Page 152 of Ruined

“Dom, what the hell is this color?”

I stepped through the doorframe, wiping my hands on my jeans. Luca stood in the middle of the kitchen, holding up a paint swatch that was so blindingly yellow it looked like the sun threw up on it.

“It’s cheerful,” I said, shrugging.

“It’s vomit.”

“Delilah picked it.”

Luca groaned. “That explains it.”

I crossed the room, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close. His wedding band caught the light, a small flash of gold. Luca leaned into my arms, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“You’re cute when you’re bossy.”

“Don’t start,” he muttered.

We got married a year ago in Hawaii. Happiest day of my life. Just family, close friends, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore as Luca stood there, fidgeting in his suit, scowling at the sand like it had personally offended him. He looked perfect, his sharp features softened by the sunset.

I kissed the side of his head, my chest aching with something so full it hurt. Two years ago, I couldn’t have imagined this.

“What are you thinking about?”

“How you ruin me every day,” I admitted.

His hand slid over mine. “So dramatic.”

“Every day, I’m grateful for you. I didn’t know what having a real family was like until you walked into my life. To have nieces and nephews who make me birthday cards and laugh at my bad jokes. I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere until you.”

He gave me a real family. A family that didn’t give a damn about where I came from or who I loved—so long as I loved him.

And Ilovedhim.

I loved him like the ocean must love the shore, always reaching, grateful for every moment we touched.

Luca turned in my arms, his dark eyes searching my face. He still didn’t know how to take compliments. He shrugged them off like heavy coats, always uncomfortable wearing them for too long.

I kept giving them anyway. He deserved them.

“Did you ever think we’d end up here?” I asked softly.

He hesitated. “No.”

“Not even in your wildest dreams?”

A smile tugged at his mouth. “My dreams weren’t this good.”

Damn.

I kissed him, trying to tell him that I’d give him everything. He deserved every bit of peace we’d fought so hard for. When I pulled back, his breathing hitched.

“I was such an asshole to you,” he muttered.

I chuckled. “You mean when you broke into my house and tried to kill me?”

“I was… testing the waters.”

I kissed his temple, smirking. “Good thing I’m impossible to resist.”

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