“I love you too.”
“This cake is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.” I leaned back so he could see my face. “I want you to know I missed you every day we were apart.”
“We don’t have to talk about that.”
“Maybe we do.”
Luca frowned and adjusted in his seat. “I don’t—”
“Here we go.” Paul sat a to-go bag on the table and rushed off to the kitchen.
Luca blew out a relieved breath. He’d been dodging this conversation since we got back together. “You ready to go?” He was already standing and putting on his coat.
“Sure.”
I wanted to reassure him. I wanted to let him know I’d not only broken his heart but my own. But it was clear he didn’t want to talk about our breakup.
The levity we’d found at lunch was gone as he drove us home, and I didn’t know what to do.
He parked in the driveway and shut off the car but didn’t get out. Tapping the steering wheel with his finger, Luca finally said, “The year we were apart was the hardest year of my life. I knew you were it for me, and it killed me to know you were out in the world without me. I spent all my free time cooking, trying to find a new normal. In the end, I cooked my way through our relationship and perfected your favorite dishes.”
“I’m sorry.” The words felt wrong and awkward, but I needed to say something. I knew I did the right thing when I left him, but the right thing wasn’t what I wanted.
Luca finally turned and looked at me. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I knew I needed to make it up to you, so I sent Paul the recipe. I’d never planned for anyone but you to taste that cake, but I thought maybe it was perfect for our wedding.”
“I hope you had him sign an NDA.” I joked, trying to relieve some of the tension in the car.
Luca chuckled. His hand cupped my cheek, and I leaned into his touch.
“Why don’t we make the top tier tiramisu and do the boring flavors for everyone else? That way, it stays a little secret between us.”
“I like that.”
“Good.” I kissed his palm and trailed a hand down his jacket to his belt buckle. “Now, we should finish what Mr. Clean interrupted the other night.”
“Mr. Clean?” He watched my hand loosen his belt and unbutton his pants. As if an afterthought, he said, “You mean Paulie?”
“Sure. How the hell would I know?” When I couldn’t maneuver his dick out of his pants, I sucked my teeth. “So much for driveway head.” I flopped back in my seat.
Luca’s phone buzzed, and he groaned. Picking it up, he frowned. “I promise when we’re on our honeymoon, this fucking phone will be on ‘do not disturb’ because this is ridiculous.”
As Luca tapped away, I shivered. The temperature in the car was getting chilly, and if I wasn’t going to suck his cock, then there was no reason to freeze my ass off. “I’m going inside.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I grabbed my purse and the cake bag. There was no telling how long Luca would sit in the car, and I didn’t want to interrupt him when I started jonesing for another piece.
Ryan met me at the door, meowing up a storm.
“What’s up, buddy?” I kicked off my shoes and hung up my coat. Ryan circled my feet, headbutting my shin like I wasn’t already looking at his goofy ass. “Let’s go check your water bowl.”
He followed me to the kitchen, his meows continuing all the way there. Sure enough, he was out of food and water. Luca snuck up on me as I gave him a small bonus scoop of food. “He’s going to get fat.”
“And?”
“The vet said he needed to lose a pound.”
I rolled my eyes. It was easy for him to keep Ryan on his diet. He wasn’t the one the damn cat followed like a shadow until he got what he wanted.