Page 15 of Worth the Risk
“Okay.”
I feel him smile against my mouth.
“At least that’s one thing off your bucket list, yeah?”
“Huh?” I ask, confused.
“The perfect first kiss.”
My eyes widen as I remember what I told him in the elevator. Holy shit. Him kissing me against the wall was the perfect first kiss. Wow.
“I’ll work on the rest of that list soon,” he says huskily, as he puts my feet back on the ground and walks confidently out into the hallway. “Lock up, baby.”
I stand still, in shock. The elevator dings and I’m still standing in the doorway.
“Pix.”
I look up at Luca, who is grinning knowingly at me.
“Huh?”
“Lock up.”
“Oh, uh-huh. Yeah.”
I close the door as I hear him chuckle.
I’m reeling. Not only was that the best first kiss, it was the best kiss I’ve ever had. Hands down. Knew I shouldn’t have opened the door.
Luca
Never been more pissed at my little sister than I am right now. First Edith was cockblocking me, and then Arianna joined in. Fucking hell. That kiss … I’ll be adding that to the spank bank. Never had a kiss like that. And I’ve done quite a bit of kissing. Probably too much, amongst other things.
Arianna is the baby of the family, but she’s also my best friend. She’s only a handful of years younger than me, so we really grew up together. You’d have thought she and Isabella would be really close, but they aren’t. Belle really marches to the beat of her own drum. And while Arianna does as well, we just vibed more than either of us did with Belle. We ran in the same circles growing up. Same friends, same experiences. We’re similar in a lot of ways, except for dramatics. Arianna is full-blown melodramatic about everything. Well, I guess we are sort of the same there. I just beat the shit out of people on the ice when I decide to get dramatic.
I pull on a hoodie and hat as I stop my car at the valet at the hospital. Arianna was in an accident heading home from Eternity Springs, and she’s been taken to a hospital in the western Denver suburbs near her apartment. Now is not the time to get recognized, and I’m suddenly thankful that I drive a relatively normal SUV instead of some of the outlandish cars some of the other players drive. Granted, it’s an Infiniti QX80 with all the bells and whistles, so it’s definitely not your average suburban mom vehicle.
As I slide out of the driver’s seat and hand the key fob to the valet attendant, he whistles low as he looks at the interior. I had it custom detailed to match the exterior, and it’s fucking beautiful. I give him a quick nod with my head down as I trudge inside. The security guard notices me, and I quietly ask him if he can help me. The ER is quite busy, and I know if I’m just standing in line waiting to speak to the people at the desk, I’m going to get recognized. I hate pulling the celebrity card, but sometimes I have to.
The security guard whisks me through the doors and leads me to Arianna’s triage room. I silently walk in and see my sister with her arm dramatically thrown over her eyes and chuckle.
“You dying, sis?” I ask.
“Yes, you asshole. I’m dying,” she mutters while flipping me the bird.
“Well, you look…alive, I guess. What happened?”
Arianna snorts and then winces as she attempts to push herself up into a sitting position.
“Some jerk swerved into my lane on the interstate, and I swerved to try and miss him. I smashed into the concrete divider. My car is trashed,” she says miserably.
“Damn, Ari, that sucks. Did he hit you on the passenger side or the driver’s side?” I ask.
“Passenger, thankfully. He was hauling ass, though. No clue what he thought he was doing. The doctor thinks I have bruised ribs from the seatbelt, a concussion, and possibly a broken wrist. I’m waiting to get x-rays.”
Well, shit. Now I feel bad for assuming she was exaggerating. I grab the only chair in the triage room and pull it next to the bed.
“Take my mind off of this, please, Luca. Did I interrupt anything fun tonight?” she asks. I smile sheepishly and she laughs. “I knew it! What did you do?”