Luca
He stood and crossed the room to meet them. “What happened?” he asked, taking Sophia’s hand into his own.
“Let’s sit down, and I’ll tell you everything,” she promised, nodding to the table where Tony and Rocco were watching them.
“It’s not a big deal, really.” She pulled him along to the table, not giving him much of a choice in the matter.
Sophia was always a little bossy. It was one of the things that he liked about her.
Sophia fidgeted, and Aurora spoke up. “Some idiot thought it was a good idea to call her honey and block her path to the bathroom. But we handled it.”
Rocco’s chair scraped back an inch. “Which one is he?”
Sophia shot Rocco a look. “He walked away after Aurora told him to get lost. It’s fine. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
Luca didn’t miss the way her fingers curled around the strap of her purse or how she positioned herself closer to him when she sat down. His jaw tightened. He leaned in slightly, keeping his voice low. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” she said quickly. “He didn’t. Aurora stepped in before things escalated.
” Luca nodded once, forcing himself to sit back.
He trusted Aurora. If she said it was handled, it was handled.
Still, the familiar burn of restraint sat heavy in his chest. Between Pete and now this, it was becoming clear that Sophia had spent far too much time feeling unsafe in her life.
He used to believe that was just part of being a kid in the foster care system, but it still bothered him that he wasn’t there for her to help keep her safe.
That changed now, though. He was going to take care of her, whether she liked it or not.
And keeping her safe was now his top priority. ”
Sophia tipped her glass toward Aurora. “First round is on me.” She was trying to change the subject, and from the angry looks on Tony and Rocco’s faces, that was probably a good idea.
Aurora laughed softly. “You’re officially my favorite person.”
Tony scowled at her. “Hey, what about me? I thought that I was your favorite person.”
“Well, you can be my favorite person next, when you buy me my next drink,” Aurora teased, making them all laugh. The bartender came by, and Sophia ordered a vodka soda. Luca stuck with water. He was still in training, and if Jonesy found out that he had a drink, he’d murder him.
The conversation picked up easily after the drinks showed up.
Rocco talked about an upcoming fight. Tony complained about being outnumbered at home by his kids.
Aurora filled the gaps, teasing them all mercilessly.
And Sophia relaxed little by little, laughing more, leaning into Luca’s side like she belonged there.
And that did something to him. She fit too easily into his world.
Like she’d always been meant to be there.
He sometimes forgot that she used to be a huge part of his life, and having her fit into his new life meant everything to him.
When the second round of drinks came, Luca finally cleared his throat.
“I asked you guys here because I need help.” The table went quiet.
There was no tension, just attention. Sophia covered his hand with her own under the table, and he smiled over at her.
“We need your help.” She squeezed his hand and nodded at him, flashing her shy, sexy smile.
“Just name it,” Tony said.
“Anything,” Rocco agreed. “You’ve got our help, just say the word.”
He knew that he could count on the guys, but they also had to know what they were getting themselves involved in before he let them agree to help.
“There’s a guy from our past,” Luca continued.
“We were all in the same foster house just before I aged out of the system. His name’s Peter and he’s stalking Sophia. ”
Aurora’s smile vanished. “Stalking how?”
“Showing up at her apartment. At her work. Watching her,” Luca said, keeping his voice even. “She’s filed a restraining order, but we all know how well that works at first.”
Rocco leaned forward, forearms on the table. “You want us to keep an eye out.”
“I want you to help me make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near her,” Luca said. “We need to do everything by the book and be smart about this. Peter is smart, and he has flown under the radar so far to keep himself out of trouble.”
Tony nodded without hesitation. “You got it.”
Aurora reached for Sophia’s hand. “You’re not alone in this.”
Sophia swallowed, emotion flashing across her face. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Luca watched her, his chest tightening with the same damn emotion that she was feeling. He didn’t like how close this had come to breaking her. He didn’t like how natural it felt to want to put himself between herself and every threat in the world.
As the night wore on, Luca caught Sophia watching him when she thought he wasn’t looking.
There was something different in her gaze—something deeper than gratitude.
Was she thinking about their kiss? It was all he could think about since they sat down, even though he tried to put it out of his mind.
He wasn’t sure that he ever would be able to forget how good it felt to have her warm, soft lips against his.
When they finally stood to leave, Luca placed a hand at the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd.
This time, he didn’t tell himself it was just protective instinct.
He knew that it was more than that. And walking out of the bar, with Sophia safe at his side and his friends at his back, Luca made himself a quiet promise—Peter wouldn’t get another chance to get to Sophia. Not on his watch.
The drive back to his house was quieter than the ride to the bar.
It wasn’t awkward—just heavy. The air between the felt charged and even electric.
Luca kept his eyes on the road, but he was hyperaware of Sophia beside him, the soft sway of her body with each turn, the faint citrus scent of her perfume filling the cab of his truck.
Just one fucking kiss had done all that to him.
It had made him soft—maybe even weak, and he hated that.
But something about her had always made him feel that way, and he should have known that now would have been no different.
Luca loved watching Sophia with his friends. She laughed tonight, really laughed. And seeing that—knowing how close she’d been to breaking down not that long ago, had done something to his heart.
When they pulled into the garage, Luca killed the engine and glanced at her. “You’re awfully quiet. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah,” she breathed. “I’m just tired, I guess.’
“Are you sure that your silence doesn’t have something to do with that kiss we shared?” he asked. She shot him a look, and he shrugged. “I’m just asking because I can’t stop thinking about it.” There—he put the truth out there, and now, it was her turn to admit the same to him.
“I’m going to take a shower and turn in,” she said, effectively ignoring him. He sat in his truck and watched her disappear into his house. Luca wasn’t sure what his next move should be, but he knew that if he didn’t make one, he might never get another chance with Sophia.
He finally gave up waiting for her to come back out to his truck and went into the house.
Luca gave up hoping that Sophia would come back out to the truck and followed her into the house.
It was quiet and dim, the kind of calm that settled deep in his bones.
It’s what he loved most about his place.
As soon as he saw the house, he knew that he had to buy it.
Sophia had kicked off her shoes and was standing at the bottom of the steps, as though she was waiting for him to catch up.
She stretched, her arms lifting over her head, allowing her shirt to ride up just enough to give him a glimpse of skin.
Luca looked away immediately, jaw tightening.
He had no right to see her that way, not yet, at least.
“I’m going to shower and change,” she said casually. “I’ll be right back.” He barely managed a nod.
Luca busied himself in the kitchen, rinsing glasses that didn’t need rinsing, his mind replaying the way she’d looked at him tonight—soft, trusting, something else simmering underneath her gaze.
He told himself to breathe. To keep his head on straight, but every time he replayed the kiss in his head, it became impossible to concentrate on anything else.
It felt as though she had been upstairs forever.
He was about to give up on waiting for her and go to bed, but then she walked back into the kitchen.
She was wearing one of his T-shirts—black, worn soft, hanging off one shoulder—and nothing else but a pair of panties.
Her legs were bare, as were her feet, and his hands itched to touch her.
Luca froze as she crossed the room to stand in front of him. Sophia stopped short when she saw him staring. “Too much?” she asked softly, suddenly unsure of herself.
“No,” he said hoarsely. He dragged a hand over his face. “I mean—yes. I mean—” He exhaled sharply. “Sophia—” He had never been so flustered or tongue-tied in his life, but then again, Sophia had never stood in front of him wearing nothing but his T-shirt.
“I can run upstairs and change,” she offered, though she didn’t move.
He crossed the space between them in three long strides. “Don’t you dare,” he murmured.
Her breath hitched. “Luca—” He cupped her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks, giving her every chance to pull away. When she leaned into him instead, it snapped the last thread of restraint he had left.
Their mouths met—slow at first, testing, like they were both afraid this might be a mistake. But the second Sophia’s hands fisted in his shirt, Luca groaned and deepened the kiss, pouring ten years of want into it.