Chapter 15 #2
This was her surprise. She hadn’t had any surprises since her birthdays as a kid. La’Nova’s chest rose with a slow breath.
“I want this.” He gestured around him slowly with his hands. “To feel like home, a safe space for you.” He stepped into her personal space, licking his lips.
“I like the camper, I plan on getting you a bigger one,” Luca smiled. “A camper that will take me you and the boys on road trips, see different places for the first time,” he whispered the last part quietly.
He couldn’t wait to formerly introduce the boys to La’Nova. He just couldn’t see himself doing so with her still being unsure of marrying him.
“You really like me?” La’Nova asked the question in disbelief.
Her eyes glanced over at the light and dark purple moonflowers. Luca was intentional with picking those flowers. He read that the flowers symbolized renewal and growth.
“Say that again?” he whispered.
Luca heard exactly what she asked and almost couldn’t believe it. Why wouldn’t he like her? When he felt more than like with her. He looked down into La’Nova’s glassy eyes, the mental battle was evident on her pretty face.
“Do you… really like me?”
The question came out small. She still sounded like she was in disbelief. Seeing her standing before him so fragile and unsure broke something in Luca.
Luca’s brows drew together; his gaze didn’t wander, nor did he deflect.
“Certainly,” he responded.
The word came out smooth, laced with truth. He stepped closer, closing the space between them until she could feel the heat of him. His expression shifted, jaw tight, eyes dark with something unguarded and raw.
“You beautiful as fuck, Nova Baby,” he said seriously. “Raw as it gets, unapologetically and disrespectfully.” He winked.
Her breath hitched. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and Luca caught it before it could hit her chest.
“You walked in my mom’s office my first day getting out of prison like you were the fuckin’ boss. That vanilla scent mixed with cigarette smoke is a hell of a combination that I never smelled on a woman before.” Luca smiled.
La’Nova blushed and giggled softly. She thought back to her first time seeing Luca. The way he signed swiftly with his hands telling Lucille that she would be his wife was still vivid in her mind.
“I love you scar, it’s honest and tell the truth before your mouth do…” He cleared his throat and felt a faint sharp pain lodged there. “It makes me feel connected to you… our scars tell similar painful stories of betrayal, trauma… and so much pain.” His words trailed off.
“That’s why I’m not pressing you to open up to me… I’m confident that with time you will feel comfortable enough.” His hand slid around her waist, he pulled her up against him and breathed her in.
Tears slid down her cheeks freely now. Luca said nothing but took his time pecking each salty tear away.
“You fought for kids that ain’t even yours.” His voice cracked just enough to show the emotion under it.
“My like turned into something else,” he admitted. “A feeling I won’t ignore, Nova baby. I’m a patient and very observant man.” He kissed the top of her forehead.
La’Nova held her breath, knowing that he was going to kiss her scar. He made sure to pay the deep wound attention every time he was in close proximity to her. He’d kiss it, rub it, and eye it with adoration. It all made La’Nova feel special and seen.
La’Nova shook her head slightly, overwhelmed by his words. Her fingers glided up his muscular arms and stopped mid arm.
“I don’t… I don’t know how to take all of what you said. It’s sort of new territory for me,” she muttered, looking away nervously.
Luca leaned his forehead against hers. Instinctively, La’Nova’s soft fingertips rubbed against the rigid deep lines surrounding his scar on his neck.
Finally, her fingers glided over the deep cut.
She felt Luca’s chest rise and fall sharply.
He took in a deep breath, inhaled her soft spicy scent again and released it.
“You don’t gotta take it. Just… know it,” he whispered before pulling away gently.
He rested his hand at the small of her back, then firmly guided her toward the door.
Although Luca’s guidance and presence felt strong behind her, La’Nova’s steps turned into baby steps out of nervousness.
She wondered what he could possibly have behind the massive double doors considered a gift for her.
She wasn’t used to being the person people thought about in that way.
Birthdays were considered regular, nothing to celebrate after her parent’s died.
Holidays she spent alone, not wanting to see other people’s happiness in unwrapping their gifts sharing love and joy.
She knew Lucille only got her small gifts such as perfumes and gift cards because she worked her ass off making Lucille’s job easier.
It was nothing but an incentive to keep her satisfied and working.
La’Nova didn’t even know what was behind the doors but knew that Luca put thought into it.
He spent time thinking about it, money and effort and that meant a lot to her already.
Her throat tightened, not from sadness, but from shock of even being considered.
Her pulse thudded in her ears as Luca opened the front oak door.
“Four bedrooms,” he explained, stepping to the side. “I haven’t really spent much time in this part of the property since it’s all new.” He pointed down the hall just as La’Nova stepped in slowly.
A full kitchen that looked modern but cozy gleamed ahead.
“This is really nice, Luca.” La’Nova marveled at the space around her.
The floors mirrored the same as the main house.
She inhaled the citrus fresh smell then eyed the all-white leather sectional before you made it to the open kitchen area.
There was a full bar with different bottles of liquor with crystal glass cups turned upside down.
Six barstools circled around the bar, and across from it was a huge TV that covered half of the wall.
So far the east wing looked like a nice getaway house meant for vacation.
They passed a room that she stopped to look inside of.
It was a full library with shelves already lined perfectly with books.
She loved that there were plenty of comfortable cloud couches in different areas with throw blankets and pillows to get cozy and read in.
Big floor to ceiling windows offered a peaceful view of the massive backyard and palm trees.
Luca watched La’Nova with a satisfied expression.
Her eyes were full of life and excitement.
His eyes couldn’t stop roaming her thick body as she turned and checked out every part of the library.
Next, he showed her all of the storage rooms tucked away discreetly.
When he took her to the theatre room, La’Nova went on and on about how Cain and Abel would love a movie night with him there.
Luca noted that; he constantly thought of things to do with the boys.
His biggest fear was them growing bored living there.
He wanted them in sports and lots of activities to keep them busy and to make up for whatever trauma they’d already experienced.
It also made Luca even more happy with his decision that he made weeks ago when he was still undecided about La’Nova.
Here she was about to get a surprise gift and still she thought of the boys outside of herself. He led her confidently to the last door at the end of the hall. The door was white with a purple bow tied to the handle with moonflowers woven through it.
Luca stepped to the side, nodded his head then whispered.
“For you, Nova baby.”
“This room?” She asked timidly.
“Yes,” Luca said, anxious to see if she liked what was inside of the room.
La’Nova walked up to the door, paused and looked back at Luca.
He shook his head no, not wanting to hear her praise him with thanks.
To him, this was something small, something that needed to be done.
It was a step in to making her feel comfortable and to welcome peace in her life while opening her mind to other things that could be looked at as therapy.
Gently, she removed the bow tied to the handle.
With shaky hands she opened the door, and the sight before her nearly made her knees go out.
She took three steps inside and let her emotions consume her.
The gesture was the sweetest and biggest thing to La’Nova, making her realize just how much Luca had paid attention to her.
A fuckin’ art room… She stood, taking in every small and big detail of the room. Lavender painted walls, with huge windows big enough to let the natural light shine through during the day. There were long tables with dark purple painted shelves reachable with supplies neatly arranged.
Before La’Nova knew it, she walked around the space, already claiming it with pride.
She inhaled the room and could smell the warm and soft smell of vanilla mixed with a hint of lavender.
In the center of the room sat an oversized velvet chaise lounge in deep royal purple.
Throw pillows embroidered with her initials made it feel like all hers even more.
Across from it was a sleek drafting table.
On top were sketchbooks stacked neatly on one end and coloring books that she noticed right away.
“Wait a minute, Luca!!!” She squealed and ran over to the desk sounding like a kid in a candy store.
“I know you fuckin’ didn’t man!” She drawled, giggling.
Luca chuckled, licking his lips. Chest filled with pride, he nodded his head as she picked up the coloring books.
“How did you know??!!!” She frowned with a playful expression on her face.
“I’ve been being so cheap! I love Coco Michele Illustrations!” She jumped up and down.
“These are her new wire bound Coloring with Coco books. Oh my God!!!” She thumbed through the pages rapidly, stopping at some, imagining the different shades of colors she would use to make the white and black pictures come to life.
“Ohuhu markers? Glitter markers? State of the art coloring pencils!” She screamed, carefully sitting down the stack of coloring books to marvel at the supplies he bought to go with it.
“Most of it was on your Pinterest… I did some snooping on your fake social media accounts to see what you searched the most,” Luca revealed with not an ounce of shame.
“You really did all of this?” La’Nova looked around in disbelief.
“Took a little time… Roy helped me too.” He smoothly slid a good word in about Roy.
La’Nova rolled her eyes, still smiling through her tears.
“This is—” La’Nova shook her head.
“It’s—” She searched her mind for the proper words.
“For you, Nova baby.” Luca cut through all of her reservations and closed the space with five long strides.
She melted in his arms. Naturally, her hands found his lower back. She hugged him tightly, not realizing just how bad she needed a hug. A small sob escaped her before she could stop it.
“I don’t expect nothing in return… I’m not trying to control you or force you to do anything. I want you comfortable and happy while we get to know each other better.” He leaned down and placed his nose in the middle of her kinky fro that rested on the crown of her head.
La’Nova continued to weep softly in his arms. He tenderly massaged the tension out of her neck and shoulders as he continued to express himself. Something he wasn’t used to but felt like it was worth it since he knew it would take more than actions to get La’Nova to open up to him.
“When I got out of prison…” He cleared his throat.
“I got out with nothing but vengeance on my mind. I conditioned my heart not to feel shit for what all I had planned out. I lost the only person that took their time to love me, accept me, and show me things outside of the mafia. Then I saw you…” Luca swallowed down his own emotions, he didn’t want to waver in the moment with his own battles.
He had to be her strength in her state of vulnerability. La’Nova wasn’t the type of woman to openly break down and cry in front of anyone. It didn’t matter to Luca that it was tears of joy coming from her right now.
“I saw so many things from you the first time I saw you. Whatever pain that radiated off of you in my mom’s office tangled with my own pain.
It’s not the same, but in a sense it’s familiar.
It’s the type of feeling that makes you feel permanently damaged…
unfixable pain that you try to figure out how to navigate through life with… ”
La’Nova blinked back her tears and looked Luca in the eyes. She wondered how a man like Luca could come from a man who killed her parents. How did she allow herself to even feel so connected and concerned for him as each day went pass?
She wanted to hate Luca. He was Kentrell’s brother, and the only Bonetti that she deemed as decent was Lucille to a certain extent.
She looked at Lucille with a strong side because of House of Angels.
While it was supposed to help save women from pimps and traffickers, Lucille sometimes embraced her role acting like the women’s pimps once she realized they wanted to continue to use their bodies since that was all they knew from the beginning.
La’Nova wanted to fall for Luca but knew once the truth came out about who she was and what all she did for Kentrell… Death would be her only sentence from Luca.
Luca continued to pour into her, caress her with so much intention that it made her cry harder. She ugly cried, her soul poured out in each tear she dropped. She closed her eyes, not wanting to take in the space, the gift that Luca took the time to surprise her with.
Her mind went back into survival mode. She thought about the money she had saved, the blackmail that Kentrell held over her head.
La’Nova thought about all the possibilities and weighed the good with bad.
The longer she kept her camper parked at Luca’s estate, the more she considered herself playing with Luca’s emotions as well as her own.
She made a silent decision to leave quietly and run far away from the Bonetti family. Fuck the hidden money and fuck Kentrell. Luca didn’t deserve to fall for who he would one day consider his enemy.
“The ball is in your court, Nova Baby,” Luca whispered, cutting right into La’Nova’s deep thoughts. “We going your pace. I’m not running from this… I hope you don’t either.”
Luca leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead, then her temple, letting each touch say what his voice still struggled to express.
I have to run. I’m so sorry… La’Nova thought.