I brought his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles. “You already are ready, Griffin. You’re a protector. And you’ll always be the best protector I know.” I held his gaze as I kissed him before I moved into his chest.
He wrapped his powerful arms around me and rested his chin on my head. “Marry me on Saturday.”
Now I wanted to marry him that very moment. “Saturday.”
Twenty-Seven
Carter
I watched her sleep beside me, treasuring the final moments before Luca woke up and pounded on the door. Her hand rested on her chest, and her hair was all over the pillow. When she was asleep, she was even more beautiful.
A few minutes later, she finally woke up. She opened her eyes first, released a relaxed sigh, and then turned her gaze on me. She focused on my face for a moment before the smile crept onto her lips. “Morning.”
“Morning, sweetheart.” My hand went to her stomach then drifted to her hand. I placed my hand on hers, the weight of my palm bringing attention to hers.
Her hand moved underneath mine, and that’s when she flinched. She turned her gaze to her left hand and narrowed her gaze on the diamond ring sitting on her left ring finger. As if she couldn’t understand if this was a dream or not, she still didn’t react. Only when she brought her hand closer to her face did she understand. “Oh my god.” She jerked upright and gripped her hand with the other, examining the enormous rock I’d picked out for her. It was a beautiful ring, sleek and simple. When she took Luca to school yesterday, I’d slipped out and headed to Florence to pick it out. “It’s so beautiful…” She brushed her thumb over the diamond. “It’s perfect. Yes…a million times yes.”
I tried not to chuckle. “You already agreed to marry me.”
“I know, but now I want to marry you even more.” She cupped my cheeks and kissed me, the metal band touching the skin of my cheek. Her fingers moved into my hair, and she slowly positioned herself on my lap.
I rested my back against the headboard and pulled her closer to me, my body immediately anxious for hers. That ring looked perfect on her, and it would look perfect for the rest of our lives.
Just when the passion heated up even more, Luca came to the door and knocked. “Mom?”
She sighed into my mouth, frustrated.
“Mom?” Luca repeated.
“I love my son,” she whispered. “But I hate him right now.”
If I didn’t love Luca so much, I would probably be just as annoyed. But I found the interruption almost comical since it happened almost every single morning. Morning sex wasn’t common for us anymore. Only when Luca was asleep did we have our fun—but we always made the best of it. “You can make it up to me later.”
She cupped my cheek and kissed me again, her tits right against my chest. “And I will.”
Mia already talked to Luca and explained what was going on, that I would be her husband in a short amount of time. Luca never had a father figure in his life so it wasn’t clear how he would react to it, but he seemed fine with it.
But I decided to talk to him on my own.
I sat across from him at the kitchen table. He just finished his after-school snack, and his homework was spread out around him. Math was his worst subject, but since it was my best, I was able to help him.
Luca put down his pencil and looked at me, his brown eyes identical to his mother’s. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Your mother.”
“What about her?” he asked.
“I know she told you that she and I were getting married.”
Luca stared at me blankly, like that information didn’t mean anything to him. Maybe he didn’t care about any of this at all. After living in an orphanage, he was probably used to changing circumstances.
“I thought we could talk about that a little bit…just the two of us.”
“Okay…”
Normally, when I spoke to Luca, it was easy. But then again, we were talking about math homework, swimming, or dinosaurs. This kid was just eight years old. There was so much he didn’t understand. “Do you know anything about your dad?” Mia had told me she’d told him, but I wasn’t sure if he remembered.
He nodded. “He left when Mom was pregnant with me. She never saw him again.”
“And that was wrong of him. Thankfully, your mother didn’t need him in the first place. She’s strong and capable, and she loves you so much.” I only wished I’d been there to help her. I never would have turned my back on her. What kind of man did that?
“I know she does,” he whispered.
“I want you to know that’s never gonna happen with me. I’m never gonna disappear, Luca.”