EPILOGUE
The Whole World
Luca
“Luca.”
Simone says my name against my mouth while unfastening my shirt.
Her short black dress is gathered around her hips, and her thighs bracket mine in the driver’s seat of my car.
Rain streaks the windows.
The parking garage beneath the building is almost empty.
We were supposed to drive home after celebrating the final approval of my company’s licenses.
Instead, Simone climbed onto my lap before I started the engine.
I slide two fingers through the wet heat between her legs.
Her breath catches.
“Do you know what I dislike?”
“Waiting?”
“When you pretend not to know what I want.”
I circle her clit once.
Her hips jerk.
“I know exactly what you want.”
“Then give it to me.”
I withdraw my fingers.
Simone makes an offended sound.
I bring them to my mouth and taste her.
Her brown eyes darken.
“You’re an asshole.”
“You love me.”
“Unfortunately.”
I grip her hips.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.”
The answer is immediate.
“Do you want me to fuck you?”
“Yes.”
She reaches for my belt.
“Right now.”
I let her open it.
Her fingers shake with impatience as she frees my cock.
I’m already painfully hard.
Simone’s gaze drops.
Her lips part.
“You’ve been thinking about this all evening.”
“I’ve been watching you in that dress.”
“You bought it.”
“I didn’t anticipate how little of it would remain in place.”
“That sounds like poor planning for a security expert.”
I push her underwear aside.
“Same rules?”
“Still on the pill. Still tested. Still only you.”
“Only you.”
I position myself at her entrance.
She lowers herself slowly.
Heat closes around me.
My head falls back against the seat.
“Fuck.”
Simone’s hands grip my shoulders as she takes every inch.
Her eyes close.
A quiet moan leaves her.
“Good?”
“So good.”
She begins moving.
Slowly at first.
Her hips roll against mine while the windows fog around us.
I hold her waist and guide her rhythm.
Her head tips back.
Dark hair spills down her spine.
The emerald ring I gave her weeks ago does not exist yet.
But I can already imagine it on her hand.
I have imagined it every day since buying it.
Simone braces one palm against the steamed window.
The other grips the headrest.
She lifts and lowers herself over me, taking me deeper each time.
Watching her always destroys something inside me.
The control.
The distance.
Every old belief that I should deny myself anything this perfect.
“You feel so good,” I tell her.
Her movements quicken.
“You’re not terrible either.”
I slap her ass lightly.
She gasps.
“Rude.”
“You like rude.”
“Sometimes.”
I slide one hand between us and rub her clit.
Her body tightens.
The next roll of her hips becomes unsteady.
“Luca.”
“I’ve got you.”
I increase the pressure.
Her forehead drops to mine.
“I’m close.”
“Come for me.”
She shakes her head.
“You first.”
“Stubborn.”
“Always.”
I thrust upward.
The angle makes her cry out.
Her muscles clamp around me.
“Again,” she demands.
I do.
Then again.
Simone breaks.
Her orgasm moves through her in trembling waves.
Her nails dig into my shoulders while she comes around me.
The tight pulses pull me over the edge with her.
I grip her hips and bury myself deep.
Heat releases inside her.
For several seconds, neither of us can breathe.
Then Simone collapses against my chest.
Her laughter begins quietly.
Mine follows.
We sit wrapped around each other inside the fogged car, damp with sweat and completely incapable of behaving like responsible adults.
I stroke her back beneath the open dress.
“Worth ruining your makeup?”
“Barely.”
“You screamed my name.”
“I was thinking about someone else.”
I bite her shoulder.
She laughs harder.
The air-conditioning begins clearing the windows.
Simone remains on my lap, my cock softening inside her.
Her cheek rests against my chest.
This is my favorite version of silence.
Not empty.
Peaceful.
“I signed the first client today,” I tell her.
She raises her head.
“What?”
“The firm.”
Her eyes widen.
“You signed someone?”
“A touring actress with a persistent stalker. Her manager contacted me through Bran.”
“That’s enormous.”
“It’s one client.”
“It’s your first client.”
She takes my face between both hands.
“You’re officially in business.”
“Officially.”
A radiant smile spreads across her face.
“I’m so proud of you.”
The words still affect me.
Every time.
“I have two protection specialists starting next month and a threat analyst joining after she finishes her current contract.”
“You hired a woman?”
“Yes.”
“Is she beautiful?”
I stare at her.
Simone narrows her eyes.
“I’m asking professionally.”
“She’s fifty-eight and has three grandchildren.”
“Good.”
“You’re impossible.”
“And yet you’re obsessed with me.”
“Unfortunately.”
She kisses my mouth repeatedly.
“We need a party.”
“No.”
“A small party.”
“No.”
“Dinner with twenty people.”
“That is not small.”
“Fine. Twelve.”
“Six.”
“Ten.”
“Eight.”
“Deal.”
She settles against me again.
I brush my fingertips over the damp hair at her neck.
“Today wasn’t only about the company.”
“What else?”
I reach toward the glove compartment.
Simone shifts back enough to watch me open it.
Inside waits a small velvet box.
Every trace of teasing leaves her face.
She stares at it.
Then at me.
“Luca.”
My pulse accelerates more violently than it did while confronting an armed man backstage.
I remove the box.
Simone remains very still.
“Is that—”
“Yes.”
Her eyes fill immediately.
I open the lid.
An oval emerald rests at the center of the ring, surrounded by small white diamonds. Delicate vines are engraved along the band.
The stone reminded me of the island.
Of forest and ocean.
Of the first time I stopped running from what I wanted.
Simone covers her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
“I had a speech.”
“You did?”
“I practiced it.”
“That’s adorable.”
“You’re interrupting.”
She lowers her hand but continues crying.
“I’m listening.”
I remove the ring.
“I spent most of my life believing happiness belonged to other people.”
My voice is rough.
“I thought my future had already been written by my father’s death, my responsibilities, and every debt I believed I owed.”
Simone’s tears spill over.
“Then you crashed through every wall I built.”
A watery laugh escapes her.
“You challenged me. Terrified me. Made me want things I had convinced myself I didn’t deserve.”
I take her left hand.
“You taught me that love isn’t a debt or an obligation.”
My thumb moves over her knuckles.
“It’s a choice.”
Her fingers tighten around mine.
“And I choose you, Simone.”
“Every day?”
“Every day.”
My throat closes around the next words.
“I don’t want another morning, another argument, another impossible moment unless I know I get to face it with you.”
Her smile trembles.
“I love your arrogance. Your bravery. Your ridiculous spending habits.”
“Careful.”
“Your music. Your softness.”
I lift her hand toward my mouth.
“All the parts you show the world and every part you trust only to me.”
I kiss her knuckles.
“Marry me.”
Simone releases a broken laugh.
“Duh.”
I stare at her.
“That’s your answer?”
“You made me wait years for you.”
She wipes at her cheeks.
“I’m making you wait three seconds.”
“Simone.”
“Yes.”
The word emerges through laughter and tears.
“Yes, Luca. Of course I’ll marry you.”
Relief hits so powerfully that I almost drop the ring.
I slide it onto her finger.
The emerald catches the low garage lighting.
Simone stares at it.
“I can’t believe this.”
“You said yes.”
“I’m going to marry a fan.”
“I’m reconsidering.”
She throws both arms around my neck.
I hold her as tightly as I can without hurting her.
She kisses me through tears.
Mouth.
Cheek.
Jaw.
Everywhere she can reach.
“I love you.”
I lift her hand and kiss the ring.
“I love you too.”
“I can’t wait to be your wife.”
The words settle inside me.
Permanent.
Chosen.
Mine only because she wants to be.
“I can’t wait to be your husband.”
I kiss her slowly.
The kind of kiss that holds no fear, no almost, and no goodbye.
For years, I stood at the edge of Simone’s life and convinced myself that was enough.
Now she’s in my arms.
Her ring is on her finger.
Our future is waiting beyond the fogged windows.
I used to believe the Rocheforts gave me a home.
I was wrong.
Home was never a house, a job, or a place someone allowed me to occupy.
Home is the woman laughing against my mouth.
I have the whole world right here in my arms.