Page 104 of Pucking Tangled
They all piled in his Expedition in record time and he drove like his license and the law didn’t matter.
Casey scanned his phone, furiously searching for updates.
Owen and Waylon were both making calls and sending messages to their agents and the team’s PR person, no doubt trying to do damage control.
But Luca? Luca was silent. His hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white.
He wasn’t surprised the world didn’t understand them. He’d been bracing for it, in fact, since the second Mia had first looked at him like he mattered. Like their group mattered.
But the part he couldn’t have ever prepared for was their private business going public and not being there to comfort her.
Did she regret what they’d done? Everything they’d shared? Was she ashamed?
He hated it, the not knowing.
Hated that people who didn’t know her would call her names.
Hated that the fragile, beautiful relationship they’d been building was now something people would laugh at in comments and group chats.
He didn’t want to be angry.
No. He wanted to burn the whole world to the ground and make it right.
When they pulled up to the building where Casey had tracked her phone to, they saw her sitting on the steps, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.
She looked small. Fragile.
And for the first time since they’d embarked on this wild, unconventional love story, she looked scared.
Before he even came to a complete stop, Waylon jumped out of the back seat and ran over to her. He scooped her up in his arms and carried back, tucking her inside and sliding in next to her.
“Mia,” Waylon said softly.
She blinked up at him, her bottom lip trembling just slightly. “I’m okay.”
“You’re not,” he replied, brushing her hair back from her face. “But you will be.”
“Give me your keys.” Casey held out his hand.
Mia pulled them from her pocket.
Owen put his hand over Casey’s. “Case, are you good to drive?”
Casey nodded. “I’ll be right behind you.” He leaned into the back seat and kissed Owen and Mia, one after the other. “See you at the house.”
“I didn’t want you guys to see me like this,” she cried as Luca tore out of the parking lot.
“We seeyou,” Luca said, his voice low. Steady. “That’s all that matters.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw her looking at Owen, her expression wrecked. “They’re saying awful things.” Her lip started to tremble again.
“They don’t get to have a say,” Waylon growled. “They don’t know us. They don’t knowyou.”
Mia’s breath hitched. “People are laughing at me, Waylon.”
Luca’s voice cracked, thick with emotion. “Let ’em laugh. We’re not fucking ashamed of you.”
“Luca’s right,” Owen agreed. “If anyone should be embarrassed, it’s the person who took those photos like a fucking stalker.”
