“This whole house is certifiably nuts,” Spring murmured, “no wonder Ace freaked out.”
“He freaked out before he met us, baby girl,” Lennie piped up, “I believe it was your crazy that scared him to leave in the early hours of the morning.”
“Thank you, Lennie,” Spring huffed, “don’t you have a truck to polish and whisper sweet nothings to?”
Laughing at my sister, Lennie got up from the floor, his colossal frame suddenly making the room seem crowded.
“You know, Springy, your mother asked me to wear a condom the night you were conceived. But I said no, just food for thought, darlin’.” Bending over, he gave Spring a smacking kiss on the top of her head, then grabbed his plate and headed for the kitchen.
“Want something else to drink, sugar?” he asked my mum, and I could see that he was strongly controlling his desire to laugh.
I swear this family needs some major therapy.
“Shit,” Luca hissed, and his phone landed with a soft thump on the carpet by our feet.
Looking at him, I saw the thin line of his mouth and the regret in his eyes.
Yep, no blow job.
“Bad news?”
“I am so sorry, baby, but yes. I have to get back to the office and meet with a client tonight. A discrepancy in the plans I drew up has just been detected by the safety officer on the job site. I have to get it fixed before the crew resumes work tomorrow morning.”
“So, no putting my mouth where the money is?”
Luca rumbled a laugh, his shoulders shaking around me.
“Not tonight, but it will be where I crave it to be soon, baby, I promise.”
“Okie dokie, no worries, Spunk.” Climbing off his lap, I reached down and offered him my hand. There was no way I would ever be able to lift him, but it was the thought that counts. Luca smirked at my offer but still took my hand and easily hauled his body up without giving me any of his weight.
I can not wait until he throws me around in bed.
“I can take you home before I head to the office, baby.”
“No, that’s okay. I think I will hang out here with Trish and Lennie for a bit longer. Spring can give me a lift when she leaves.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”
Wrapping my arms around Luca’s waist, I leaned into him, my head resting on his broad chest. For long seconds, I stood there with his arms around me, cradling me and enjoyed our closeness. I noticed that Luca sounded really upset that he had to leave and was shocked that I was happy to let him go straight to the office without first taking me home. I got the impression his mum and sisters were behind that reaction.
“You go, get this issue worked out and I will see you tomorrow. We can try out that Italian take-out place you raved about and spend the night on my couch eating carbs all night.”
“Can’t wait,” he murmured, hugging me tight. “Walk me out?”
Nodding, I waited while Luca said good-bye to my parents, gave Spring a wave, then stopped when he turned to Brecken.
“I have no intention of running, dude, I am already in deep with this woman, and I want to be.” With that parting shot, Luca took my hand and we walked out of the room. My smile so big I knew my cheeks were going to ache in the morning.
Yep, he is a keeper.
“You have to go, Luca,” Kayla insisted for the fifth time, “Dave is upset you aren’t there overseeing the plan changes, he doesn’t trust Roger or Rick to do it.”
“That is fucking bullshit and you know it. I haven’t been on that job site once since we broke ground. The mistakes in the design were Dave’s, not the company’s, and not Rick or Roger’s.” Even as I ranted, I knew that there was no getting out of doing exactly what Dave wanted. Being there personally made no sense, and in my opinion, was an insult to my crew and to me, but this project was worth a lot of money to the business, and I could see no way out of it.
“If you finish off the work you have on your desk now, you can be out of here in two hours and on the road by lunchtime.”
“Whatever.” I was not happy. Not only had my night with Meadow been called short because of this calamity, by the time I calmed Dave down enough to reason with him and assure him I could fix the design without too much lost time, it had been too late to go back to Meadow’s place. I drove past her house in hopes that she was still up, but the house had been pitch black, not a sign of a light inside. I couldn’t help but notice that the whole street was dark without any street lighting and that made me pissed. It wasn’t safe for a woman living on her own to be without at least the security of good street lighting. I made a mental note to talk to her about letting me install sensor lights on her front and back decks, as well as some at the front gate.
Now my plans with her for tonight were also ruined, again at my doing. This was not how I wanted our relationship to progress, but work had to factor in some of the time. Making it up to Meadow was now my only thought. The door to my office shut and I was left alone finally getting a chance to call Meadow. Taking my phone off the charger, I quickly swiped through my contacts and called her.
“Hey there, Spunk! Did you get everything sorted?” Her bright and bubbly voice invaded my senses, and all I wanted to do was see her.
Dropping my chin to my chest, I worked up the courage and gave her the truth.
“Baby, I wish I could
