“Put me down!” I hiss at him angrily.
He ignores me and stomps out of the restaurant with me slung over his shoulder, though I notice he takes great care to plant his arm over the bottom of my dress so he doesn’t flash everyone my ass.
Once we get by Luke's bike, he sets me on my feet. I plant my hands on my hips and glare up at him, vibrating with my own rage. “Just who do you think—”
He cuts me off by grasping my face in his hands and smashing his lips onto mine. His kiss is hard and punishing, and it silences me immediately as my brain short circuits.
My knees give out from underneath me, and he clutches me against his chest to keep me from falling.
“If you think I'm just going to stand here and watch you run off with another man when you know exactly who you belong to, you're fucking crazy,” he growls into my mouth angrily before he gives me another bruising kiss. “I'm your daddy. No one else.”
“But—" I shake my head, but he cuts off my protests with another kiss that makes me go limp in his arms again.
“You feel the way you melt against me every time I touch you?” I look down, but he tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “What we have is special, Lucy, and I'll be damned if I let it slip through my fingers just because our parents are married. You’re mine, and I'm not letting you go.
“You can run all you want, but I'll chase you every fucking day. Go on dates with other men, and I promise you they'll end up worse than this one. I won't have it. I'm not going to stand by and let another man touch what’s mine.”
My lips tremble as I stare at Luke's impassioned eyes. God help me, but my heart is fluttering wildly in my chest at his words. Heat pools in the center of my belly.
As if he can sense it and wants to further confuse me, Luke grabs the back of my neck and kisses me hard again.
“Lucy? Luke?” Two voices break through to us, and Luke pulls back from me, breathing heavily. His eyes flick over to the intruders, and my stomach plunges to my feet when I look over and see my mom and his dad standing there with shocked expressions on their faces.
“What is this?” My mom shakes her head, and I try to pull away from Luke, but he won’t let me.
He tightens his arms around my waist and hauls me to his side as he stands tall and faces our parents.
“I love your daughter, Mrs.,” Luke shakes his head and trails off when he realizes my mom isn’t Mrs. Shay anymore and it would sound odd for him to call her Mrs. Callahan since that’s his surname too.
My cheeks flame—both at the awkwardness of the situation and the fact that Luke said he loved me.
He loves me!
I can’t help the warm glow that fills my chest at those words.
“I intend to marry her.”
Both my mom and I gasp at the same time. Luke’s father has been silent for the entire exchange.
When he finally speaks, his voice is stern and directed at me. “Do you love my son?”
I swallow and glance at first my mom and then Luke. Luke’s looking down at me with stubborn adoration and wariness. My heart twists within me when I realize that what I’m seeing on his face is vulnerability. He’s afraid I don’t love him back.
I take in a deep breath before I look back at Mr. Callahan and nod. “Yes,” I answer truthfully. “I do.”
I don’t even get to see Mom and Mr. Callahan’s reaction because Luke suddenly lifts me in his arms and crushes his lips to mine again, completely oblivious to our parents watching us.
I can’t help it and soon melt under his ardor. When he finally pulls back from me and strokes my hair back from my face, I smile at the possessive happiness I see shining in his eyes.
Luke is right. It’s not our fault our parents are married, and we aren’t related by blood, so fuck what the world may think. We love each other, and that’s all that matters.
He takes my hand, and we both turn to face our parents together.
Tears are shining in my mom’s eyes, and she claps her hands under her chin as she smiles. Mr. Callahan is grinning ear to ear as well as he claps his son on the back. “Congratulations, you two,” Mr. Callahan says.
“So, you’re not mad?” I ask my mom anxiously, desperately needing confirmation that she’s okay with all this.
She shakes her head and lets out a little laugh. “Mad? Honey, why would I be mad? It’s not like Luke is your real brother. All I want is for my girls—and boys,” she adds with a fond glance at Luke as if she’s formally adopted all of her new husband’s children, “to be happy. And if you two are happy together, then that’s even better.”