Page 105 of Lorenzo's Claim

“Wait a minute, why? You wanted it down before. What’s with the sudden change?” he questioned, furrowing his brows.

“If you want the truth, I don’t want the food to get wet.” I laughed as his expression changed from confused to what the hell is wrong with you in a split second.

“So, it’s okay for my car to get messed up but not the food, am I right?” He was taken aback, but did what I asked without another word.

“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.” I kissed his cheek hastily which caused his lips to split into a smile. It was writtenall over his face that those kinds of small gestures were new to him, and honestly, they were to me, too.

I was changing day by day, and so was he.

32

Anastacia had already gone upstairswhile I found the guys to give them the incredible amount of food Ana had ordered for them.

“Evening. Ana got you all some food, enjoy.” I placed the food on the coffee table before turning to leave.

“Hold up, Renzo,” Red called. “How was the date?”

“It was different, but honestly, I loved every second.” I smiled, something that was rare to them over the years.

“Fuck! He’s smiling!” Finn teased. “Nah, just kidding, Boss. You do look happy, though.”

“Are you?” Gino asked, questions coming from all angles.

“You know what, I think I am.” I genuinely was, and the woman upstairs was the reason. “She makes me feel…things. Things I haven’t felt before.”

Red raised an eyebrow, his voice laced with a mix of banter and sincerity. “Things like love, maybe?”

The four letter word hung in the air like a challenge. “I don’t know what love is,” I scoffed. “I’ve never had the luxury of figuring that out, never wanted to, never needed to.”

The room fell silent, the weight of my words pressing down on them. I wasn’t one to open up, especially about something as vulnerable as emotions. But tonight, there was a crack in the armour I usually wore so effortlessly. Red leaned forward, his tone softening. “You don’t have to know what it is, mate. You just have to know how it feels. And if she makes you feel something you’ve never felt before, maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s love.”

“Maybe, but it’s too early to say it even if that is what I’m feeling.” I cleared my throat.

Emmet shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “You’re an idiot, you know that? If you feel it, just fucking say it. You’re lucky you’ve got this second chance with her. Don’t waste it. You’ve already wasted enough time.”

My thoughts drifted to the early days with her, something I was doing a lot of lately. I treated her like just another piece in my carefully constructed world, but when I treated her better, she started to let me in and show me who she truly was. And not the woman she had been taught to be, but the woman she longed to be.

“I fucked up in the beginning,” I admitted. “You all know it. I just didn’t want to listen. I should’ve been better to her.”

Red clapped me on the shoulder, his grip firm and reassuring. “You’ve got all the time in the world to make it up to her now. Don’t fuck it up again.”

I nodded, though my mind was already upstairs with Anastacia. I thought about the way her eyes lit up when she saw the bowling alley, the way her cheeks blushed the perfect shade of pink when I kissed her in the rain. If what I felt was love, I didn’t want it to end. She was the one in my life I never wanted to lose.

“Right, I’m off to bed, enjoy your food.” I held my hand up in a see you later gesture before making my way upstairs.

I never cared much about the future before. I couldn't have cared less if I lived or died, but because of her that wasn’t the case anymore. I wanted to find out what my future held, and I wanted to find out with her.

I entered our bedroom as Anastacia was brushing her hair at the vanity, the mirror reflected her image, a woman who had learned to navigate a world she was probably never meant for. She wore nothing more than one of my T-shirts. It drowned her frame.

“There you are. Now we can eat.” She clipped her hair up in a damp bun on top of her head before sitting crossed-legged on the bed, our food surrounding her.

“You waited?” I asked, relieving myself of my damp clothes. “You could have started.”

“Either we eat together or not at all.”

“Is that our new family motto?” I asked, slipping on some sweats.

“I think it might be, yeah.” She patted the bed beside her, her eyes shining with happiness.

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