Page 65 of Pucking Tangled
He claimed her in a way that was unexpected.
Hewas unexpected.
“Hey,” she said softly as he walked into his room.
His head snapped up, and she could see the pain in his eyes.
Mia played with the hem of her shirt and bit her lip, nervously. “I…uh…I heard you and Waylon talking.”
Luca sighed. “Of course you did.”
“I wasn’t trying to?—”
“It’s fine,” he said quickly. Too quickly. Like he really didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “You don’t have to explain. I get it.”
Her brows furrowed. “But do you, really?”
Luca ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the ceiling. “You told me what you wanted. I knew that wasn’t just me. I just…I guess I didn’t think it would feel like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m already losing you.”
The words hit her like a sucker punch.
She rose to her feet and stepped closer to him, reaching out and lacing her fingers in his. “You’re not,” she said quietly. “Luca, last night wasreal. Every second of it. It will be itched in my mind forever.”
His jaw clenched, giving her the impression that he was unconvinced. “Fucking, Waylon. He came at you so fast. And you let him.”
Another sucker punch right in the heart.
“I didn’texpecthim to do that.”
“And yet, you didn’t stop him, either. You let it happen.”
Mia exhaled shakily.
He finally looked at her. His eyes were glassy, rimmed red, vulnerable in a way that broke her heart.
“I know it’s selfish,” he whispered. “But I wanted more time.”
“You can have it,” she said. “Youhaveme. Just because I want more than one of you doesn’t mean what I feel foryouis any less.”
His throat worked as he tried to swallow the emotion down.
“Luca, what we share will always mean something to me.”
“I don’t want to be your favorite for a night,” he said. “I want to be youralways.Even if I have to share it.”
Mia stepped into him fully, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek to his chest. His arms came around her, slow and uncertain at first—then tight and desperate. Like she was his lifeline and he was trying to remember how to breathe.
“You are. You’ll always be the one who brought me back to life. The one who mended my jaded heart and showed me a light that I didn’t know I was missing. Nothing will ever change that. I’m not going to replace you or forget you. I can’t explain it, Luca. I’m sorry, I can’t. But, each one of you holds their own place in my heart. No favorites. Equals.”
Luca rested his head on top of hers and held on tighter, like he was trying hard to believe her.
“Trust me. Trustus.We’ll figure it all out.”
“I sure hope so,” he finally said.
