“Deal.”
We ate in comfortable silence, occasionally gazing at one another, just enjoying each other’s presence.
Luca’s leg started bouncing when we were nearly done with our main courses. Reaching under the table, I placed a hand on his knee. “You okay?”
He wiped his mouth, half of his meal left on the plate. “Mhm. Just excited to see what you think of dessert.”
Frowning, I pulled my hand back and finished my entrée. Just because he was being a weirdo didn’t mean I wasn’t going to eat. He watched me with the kind of adoration I didn’t know I could inspire, especially while gobbling down premium meat.
As I put the last forkful in my mouth, Luca got up and asked, “Done?” Not giving me a chance to answer, he took my plate and headed toward the kitchen.
“What’s his deal?” There was no good reason for him to be acting so jumpy. Was it the phone call? Lately, he was getting more and more phone calls that left him on edge, but this was different.
Is he excited?
Before I could dive deeper into possible motives, Luca strolled in, carrying a beautiful plate of cannoli. “Now, these have a special filling.” He put the plate in the middle of the table, then grabbed a fresh carafe of coffee—the good shit. Moretti’s bought local and bought fresh. God bless them.
I waited for him to sit before grabbing a cannoli and taking a big bite. Covering my mouth, I squealed through a full mouth of pastry and cream. “Tiramisu!”
Luca chuckled. “I’m glad you can taste it. It’s always nerve-racking to flavor the cream.”
Instead of responding and further stroking his ego, I shoved the rest in my mouth, like the classy broad I was. His eyes widened, and he jumped out of his seat, reaching for my mouth just as I bit into something hard, nearly cracking a tooth.
I tongued the thing out of my mouth, losing a dollop of cream on the table. Sparkling up at me was a huge fucking diamond on an antique band.
Blinking rapidly, I kept waiting for it to disappear or turn into something that made more sense.
It was the ring from the closet, the one I’d found a few months ago and promptly shoved into the back of my mind because I wasn’t in a rush to get married and was happy with how our relationship was. But holding it in my hand, I knew I was meant to wear the ring.
“Is this?” It took immense effort, but I pulled my eyes from the glittering cream-covered diamond. Luca shot me one of his toothy smiles.
“Sasha,” he said as he stood and walked around the table, “I love you so fucking much. Losing you for a year nearly killed me.” He cleared his throat. “I know you’re my perfect match, and I don’t want to wait another second without promising you forever.” He knelt beside me. “Will you marry me?”
My eyes burned with tears as I nodded, giving him the ring and holding my hand out for him to put it on my finger. He took it from me, popped it in his mouth, and sucked off the cream before sliding the still sticky metal on my finger.
Seeing it on my hand broke something inside me, and tears rushed down my cheeks. Luca’s big hand rubbed circles on my back as he nuzzled my hair. Gulping down breaths, I calmed down enough to stop the waterworks and finally speak. “I love you, Luca.” I looked into his shining brown eyes. “You are everything I didn’t know I wanted in a partner. I hate we lost a year together, but I know you’re it for me. No matter what, it’s you and me.”
Luca bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
Turning in my seat, I threw my arms around his neck and crushed my lips into his. The taste of coffee and cream dominated, but the hint of what could only be described as Luca lingered on my tongue. With a little shove, Luca landed on his ass, and I climbed onto his lap.
I was going to fuck him right there on the floor of Moretti’s—the same floor I nearly lost him on. The errant thought added fuel to the fire burning inside me to claim every inch of him.
Twisting my fingers in his lush black hair, I yanked his head to the side and trailed my lips across his cheek and down his neck, leaving a red trail.
So much for smudge-proof.
I pushed the collar of his white button-down to the side and sunk my teeth into the corded muscle there. Sweat from being in the hot kitchen made him salty—his skin the perfect pairing with the sweet confection he’d made for me.
Luca groaned, and I kissed the spot, pulling back to admire the neat crescents of teeth marks indented in his skin. Excitement thrummed through me as we locked eyes. With his dark brown eyes so open and vulnerable, I knew anything I wanted to do to him, he’d not only allow but enjoy.
Releasing his shoulders, I unbuttoned his shirt, tugging the tails from his pants. Tracing the tattoo over his heart with the tip of my nail, I couldn’t help but smile.
Sasha.
Even when we were sure we couldn’t be together, he’d been mine. He’d always be mine.
His hands skated under my hiked-up skirt, pulling the fabric until my ass was hanging out. Digging his fingertips into my ample flesh, he spread me. Lace wedged between my folds as I rocked my hips into him.