I snarled at whoever was currently banging my front door as I headed down the hallway. I was going to wring their neck for disturbing my tranquil afternoon. I swung the door open without thinking and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of an irate Lucca standing there, anger blazing in his eyes. He pushed the door wider and stepped inside the house. I moved a few startled steps back, my brain not having caught up with my body. The slamming of the door jarred me from my stupor.

“What the fuck, Lucca?”

“Get your shoes.” He looked around the hallway and grabbed at a wayward boot, flinging it at my feet then searching for the other.

“What the hell are you doing? Stop!” I raised my voice.

I didn’t want to see him, I didn’t want him in my house. I’d told Taylor no, yet here he was. I kicked the offending boot away in frustration.

Lucca stopped searching around and advanced on me, pushing me against the wall. It didn’t hurt by any means, didn’t scare me, it was a show that this man meant business. Caged against the wall, I watched as he reined in his temper, his heavy breaths fanned across my face as he attempted to calm down. I dragged my hand between us, intent on creating distance, and gave him a shove backwards.

Forgetting.

He sucked in a ragged breath which had my insides dissolving and every conceivable reason I had for not seeing him took flight. He squeezed his eyes shut momentarily before holding me in his gaze again.

“Dinner,” he said quietly, “you should have been at dinner.”

I shook my head at him. “Not my place, Lucca.”

Disagreement had his body stiffening. He was barely touching me now but where he was, the heat was searing. “I missed you, Laura.” His voice was tortured and cut me open. “I don’t know why, but I did.” He reached out and stroked a finger across my cheek. I softened, curling my head toward his hand.

“This is insane,” I whispered.

“It is. But you know, Laura? I like it.”

A smile tipped my lips, contradicting the overwhelming depression I felt. I gazed up at him, losing myself in the depths of his eyes. I didn’t anticipate his next move so when his mouth collided with mine, I was stunned. The warmth of his lips was intoxicating, the stubble from the beard he’d grown in, sent shockwaves through me, my skin tingling at the contact.

I fell pliant, giving into temptation. I kissed back the man who had graced my dreams many a night and kept my demons at bay. A tentative peek of his tongue relaxed me before a passionate onslaught ensued. Hunger and excitement rushed through me like sand in a timer; hasty yet resolute. My head was a cotton wool mess of emotions.

Who knew? Who knew I could feel this way again?

Lucca’s arms moved up to the wall and rested either side of my head as he stepped into me, pushing his chest against mine. I moaned at the contact, his body beneath my hands. Reaching up for him I gripped handfuls of his hair, forgetting he’d had staples in his head, until the heel of my palm brushed against the shorter hair. He continued to devour me like I was the best thing he’d had to eat in forever, paying no heed to his head wound.

When he finally took his lips from mine, he was breathing in gasps, his heart thudding against my own. Lucca pecked at the corners of my mouth as I tried to compose myself.

“Dinner,” he mumbled close to my ear, returning to the subject of his anger. “Come eat with me. Please, Laura?”

My reasoning for declining flew out the window with all my sense and apprehension about seven minutes ago. “Okay.” I loosened my hold on his hair. “Okay.”

“You might have to drive back up. I don’t think the excitement has done me any good.”

So, I did. I drove his gorgeous Porsche through Beaufort and shit myself the whole way hoping I didn’t damage his baby. He wasn’t for letting go of my hand. Not when I fumbled around putting my boots on before leaving, and not when I drove like a snail to his house. Okay, that was a lie - he did, but only when I had to change the gears. I liked it, I liked it a lot.

His house was quiet when we arrived. I had expected to see Taylor and Ryder, Ayden even, but if they were in the house I didn’t see them. And the house was another story. I loved my own, however, it wasn’t a patch on Lucca’s. The red bricked Victorian home stood proud in all its symmetry, the two double stacked chimneys reaching high into the waning light of the day. Bay windows adorned the front and ornate cornices gave the property a semblance of grandeur like only the Victorians knew how. This house had a charm, a welcoming aura about it, something...homey. A big house, I’d guess at four of five bedrooms, yet it didn’t feel cavernous like some places did. Once inside, my breath stuttered at the beauty. Rooms were proportional, nothing looked overly pretentious. There was a happy balance of old and new.

We reheated pasta - well, Lucca did seeing as I had no clue how to use his appliances. After pouring two glasses of what looked like apple juice, and handing them to me, Lucca picked up the tray with the food and led me through to a room that screamed man cave - or den. He sat on one of the comfy looking leather couches after he’d laid the tray on the coffee table in front of him, and motioned for me to join. I sat close to him, our thighs touching, not being overly fond of putting distance between us again.

“Here okay?” he asked.

The large windows along the length of the room kept it light, and the view of the garden was beautiful, even though it lacked colour because of the season. On a warmer day, I would have suggested eating outside, today was not that day.

“Here is fine.”

We ate in easy silence. I noticed Lucca didn’t eat much, I guessed he was still getting his appetite back and supposed his desire for food would increase with time.

“Why didn’t you come, Laura?” Lucca had rolled sideways on the sofa to face me, one leg on the floor and the other across his knee, his glass resting on his thigh.

“It wasn’t my place.” I decided to be honest, start as I meant to go on. “You have a wife, Lucca.”

“Laura, look at me.” I did, getting he was being serious. “I know you think I’m just getting out of my marriage, but the truth is, I left a long time ago. My divorce is a formality. I won’t let it come between us. I promise.”

“How can it not?”

He sighed and reached for my hand. “She was abusive. I’m embarrassed to tell you, to admit it.”

I gasped at his declaration. This strong man was abused by his wife? I had trouble seeing it, yet if he was telling me then he wasn’t lying. His air of detachment made sense suddenly. “How?”

“Any way she could. Mentally, physically; both. Ryder has picked up my arse more times than I care to count.” He took a drink of his juice then put his glass on the table. “The first time I caught her messing around, she replied with a fork to my thigh, which only just missed my femoral artery.”

“Did you cheat on her too?”

I didn’t know why it mattered but it did. If he’d said he had cheated on her also, I’d have maybe thought twice entertaining his attention. My worry was soon washed away when he gave me a timid smile and told me no with absolute conviction.

“Not once.” He studied me, looking for my reaction. I had no reason not to believe him, I hoped he could see the truth in my face. “A business associate flirted with me at dinner once, which I tried to ignore and play off. Stella thought I’d encouraged her. The next day, she pushed a scalding hot iron into my back when I was sitting at the kitchen table.”

I shook my head in disgust. The woman was vile. I was certain he had many more stories with the outcome being the same - Lucca getting hurt.

“I’m sorry. No one deserves that sort of treatment.” I stared at our paired hands.

“You’re wondering why I stayed?” His pause was brief. “I stayed for my son. I didn’t know any better, Laura.” He smiled at me then and something shone in his eyes I couldn’t put my finger on. “I know better now.”

I changed the uncomfortable subject, put his confession to the back of my mind, vowing our pasts would be just that - our pasts. This man was telling me he wanted to try with me, wanted to make the effort.

We chatted about easier things; the beautiful house and his intent to buy it. I was happy the burglary hadn’t spoiled his apparent love for the place. He greatly enjoyed telling me Ayden was here to stay, news I already knew through Taylor. We got to know each other a little more and it dawned on me; if I let this happen, we’d have years to sit like this, talking and learning about one another.

What I once decided was beyond reach was sitting less than a foot away from me absorbing my words. But it was the unspoken I couldn’t bring myself to say that was frightening. There’d be time. There were things I simply couldn’t give him and even though this was the beginning, I’d have to tell him soon. There would be no point in building a relationship up to tear it all back down again if we didn’t want the same things, if he wanted what I couldn’t give him. I’d take this day for now, enjoy it, deal with harsh realities another time.

“I can’t wait for summer,” I told him as I watched the bare trees swaying starkly against the heavy, darkening sky. A storm was coming.

“I’m not a fan of winter either.”

“You like the water?” I asked.

“I do. I love the view you have from your garden. Stunning...You have a boat?”

“No, not yet. Maybe once I finish my house I can think about it.”

“You’ll take me out?” He lifted an eyebrow at me in challenge, the air around us less charged.

“You bet,” I laughed enthusiastically, “it would be fun. Might need some lessons. You can’t live here and not have a boat, right?”

He agreed. I looked around the room for the time, a clock sitting on a side table said it was past nine. I was in no hurry to leave yet I didn’t want to outstay my welcome, it was time to head home.

“Can you take me home? Do you feel okay to drive now?”

“I was a little wound up before,” he chuckled. “Just let me shout up to Ayden.”

I snapped my head toward the den door. “He’s here?” The house had been so quiet I’d thought we were alone.

“Yeah. Him and Jake are most likely shooting each other. PlayStation addicts, the pair of them. They get lost for hours, not a peep.” We both stood up at the same time and faced one another, Lucca moving his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. “We’re doing this?” Underlying uncertainty laced his words.

Yes, we absolutely were. I was taking a great big giant leap of faith and not going to be sorry about it. I’d either mend or break. I had a feeling with Lucca it’d be worth whichever way. My shadows weren’t going to chase me any longer.

“Yes,” I breathed. I stretched up and swept a kiss across his lips. “Yes, I think we are.”

He grinned and held me tighter. “Right answer, Laura. I promise you won’t regret it.”

His second promise was as sincere as his first and I had no reservations there would be many more to cross this man’s lips. I had to make sure I didn’t take them for granted. For now, though, I was all in.