The next thing I knew, he tilted my face towards his and pressed his lips to mine. The saltiness of my tears took over as he slipped his tongue into the seam of my lips and delved inside my mouth. It was a sloppy kiss mixed with tears and intermingling breaths. My arms reached up and tangled around his neck. I arched up into his broad chest, moaning at the contact of his body heat against mine before I drew back into his lips.
He pulled me inside, and the door shut behind us. He backed me against the closed door, caging me in with his hands on either side of my head. His breath ghosted over my lips. “Am I forgiven? Because I know how much I fucked up.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “Loving you is easy, Luca. I need you in my life.”
His eyes bore into mine with primal intensity. “I need you to be mine.”
My breath hitched. “You want me to be your girlfriend?”
He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Yes, Mags.”
Tears welled up again. All I’d done since coming back to Violet Ridge was cry. I was unbelievably happy, but I still had to tell him.
What if he changed his mind after? The thought slammed into me, and dread settled in the pit of my stomach. “There’s something we have to talk about. It’s partly why I’m here.”
Something registered behind his eyes as he moved, letting me go. “We can sit in the living room. Is everything okay?”
I wrung my hands together as I walked to his sofa and sat down. “I hope so. It depends on how you feel about it.”
He sat beside me. “How I feel?”
My trembling hands ran over my face. “I’m pregnant.”
My heart clogged my throat. I told him. The hard part was done, now I had to wait for his reaction. Please, Luca. Don’t run from me again. A few grueling minutes passed before I glanced over at him.
He was in total shock. His face had paled and his mouth was agape. Wheels were turning in his mind as he processed the news. “We didn’t use any precautions.”
I shook my head.
He held his breath. “And you’re sure there is no possible way it could be Declan’s?”
I shook my head again. I had talked to the doctor about it to be sure. “It’s not his. We had sex once and it was before my last period. A week before Faith’s wedding. Plus, we used every precaution. I’m a little over five weeks pregnant. The doctor said I must have conceived the week of Faith’s wedding, and I didn’t sleep with Declan then.”
He let out his breath and nodded. “Thank fuck.” A nervous smile exploded on his face. “I promise I’ll be the best dad I can be. I’m not going to be anything like my father.”
“Yeah. Looks like we are.” My hand rested on my flat abdomen. “I have an ultrasound in a couple of weeks.”
His eyes widened, and his hand reached over as he placed it over mine. “We get to see the baby?”
“I mean if you want to.” My voice cracked. “I don’t want to force you.”
He cupped my face in his hands. “Mags, I love you. We made this baby together, and I love it too. I’ll be there every step of the way. We will do this together, as a couple. Please, don’t be scared of being alone. I’m never leaving again.”
Happiness flowed through me, warming my body. I beamed at him through teary eyes. We were a team.
“I’m not going to let anything hold me back from you ever again.”
“I love you, so fucking much it hurts.” I sobbed.
His lips met mine in an explosive kiss, pouring every ounce of our love in it.
Loving Luca was the best thing I’d ever done, and I’d love him for the rest of my life. He and this baby were my happy ending.
Thanks for reading Loving Luca!
I fell deeply in love with this couple, and I hope you did too! Magnolia and Luca kept me up late at night, grinding to finish their happy ending.
It’s summer outside, and I am wanting to be beach side. Join my socials and let’s talk about what you loved or hated about this particular couple!
Before my brain registered the sound of breaking glass, the flesh of my upper lip split. A warm viscous liquid spilled down my chin in thick beads once the bourbon bottle broke. I froze as the searing pain sliced into me. My eyelids shot open to find the ground stained red, the color seeping outward among the shards.
The sound of breaking glass was the anthem of my childhood. A day never went by without glittering fragments of a liquor bottle reverberating through the house, but this was the first time he’d broken it on my face.
His leathered face was a mottled crimson, and his bloodshot eyes were strained. His words spat out with the ferocity of machine gunfire. “Don’t talk nonsense, boy. Military ain’t for you. You’ll stay here and work on the farm as I had to.”
There was stillness from both of us. If hatred was visible the air between us would’ve been scarlet. When my father had a few too many drinks, he lost all ability to reason. He'd lash out first, think later.
My mother’s trembling, plump form took a small step in between us. “F-Frank, dear. He was just suggesting it. He wasn’t going to just up and leave.”
“Maybel, stay the hell out of it.” In one stride he was in her face, daring her to say something else.
She stumbled backward and nodded, shooting me a sorrowful gaze. My mother was a coward. She never tried to stand her ground against the pathetic piece of trash.
“I’m not staying on this damn farm another night.” I pushed passed them
