CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Eddie opened all of the windows, and fresh air moved through the cabin.
It was always the first thing his mom did whenever they came to the cabin.
While Lucia put away the groceries, he took all of the sheets off the furniture and set them aside.
As they worked, Eddie and Lucia shared heated glances and stealthy touches.
They’d even managed a few stolen kisses.
Ever since they’d said “I love you” to each other, all of those years apart seemed to melt away, and they were ready to pick up where they left off seventeen years ago.
But Isabella had only met Eddie a few days ago, and under the most extreme circumstances.
And now, not knowing anything about the history between them, she suddenly sees this …
stranger kissing her mom. Since she’d dealt with so much upheaval in her life the past few days, they’d agreed that telling her the truth about them might allay any confusion or concerns she might have.
Together, they sat her down at the table and gave her the high points of their shared pasts.
How they’d known each other since they were kids.
That Eddie and Mark grew up as best friends.
How her mom and him started dating in high school and fell in love.
Without going into great detail, they’d even shared how they broke up because of a big misunderstanding.
Something that could’ve been prevented by simply talking to each other.
“I still love your mom very much,” he told Isabella.
“And I love Eddie very much,” Lucia said. “So you might see us holding hands or kissing each other sometimes.”
Eddie asked her, “Do you have any questions?”
She’d given them both a long look, as if assessing the veracity of what they’d said, then she’d come to some sort of conclusion.
“Nope.” She hopped off the chair. “Can we go swimming now?”
“Um, sure.” Her easy acceptance caught him off guard. He’d been prepared for a barrage of questions.
They put on their bathing suits, slathered themselves with sunscreen, grabbed some towels, and headed outside.
Isabella held her floatie as Eddie clipped her into a bright orange life vest, then they all headed down to the river.
Lucia dragged her oversize T-shirt up her body and over her head, revealing a modest black one-piece suit that somehow managed to look sexy as hell on her. She put on the ball cap she’d borrowed from him, slipped on her sunglasses, and sat in one of the chairs on the dock.
“I’m going to jump in the water.” Isabella walked past her to the end of the dock with all of the confidence of an Olympic diver, stared down at the water, and froze in place. She took a step back and chewed her lip, just like her mom did whenever she was nervous or unsure.
“I have an idea,” Eddie said. “How about I get in the water and you can jump to me?”
“Um, okay.” Her smile was tentative, but he could tell she was determined to do it.
Eddie stepped into the cold water and sucked in a breath.
He decided it was best to just take the plunge, literally, so he walked out a few feet and dove out into the deeper water.
By the time he swam over to the dock, he’d grown accustomed to the temperature.
The water was about chest-high on him, and the bottom was sandy and smooth in the area around the dock, making it easy for him to plant his feet.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said.
She looked out over the rushing water, then back down at him, over at her mom. Her fingers fidgeted together, and her toes were curled over the edge of the wood.
“Isabella, sweetie.” Lucia gave her one of those warm, reassuring mom smiles. “You don’t need to be afraid. Eddie will catch you.”
He was struck by how deeply those words affected him. He loved this little girl, and yes, he would always be there to catch her.
“You can do it, kiddo.” He extended his arms and waited.
She sucked in a giant breath, plugged her nose with her fingers, and jumped.
He caught her before her face went underwater and held her to his chest.
Lucia clapped and cheered.
“You did it!” He hopped up and down, splashing them both with cool water.
“Mom, did you see me?” She wiped water from her face. “I jumped!”
“I sure did see you.” She leaned forward in her chair. “You were so brave.”
“I want to do it again.” She wriggled to be set free.
Eddie walked over to the shallower water, where she could stand on her own. The minute her feet hit the bottom of the river, she gingerly navigated her way over the smooth rocks and ran straight to the end of the dock.
She probably jumped ten more times, getting a bit more daring each time and asking him to back up a little.
“Lucia, why don’t you give Eddie a break and sit in your floatie for a little bit.” Lucia stood and carried her floatie to the end of the dock.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about my floatie!”
Eddie carried her over, lifted her out of the water, and set her on her butt on the dock.
“Let me just tie it off.” He grabbed the nylon ski rope that he’d brought down from the cabin, looped one end around the dock pilings and tied it off, and threaded the other end through a handle on her floatie.
“Your floatie awaits, madame.” She giggled when he reached up to grab her by the waist, and then he waited until she was settled in the floatie before letting go of her. “You good?”
“Yep.” She nodded.
Lucia’s phone alarm chimed.
“Time to start dinner.” She pushed up from her chair and gathered up her shirt and towel. “I’ll give you a shout when it’s ready.”
He watched her walk away, thoroughly enjoying the sway of her hips and how her suit showed off her heart-shaped ass.
The second the door closed behind her, Isabella, sitting in her silly floating doughnut, grilled him like a seasoned investigator.
“Are you super sure you still love my mom? Like super-duper positive?” Something about her question made him think she had reason to be concerned. “Because my mom and dad used to love each other, but they don’t anymore.”
Ah, there it is.
He and Lucia really hadn’t had any time to talk about her marriage and the reason it didn’t survive. Reina had told him Isabella was only three when they got divorced, but it had obviously affected her deeply. He hoped when things calmed down, Lucia would open up to him about what happened.
But right now, he needed to reassure this little girl.
“Cross my heart and hope to die, I absolutely do love your mom.” He crossed his heart and held up his hand. “And guess what else.”
“What?”
“I love her today even more than I did yesterday.” His heart was healing with each moment he spent with Lucia, seeing her strength and the way she was with her daughter.
The darkness of the world he worked in, and all of the time he’d lost with his family in order to keep them safe, no longer hovered over him like a black cloud.
“Are you going to get married?” Isabella certainly didn’t pull any punches.
“How would you feel about that?” Eddie was in for the long haul with Lucia and Isabella.
“It would be okay.” She’d looked away, then back to him, and knocked the wind out of him with her next question. “Would I have to leave when you get married?”
“Would you—” The poor kid. He moved through the water, placed a hand on either side of her floatie, and turned her to face him. “You and your mom are a package deal, kiddo. Where she goes, you go. So, no, you won’t have to leave.”
Her little shoulders visibly softened.
“Yay!” She gave him a huge smile, then surprised the hell out of him when she pushed her way up and out of the floatie and threw her arms around his neck to hug him. “Can we go out there?” She pointed toward the middle of the river.
“Okay, but you need to hang on to me.” Eddie walked out until the water was to his chest. He kept his back to the rush of water and held her in front of him.
She’d trusted him enough to jump out of her floatie and have him take her to the center of the river because she instinctively knew he would be there to catch her and to keep her from floating away.
Eddie’s work with the NSA had been dangerous but essential to help curb the flow of illicit drugs into the US. And his work with Dark Ops had help saved countless women and children from human trafficking. But for the first time ever, Isabella’s trust in him made him feel like a goddamn super hero.
They’d remained there for a few more minutes, chatting about her friends, how she wanted a kitten, until she shivered in his arms. Her lips shook, but he had a feeling she’d never admit to being cold.
“Ya know what, I’m getting kinda cold,” he said. “Want to go inside?”
“Sure.” Her response was immediate. “But only if you want to.”
“I do want to.” He walked back to the water’s edge and carried her up to the riverbank and across the yard to the cabin.
“Let’s take off this life jacket.” He carefully set her down on the bottom porch step, unclipped her life vest, and lifted it over her head. “Why don’t you go inside and take a warm shower, and I’ll grab your floatie.”
“Thanks, Eddie.” She gave him another hug and dashed into the cabin.
He hung the vest over the porch railing and had a smile on his face the whole way to the dock.
He plucked her floatie from the water and checked their surroundings on his way back to the cabin.
He jogged up the steps, leaned the floatie against the wall, and checked their surroundings one last time before heading inside.
Lucia was in the kitchen stirring something on the stove. She must’ve showered, because her hair was wet, and she’d twisted it up in some sort of gravity-defying knot. She wore a pair of loose shorts and a pink tank top that hugged her curves and showed off her beautiful bronze skin.
He checked for the sound of water running in the bathroom, then walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She stopped stirring, leaned back against him, and rested her head on his shoulder. Which gave him free access to drag his lips down the side of her gorgeous neck.
“Isabella’s in the shower?” She smelled like flowers.
“Yeah, she said you got cold and that’s why she got out of the river.” She twisted the knob to shut off the burner, turned and draped her arms over his neck. “It was sweet of you to say that, by the way.”
“The poor kid was shaking and her lips were turning blue, but there was no way she’d ever admit to being cold.” So Eddie took the hit.
“Yeah, I’m afraid she might’ve gotten some of her stubbornness from me.” Lucia blushed at her sheepish admission.
“I never considered you to be stubborn.” Eddie stroked his hand up and down her back. “You’ve just always known what you wanted and refused to accept anything less.”
“You were always so supportive of me.” She lowered her arms so they were tucked between them and flattened her hands on his bare chest. “And you made me feel like I could do anything I set my mind to.”
“Because you can.” He’d always been in awe of her and had always considered himself to be incredibly lucky that she chose him. And to know she’d chosen him again, after he’d been such a selfish prick, made him even more determined never to lose her again.
Thoughts of Rodrigo targeting them stoked a killing urge within Eddie. One he’d never experienced before. Yes, sometimes killing was a byproduct of his work, but those animals had needed killing.
Rodrigo needed killing, too.
He blinked away those toxic thoughts when he felt Lucia’s soft hands on the side of his face.
“Where did you go just now?” Her brows tugged together, and she stroked his cheek with her thumb. “You were thinking of Munoz, weren’t you?”
“I have to end him, Lucia. You know that, right?”
“Of course, and I understand why.” Her hands still on his face, she leaned closer, and her tone was firm.
“Aside from all of the other destructive, heinous things that man and his family are responsible for—that asshole tried to take my daughter,” she said.
“I like knowing he won’t be able to get to her or hurt anyone ever again. ”
“I love you, Lucia Santos.”
“And I love you, Eddie Calabretta.”
Their mouths connected, and he turned and backed her up until her butt was against the edge of the counter.
He cupped her ass in his hands and lifted her up to sit on the counter.
She widened her legs, and he moved to stand between them.
He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her into him, letting her feel how she affected him.
“I swear to God, Lucia, if I don’t have you soon, I’m going to erupt.” Eddie punctuated his statement with a deep, probing kiss.
Just as things were really beginning to heat up, he heard the distinctive squeak from the shower faucet turning to shut off the water.
“Mooom,” Isabella shouted. “I need a towel!”
They broke their kiss, their breaths heavy as they rested their foreheads against each other.
“You take care of her, and I’m going to step outside and check around the cabin before I shower.” He reeled her back in for another kiss when she started to pull away. “Tonight, after she goes to bed, you’re mine.”
He gave her a last quick kiss, adjusted himself, and headed outside.
Eddie needed to put some space between him and Lucia, because resisting her was becoming more difficult with each kiss.