My heart racing, I stumbled out of bed and grabbed a heavy vase from the hallway. Tiptoeing down the stairs, I readied my weapon to attack the humongousfigure standing hunched over the fallen cat tree. I quietly moved behind the intruder, raising the vase in the air. Before I swung down, Luca turned and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into his body.
“Jesus, Sash! It’s me.”
I lost my grip on the vase, and it crashed to the floor, breaking into a few large pieces.
“Shit!” I scrambled out of his hold and knelt, trying to gather the pieces. I hoped the vase wasn’t a one of a kind, but my gut told me Luca wouldn’t have a Target original in his house.
Two cold hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me back up. “Leave it.” Luca’s voice was tight, but in the darkness, I couldn’t make out why.
Wait. Was he annoyed?
“I can’t just leave sharp ceramic all over the floor. Ryan could hurt himself, or one of us could step on it.”
Luca reached across the hall and flipped on the light.
In an act of self-preservation, my eyes shut. “A little warning might’ve been nice. Some of us just got out of bed.”
Opening my eyes, they adjusted slowly to the bright light as I watched Luca pick up the cat tree and straighten some boxes that had fallen over. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I also didn’t expect there to be an obstacle course in the doorway when I got home.”
His snark straightened my spine. Resting a hand on my hip, I tilted my head. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I supposed to get everything unpacked by myself? How lazy of me not to unpack my whole life in one day.”
Luca pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t mean it like that,Sasha. I—”
“No, no, no. You’re absolutely right. Why don’t I just throw my stuff out? Huh? It’ll make this whole process easier for you.”
Throwing his hands to his side, Luca huffed, his eyes widening in disbelief. “What’s going on? Why are you upset?”
Taking a step toward him, my hands balled into fists at my sides. “First, you left me on move-in day. Today was supposed to be fun and exciting, but instead, I was alone in your house while you were off figuring out contracts with Nicki and Gabe. Second—”
Luca’s face turned red, and he scowled as he shouted at me. “Because Isowanted to go to work today! Dammit, Sasha! Do you think I wanted to leave you and what is nowourhouse to go in and deal with someone else’s mess? No!”
I took a step back. Luca never raised his voice to me like that, and I wasn’t sure how to feel. Noticing my slight movement, he took a breath, and his whole body slumped. After a few cycles of inhaling and exhaling, he closed the distance between us.
“Oh,baby, I’m so sorry. It’s late, and I’m exhausted and disappointed, but I shouldn’t take it out on you.” His lips pressed gently against my forehead. “Please forgive me. I wanted to be here with you. You have to believe me.”
Sighing, I pushed my face into his chest and nodded. The soft wool of his coat was still cold from the crisp February air, and the smell of cigarette smoke clung to the fibers along with the distinct stench of sweat. Gabe, Nicki’s dad, smoked like a chimney. It was one of the things Luca hated about his father’s chosen advisor.
“You have no idea how hard it was to focus, knowing you were here alone. All I wanted to do was get home and properly celebrate us finally living together.”
I looked up into Luca’s ridiculously gorgeous face. “Okay. I believe you, but why didn’t you clear out space for melikeyou promised? It feels like there’s no room for me here.”
A small smile crept onto Luca’s face. “Honestly? I didn’t think about clearing space anywhere but in the bedroom. Obviously, that was stupid.”
My lips twitched, but I keptfromsmiling. “You gave me three-fourths of the closet space.”
“I know how much you love your clothes.” His smile grew as his hands skimmed down my back, stopping at the hem of my chemise.
A firm squeeze from his hands and I pressed myself into him. “I do, but don’t think that gets you off the hook for the rest of it.”
Luca’s smile dropped, but his eyes still shined with amusement. “Of course not. Tomorrow I’m at your beck and call.”
My fingers danced up Luca’s chest to his neck. “What about right now?”I blinked, and Luca swept me into his arms. Laughing as he took the stairs two at a time, I gasped out, “I meant the vase. You have to clean up the vase!”
An hour later, Luca cleaned up the broken pieces and found a place for Ryan’s cat tree. We fell asleep in each other’s arms as the sun peeked through the curtains.
I was home.
* * *