Page 105 of Sweet Deception

Or maybe I'm more scared now. I want to believe this is truly what he wants, but as I come down from my orgasm, the doubts invade my mind.

I've held a piece of myself back because of the contract, and by no choice of my own. Will he want the real me? If we started dating from the beginning, I wouldalready know everything I could about him. I would have asked when his birthday was. What school he went to. The story of how Rafael and Gio became such an integral part of his life.

And he has yet learned of all my faults. He doesn't know how persistent I can be when I want something. He has no idea how much our contract binds me from truly being myself. Yes, parts of me have leaked out. It's hard to hold all of myself back, but Ihaveheld back.

Can he love me if he sees all of me?

Luca leans his head back and smiles down at me. "I can tell your mind is going a mile a minute." He taps my forehead. "Relax, Angel. Everything will work out."

I'm forced to let him go when he lifts and pulls me with him off the couch.

"Let's shower and then we can talk while I make dinner."

"Okay." I grab the hem of my shirt, but Luca moves my hands out of the way and yanks it over my head, leaving me naked while he's fully clothed. I don't protest when he takes my hand and pulls me to the elevator.

***

"Can I help with anything?"

The enticing aroma coming from the stove has my stomach rumbling despite the large quantity of popcorn I ate earlier with Gio. I place a hand over it as I eye the pizza sauce simmering on one burner and then the sausage Luca's stirring on the other.

"Can you cut these while I finish cooking this?" He waves to the cutting board that has an onion and green pepper sitting on top.

"Sure." I settle onto the barstool and start chopping.

Luca insisted I stay in the shower after he cleaned himself. He wanted to get the pizza started. I was speechless when he told me he was making it from scratch. A lot of men cook. I'm just used to growing up in a household where my mother did it all.

Dad can't cook to save his life.

Mom taught me over the years and while I'm not as good as her, I can make a decent meal. I would've shown Luca that already if he hadn't been avoiding coming home the weeks prior to my kidnapping. That's something I want to discuss with him. Was he avoiding me? Or was he just that busy at work? If only seeing him at night will be the norm? I'm afraid I won't be okay with that in the long term. I know myself—I'll be lonely in this relationship if that's how it'll be. Needing to steer my thoughts away from this, I start talking.

"My mom will be thrilled to know you can cook homemade pizza. She works with an Italian woman at the school. An English teacher. Anyway, she's been teaching my mom how to make homemade pasta. Apparently, it's an old recipe from her grandma, who lives in Italy." I glance up from the pepper to find Luca gazing at me over his shoulder, his lips tipped with a hint of a smile. My heart warms as I realize he's been smiling more.

I clear my throat and lower my eyes before continuing, "She'll want you to teach her how to make the dough for sure." I wave the knife toward the dough resting on the counter. "And probably the sauce."

"She's welcome to come here anytime and I'll teach her." Luca shuts off the burner to the sausage, then takes the pan to the sink to drain the fat into a bowl.

I wait until he brings the dough to the island to stretch it out before asking what I really want.

"Do you mean it?" Finished with the green pepper, I start on the onion.

When I only get silence, I look up, and our gazes connect.

"I do." He arranges the dough on the pan and grabs the second one. "Although, if I'm smart, I'd wait until we are back in bed before having this conversation, so you can't run from me."

Surprised, I jerk my head back and frown. "Why would you think I'd run?"

"Finish cutting that onion, will ya? I want that knife away from your hands before we get too deep into this conversation."

My brows pinch tighter, but I do as he says. "That suggests there's something you've kept from me." I glance up, raising my eyebrow.

He nods. "There is, but I hope you'll understand some decisions I've made."

"Okay … I'm listening."

Luca starts on the third dough as he works through what he wants to say. Giving him time, I move to the sink to wash my hands.

Luca waits until I sit back down before he begins.

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