Page 23 of Luca
The flicker of hazel behind the mask.
Rough hands. Tangled sheets. Sweaty bodies.
His grunts. My moans.
I actually blushed, Luca taking it in with interest. His gaze flicked up and caught mine. It was invasive. It burned, like staring into a fire in the dark of night.
Something in my chest moved, then crackled and sparked.
Or maybe it was in my belly.
Yeah, definitely in my belly. Indigestion,I told myself, rubbing my belly.Heartburn was big in pregnant women.
“Margaret is too reckless to raise a child on her own,” my aunt reasoned.
Contempt pulsed through my veins. At my family. At this situation. At the King family. At Luca King.
It was irrational and absurd, but I couldn’t help it.
“And you’re too stuck up to see what’s in front of you,” I said calmly, although I wanted to scream the words back at her. Anger bubbled inside me like a volcano, spreading fire and heat in my chest, needing to erupt, overwhelming all other senses.
Shaking my head, I left them standing there.Let go of your anger.Breathe in. Breathe out.
I headed through the foyer and deeper into the family room. Once upon a time, this was almost like a second home. Even before father’s murder, my brothers and I spent more time here than at home.
And after my father's death, we were here all the time. I came to think of Uncle as my parent, rather than my mother. This estate was my home.
Yet now, it felt like a battlefield.
“Maggie.” Áine’s voice traveled through the room. Pulling her hand out of Cassio’s grip, she rushed towards me. “It’s been forever. Can I touch my little niece?”
A long pause, then I nodded.
She had been the only one besides me and my brothers to feel the baby’s kicks. There were enough people to love my baby girl. Yet, nothing would persuade my uncle or mother to let me do this alone.
Her palm covered my growing bump. A soft kick. Then another.
“Oh my,” she gushed. “She’s a kicker, huh?”
I felt my lips curve into a smile. The baby was the only thing that made me smile anymore.
“Probably a looker too, like her mother.” Luca’s voice came from behind me and a groan slipped through my lips. “Maybe a little devil in her eyes after her father.”
Thick tension permeated the air. Suffocating and deafening.
Leave it to tactless Luca to bring up a father. The name every Callahan family member wanted. Including myself. It’d be nice to have that little piece of information for my baby girl when she was ready.
Instead, all I had was one clue. A Prince Albert piercing. It wasn’t exactly a smoking gun. But how could I face my little princess with only that piece of information for her paternity?
I couldn’t.
“Have you thought of a name?” Áine tried to break the silence.
I shook my head. I had gone through books and Google pages of names. None of the names spoke to me.
“She’ll have a strong Irish name, of course,” Uncle interjected. “After Grandma or Great-Grandma.”
I cringed. It wasn’t as if I hated Irish names, but I wanted a special, unique name for my baby girl. It didn’t escape me he didn’t reference my mother. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have a beautiful name. Although it was tainted by her actions.Maevewould forever be a hard pass for me as a name.
