Page 134 of The Temptation
“You do?”
“Yeah, Luc, I do.”
“What time do you want to head to Dante and Arabella’s?”
“We can go after this if you like. I know how much you missed your sister and niece when we were at the safe house.”
“I did,” I admit.
When Romeo finishes the last of his lunch, I shuffle to the edge of the bed. “I’ll just clean up the mess I made in the kitchen, get changed, and we can go.”
“Okay.” As I cross the room, heading for the door, he calls out my name. “Lucia.”
“Yeah,” I say, glancing back over my shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re here taking care of me.”
A smile tugs at my lips, even as a knot rises in the back of my throat.
His words linger, and for the first time, I let myself wonder if this isn’t just about survival for him anymore.
Is he finally accepting this? Acceptingme?
Could we actually make something of this sham marriage?
Something real.
Something true.
I want that more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.
Chapter 33
Romeo
I’m sitting in the kitchen with the Mancini clan—Dante, Arabella, Alexander, Chloe, and her parents—and even though I’ve always been part of theFamiglia, in this moment, I feel like I’m actually part ofthisfamily now. The other side of my best friend’s life that I’m not usually privy to.
Not the kind that’s bound by blood spilled and oaths. Theflesh and bloodkind. The messy, loud, fiercely loyal kind. The sort that argues over stupid shit and fights over the last slice of cake. The kind that doesn’t care where you’ve been or what you’ve done, just whether or not you’re staying for dinner.
It’s different.
It’s something I’ve never known.
And it didn’t go unnoticed when Lucia referred to her niece asours, either. She’s currently nursing Caterina, completely wrapped up in that tiny human. The way she looks at her, soft and full of wonder, it’s clear she’s completely besotted.
She commandeered her the second we walked in thedoor, much to Dante’s annoyance, and hasn’t released her since.
When she told me earlier that she didn’t really want kids of her own, I was surprised by how gutted that made me feel.
Is it possible I could want to go there with her?
I think maybe it is.
I know she’d be a great mother. I only have to look at the way she takes care of me to know that.
She always looked after me at the safe house, but that care has ramped up since I got out of the hospital. She’s even spoon-feeding me, for fuck’s sake. And I’m unashamedly lapping it up.
I tear my gaze away from her when I see Dante rise in my peripheral vision. He’s been normal with me since I arrived, and probably taking things easy on me while I’m recovering, but I know something is coming. I’d be a fool to believe otherwise.
