CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Luca
WE RETURNED TO the hotel, showered and ordered room service.
I was surprised Katherine hadn’t dragged us to some farm-to-table restaurant where we had to slaughter our own chicken or something, but she seemed content to ease up on her attempts at pushing me away.
I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I could fairly feel the weight of her thoughts.
I tilted her chin to brush a soft kiss across her lips.
She gazed up at me, a wealth of unsaid words shining in her eyes. How could I get her to see that I wanted nothing more than to make a life with her?
“What did your dad say to upset you?” she asked.
I knew she’d heard more than she let on. I didn’t really want to have this conversation, but I supposed there was no point in running from it if I wanted to start fresh with Katherine.
“He was going to call your father to pressure you into marrying me.”
“That wouldn’t have worked,” she said, scooting up to face me, a stormy frown marring her expression. “I’m not afraid of my father. When I left, I’d already factored in the reality that he would cut me off. As long as I was free from living under anyone’s thumb, I was willing to take the risk.”
“I don’t care if it would’ve worked or not—I don’t want you to marry me like that. When you say I do, I want you to say it because you want to.”
Katherine softened a little, almost against her better judgment. She was fighting a battle within herself, but I had no idea if I would end up on the victor’s side.
“I meant what I said,” I told her in earnest. “All that matters is you and me. I would do anything to make you happy.”
“Even if it meant walking away from your family?” Katherine challenged, watching me closely. “C’mon, Luca, you know that’s not even possible. You’re the heir to the Donato empire. Your father would never let you walk, not for any reason.”
If she were asking for the moon, I’d find a way to give it to her.
“You mean more to me than anything money can buy. If that means I step down as my father’s heir and walk away from everything I’ve ever known to live in squalor, as long as I have you...I’ll have everything I’ll ever need.”
Katherine blinked suddenly as a dam broke. She said with a watery chuckle, “You living in squalor? I can’t even picture that. For that matter, how would I fare living that way when I could barely stomach the hostel?”
“I have my doubts,” I agreed, wiping away her tears gently, “but I’d follow wherever you go.”
“I’m so confused,” she said, shaking her head. “Everything in me says this will never work, but I have to admit...this week with you has challenged everything I thought I knew about who you are.”
“Do you love me?” I asked with blunt seriousness. “Do you? It’s very simple.”
“It’s anything but simple,” she disagreed with a scowl. “Nothing about us is simple.”
“It is to me.”
“How is it that you can see so clearly when I feel as if I’m peering through mud?”
“Because I know what matters.”
“What about your family?” she asked, unsure, but there was something about her faltering tone that gave me hope.
“Fuck them.”
She sucked in a surprised breath. “What about your father?”
“He’s an old man. It’s time for him to retire and butt the fuck out of my business,” I growled.
Stunned, Katherine stared. “Really?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “You would do that?”
“Losing you would be the end of me. What do I need with all that material stuff if I’m broken inside? You are my heart.”
Suddenly, the mud Katherine had bemoaned cleared, and I knew something had shifted for her. She could finally hear me. I dared to hope. I grasped her hands and kissed both softly. “Marry me...Katherine.”
I held my breath, knowing this was the moment that would make or break everything. I’d never questioned her love for me. Even though she tried, I’d always known her heart was with me. I’d just needed her to realize it, too.
Was it finally happening? Was I stupid to hope?
Just as the moment stretched painfully long and sweat began to dampen my forehead, a tremulous smile formed around the words as she answered with a happy shake of her head. “Y-yes, Luca. Yes, I will marry you.”
Thank God. “You’ve just made me the happiest man on the planet,” I said without exaggeration before sealing my mouth to hers. As our tongues twined and danced, I drank in the future with her by my side. I would always support her dreams and goals. If she wanted to go back to school to be a veterinarian, I would be her biggest champion. Whatever she wanted, I would make happen.
A weight of epic proportion fell from my shoulders as she flung her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I could melt into her, losing myself in the sweetness of what I’d cherish for the rest of our lives.
“Luca,” she gasped, closing her eyes as I pulled her panties free to sink between her thighs, ready to seal our union with my tongue and breath, but she stopped me, her hand gripping my hair, her expression serious. “Don’t ever make me regret this decision,” she warned, and I knew exactly what she was saying.
“The next starlet who wants to sit on my lap can sit on the floor,” I promised with a crooked grin, and she released my hair.
“Good boy,” she said, gesturing with a wide smile. “Continue with what you were about to do.”
I laughed and then set about turning her inside out in ways only I could. Until the day I died, the sound of her gasping in pleasure would forever be the greatest gift she could ever give me.
I was the luckiest man alive to have Katherine Oliver by my side.
And I would never forget it.