.

“No, baby. Gia carried him. That’s the tradition. The Santo kid has to carry the partner.”

“That’s messed up for your sisters, Luca.”

“I know.”

“Wait! It had to have worked for Alex, right?”

Luca shakes his head. “No. We laughed it off, because they were clearly in love. And then she died, and well, we were all pretty shook. Then Dom’s wife wanted a divorce and basically ran out on the kids. Suddenly the tradition took on some merit.”

“So you’re saying you have to carry me over the threshold, and if something happens, it basically means we are destined to crash and burn?” I ask quietly, tears burning my eyes.

Luca grabs my face with both hands. His eyes are intense, emotion evident across his face, as he shakes his head. “No. Absolutely not. It’s a stupid tradition, and I don’t care what it says. You’re mine, bella. I’m not going anywhere.”

I laugh bitterly as tears fall down my cheeks. “You’re the most superstitious person I know, Luca. This has more meaning than you’re letting on.”

“I’m saying that I’m carrying you across that threshold, because I know you’re my soulmate, Hannah. I feel it deep in my bones. You’ll see. I was just warning you why they were all outside, and how they’ll be expecting this.”

“I’m scared,” I confess, more to myself than him, but Luca hears me.

“No reason to be scared. It’s just another day, and I’m confident that we’ll be happily sitting down to dinner talking about how dumb this stupid tradition is,” he says as he takes his foot off the brake and steers us to Sofia and Nick’s house.

I shakily get out the car, my hand cradling my tiny baby bump, and Arianna’s eyes zero in on it. She gasps quietly and wraps her arms around me. “He told you about the threshold thing?”

I nod against her, taking in a shaky breath. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“It’s going to work, Han. You’re meant for him. This is just a stupid thing we do.”

“Did it ever work for you?” I ask as she steps back. She smiles softly.

“No, but I know it will.”

Nick Santo walks toward us, his posture stiff and refined. The most reserved man of the Santo family, I haven’t interacted with him much. He appears to sit on the outskirts, studying our interactions. Luca told me he attempted to break up Gianna and Travis before they were married, convinced Travis wasn’t the right match for Gia. Once Gia stood up for herself, Nick stepped back and admitted he was wrong.

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