Page 139 of Luca
Just to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.
I strode into my daughter’s bedroom to find her sleeping, her curly black hair sprawled over the pillows and covers tossed onto the floor. Even in her sleep she smiled.
Picking up the blanket off the floor, I covered her small body. Her eyes fluttered open.
“Pàpa,” she murmured sleepily.
“Shhh,” I rasped softly. “Go back to sleep, princess.”
She sighed and turned to the side. “Night, Pàpa.”
“Good night, my little princess.”
Keeping my steps soft, I exited her room and headed for my wife’s bedroom.
Dé-jà vu.
It took me back to those days when I watched her sleep under her mother’s roof. So much for personal growth.
I took a seat on the couch, on the right side of her bed. She slept as I remembered. She slept like our daughter. On her side, with a soft smile on her lips. The moon’s light glowed through the window, reflecting against her dark hair. The moon cast her in a soft glow, making her look like the Madonna from one of the old renaissance paintings.
I loved her. With every breath. With every heartbeat. With every thought.
The moment the eyes of that five-year-old girl connected with mine, I wanted to protect her. Those ocean blue depths fascinated me. Something in her eyes spoke to me. That night in Temptation, I knew she was mine. I had been hers all along.
She wanted to go back to her family. I couldn’t let that happen.
My heart twisted with pain.
I just got her back and she already wanted to leave me. With my daughter!
Lost in thought, I watched my wife sleep, the even rise and fall of her chest as she slept. At least she had enough peace to sleep. After years of restlessness while searching for her, sleep was hard to find.
“What are you doing here?” Her soft voice pulled my attention back to her.
My lips twisted. I had been sitting in her room every night once I received enough. It was the only peace I found at night.
“You look beautiful, mia bella,” I murmured, watching her. She didn’t move, her body stilled as she kept her eyes glued to me.
“Why are you here?” she demanded quietly, ignoring my compliment. Her expression was soft, but cautious. As if she worried that my next words would hurt her.
A sardonic breath left me. I’d rather cut my dick off than hurt her. She was everything to me.Mia vita.My life.
“Because I can’t let you go.” Something tired lingered behind my eyes and my words. The last three years had aged me. I was fucking exhausted. “Because I love you. Because I fucking need you so much that it steals my breath away.”
The meaning of the words drifted through the bedroom. Hers. It should be ours, but we’d kept separate bedrooms so far.
Her eyes grabbed hold and hung on.
“What’s different now?” she said quietly. “You didn’t react to my declaration of love earlier.”
My jaw tightened. As far as I was concerned, it was pretty fucking simple. The two of us belonged together. We were meant to be together. I loved her so fucking much that I couldn’t stand to be away from her for a day. Yet, she stayed away from me for almost three damn years.
It made me feel weak. Unwanted. Not enough.
A heavy sigh filled the night.
“You need to go to your room and sleep, Luca.” She sounded resigned. Almost sad. “You need to be certain, and I don’t think you are. You want Penelope, I’m not sure that you want me.”
