Chapter 31
Luca
I came out of the ensuite bathroom to find Sabrina sitting on the bed, staring at the view. “Are you okay?” I asked, causing her to turn. The smile on her face meant she was more than okay.
She walked toward me and right into my arms. Automatically, my hands found the curve of her ass as I pressed my body against hers. I slipped my hands beneath the short skirt of her dress and smiled that she once again had on a pair of my boxers. “You’re addicted,” I said, squeezing her ass cheeks to prove my point.
“They’re comfortable. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to wearing thongs again.”
“The hell you won’t. I happen to like your ass in a sexy thong.” After one more squeeze, I added, “But thongs are for my eyes only, and these are good for when you have on insanely short skirts.”
“Deal.” She twisted her head to take in our surroundings. On a sigh, she looked up with a content smile. “I love it here, and loved spending these past few days with you. If I lived here, I’d never want to leave.”
“Well, lucky for us the owner is my best friend,” I said with a wink.
“I can’t believe he bought this for Brae’s twenty-eighth birthday.”
“I can. He’s an impulsive fucker. I’m just surprised he lied to all of us, and her, about it being a rental when he owned it all along. I can only imagine what she’ll get at thirty. A small country?”
She giggled and planted a chaste kiss on my jaw. “The fireworks over the water were spectacular. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before… just stunning. Mikey would’ve loved it.”
“We can bring him here next year.”
“That would be great. I better finish packing… the few articles of clothing you bought me,” she said with a smirk before pulling out of my arms.
“You didn’t need more than that.” Which was true, since whenever we were behind closed doors we were both sans clothes.
But, in spite of my need to have her bare skin against mine as much as possible, she did need garments to wear when with my friends. As promised, I took her into town the next day after she arrived, and picked out: panties, a bikini, a cover up, a pair of shorts and T-shirt, and the sexy black sundress she currently had on.
She zipped up the cheesy “Life’s a Beach” souvenir tote bag I insisted on to mark our weekend together. I then threw my own things into my duffle bag and zipped it up. “Ready?”
A few minutes later, we walked out onto the deck where Jude, Brae, Kyle, Vanessa, and Cassie were well into eating their breakfast. “I guess we took longer than I thought,” I leaned in and whispered.
Sabrina offered a salacious smile as she remembered what it was that had us running late. “Worth it, though.”
“Well, look who decided to join us,” Kyle groaned when we appeared.
“Good morning, everyone,” Sabrina said, her cheeks tinged pink.
“Or afternoon,” Jude pointed out.
“Not quite.” I pulled a chair out for Sabrina and sat next to her. Ignoring the five sets of eyes that were trained on us, I asked, “Coffee, sweetheart?”
“Yes, please.”
No one spoke, until Jude said, “Benedetto, I have a proposition for you.”
I groaned at my friend/boss, dreading what he was about to propose. Brae beamed at her husband. “We’ve been chatting, and we think it’d be great if you guys stayed and enjoyed the house for a few more days… alone.”
Sabrina’s gaze cut to mine as Brae continued. “We know you don’t have to pick up Mikey until Friday.”
“But…”
“And I spoke to Becky about covering your appointments this week,” Cassie interrupted.
“But…”
“And I’ll be driving Luca’s car back to the city,” Kyle then added.
There was nothing left to mention, since they thought of everything. I scanned her face to try and read her thoughts. “What do you think?”
She regarded every one of our friends one by one. “I think you have the best set of friends in the world,” she said with a smile.
“Let’s not get carried away.” I threw my arm around her shoulders, failing to hide the excitement I felt over spending alone time with the woman I loved. “But they have their moments.”
Jude flipped me off as Kyle said, “Ingrate. And I was going to leave you guys some new toys to play with. Now you can go buy your own.”
The girls giggled before Jude added, “Just don’t break anything.”
“Speaking of… the counter in the laundry room creaks, and that banister,” Kyle said, pointing behind where we all sat, “is very loose.”
“And splintery…” Vanessa added.
Jude gawked at them, his mouth hanging open in a comical way. “It’s my house, and I haven’t had sex on this deck yet.”
“Oh well,” Kyle said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Vanessa leaned into him and whispered loudly, “Maybe we shouldn’t tell him about the porch swing.”
“Jesus Christ, Cleary,” Jude mumbled, glaring at Kyle.
I turned to Sabrina and said directly into her ear, “We’re going to be very busy the next few days.”
Sabrina
We were a few hours into our drive toward my in-laws to get Mikey. Luca drove my little CRV with the same sexy confidence he drove his Jaguar. But the terror in his eyes when Kyle peeled out of the driveway in his baby a few days earlier spoke volumes.
“Don’t over shift her,” he had said as Kyle grinned, enjoying every moment of Luca’s anxiety.
“Don’t you worry about my driving skills.” Kyle ran a hand over the dashboard lovingly. “She and I understand each other.”
Vanessa glared at Kyle. “Will she understand when you’re sleeping with her tonight and not me?”
It hadn’t taken long for Luca to get over it and concentrate on me. The past three days had been absolute heaven on earth. Sure, I missed my son dearly, but having a romantic getaway in a gorgeous home on the beach with my handsome boyfriend deemed to be a great distraction.
Luca’s gaze focused on the road, his thumb tapping the top of the steering wheel in tune to the music. Remembering what he had done before we left the house made me laugh. “Do you think Jude will be mad?”
A broad smile appeared on his face. “Do you mean about the sticky notes?”
“Yes, the notes.”
Just picturing the yellow squares caused my laughing to increase. Luca had told me that when he was in college with Kyle and Jude, they were pranksters. Not so much Luca, but the other two were on a mission of sorts to one-up each other. I knew the story of Jude and Brae and how Kyle played a hand in that, but the other sorted tales had my jaw slacken more than once.
Before we left today, Luca thought it would be fun to label all the places we christened with a note. The outdoor shower, the kitchen island, the leather chair in the family room, the hot tub, pool, the chaise lounge on the patio, and he left one with an arrow pointing to the ocean. He went as far as taping the outdoor notes down with heavy duty packing tape to protect them from the elements.
Luca shrugged, “Mad? No. Jealous? Yes.”
“You all are like little boys.” Then a thought occurred to me which caused me to gasp.
“What?” Luca slowed the car as we approached a red light.
“Please whatever you do, do not teach Mikey any of your tricks. Don’t even talk about them in front of him. I don’t want to have to check the sugar container for salt.”
He let out a chuckle. “Pfft. That’s too easy.”
“Luca!”
“Babe, I hate to break it to you, he will figure all of that out on his own. Just remember to check for plastic wrap over your toilet bowl, that’s always a fun one.”
I crinkled my nose. “That’s gross.”
“But, funny.”
By the time we made it to my in-laws place, we had laughed so much my stomach ached. When I saw their driveway come into view, I pointed. “Turn there.” I was excited to see my son. “Mikey is going to be so surprised you’re here.”
“You didn’t tell him?” He killed the ignition on my SUV. “I can wait in the car.”
“Not a chance.” I opened my door and grinned back at him. “Now, let’s go make a little boy smile.”
Hand in hand we walked around the back of the house, where I knew they’d be. The sound of my son laughing elicited a smile. Luca afforded me with a smile of his own. “Someone is having fun.”
“Yeah, he loves it here.”
He quirked a brow at the reluctance lacing my words. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Of course. It’s me who dreads coming here.” I squeezed his hand and shrugged.
“Sweetheart, just say the word and we’re out of here.”
It was simple things like that that made me fall in love with him more and more. “I love you,” I said as a thank you before opening the gate leading to the backyard.
The creak of the hinge brought attention to us. My in-laws sat on Adirondack chairs sipping iced tea, while my son stopped in his tracks with a bubble blower gun held midair.
“Mommy! Luca!” He dropped the toy and sprinted our way. I squatted right before he reached us, taking him into my arms in a crushing hug.
“I missed you so much, baby.” Kissing his warm cheek over and over, he giggled and squirmed allowing me my sappy greeting.
“Let me go,” he said between huffs and chuckles. No sooner had I released him when he propelled his body at Luca.
“Hey, buddy. How are you?”
“I’m great! But I missed you so much!” Luca ruffled his hair with a smile. “Are you Mommy’s boyfriend again?” Luca’s eyes cut to mine for direction, while mine cut to my in-laws.
“Hello, Sabrina,” my father-in-law saved us both from responding at the moment. He moved closer and gave me a stiff hug.
My mother-in-law stood where she stopped and smiled stiffly. “Sabrina,” she said with a nod of her head.
“Hello Brian, Kellie. This is Luca Benedetto…” I paused, drew in a breath, and added with a genuine smile, “My boyfriend. Luca, Brian and Kellie Callahan.”
Brian offered a hand to Luca with a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you. We’ve heard so much about you this week.”
Luca extended his hand to Kellie next, and the way she accepted only his fingertips, to give him a quick limp handshake, spoke volumes. Of course, the tight grin she had given me was still firmly planted on her face. Screw that, and what she thought. Her son hurt me, and the act was what she refused to acknowledge, and instead focused on the outcome…another grandchild.
“Thank so much,” Luca responded. He put his hand on Mikey’s shoulder before adding, “I hope all good.”
“I told Grandpa how good you are at soccer, and then showed him all the moves you taught me.”
“He’s very talented,” Brian said with a smile. “And passionate about his favorite sport.”
Luca and Brian continued the small talk as my mother-in-law elevated the tension level in the backyard to stifling proportions.
“How was your week?” I asked her, in an attempt to be the bigger person.
“It was good.”
Silence.
“Um… did he give you any trouble?”
“Nope. He was very well behaved. He’s a Callahan.” My insides simmered, but I forced a smile and nodded. “You’re nice and tan. Did you enjoy your time off?”
“Yes, I did.” I stepped closer to Luca and took his hand with purpose. “We did.” If she could spit nails, she would.
“Come sit, relax,” my father-in-law said. “I’m sure you guys had a long ride up.” They had no idea we had come from the Hamptons, nor would I offer that information. My last statement was enough to instigate my ire. “How about a cold glass of iced tea?”
Luca and I exchanged a silent understanding. “Thank you, that sounds nice but we really need to be going.”
At my admission, Kellie said, “I’ll go grab his bag for you.” With that, she retreated toward the house, not bothering to invite us in.
Brian offered an awkward smile once his wife went through the door. “Well, you’ll have to visit again so we can get to know you.”
“I’d like that,” Luca admitted, when all I thought to myself was—yeah, not happening anytime soon.
It took five minutes for goodbyes, and the moment Luca reversed out of the drive, I released a huge sigh of relief.
Mikey chattered in the back about every activity that filled his little vacation. Meanwhile, Luca took my hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed it affectionately.
We were driving away from my past, and I looked forward to every minute of our future.