Page 88 of Worth the Risk
“Ahh. True. But yeah, I’m cool with heading back to Denver without you. I can handle the press.”
I turn back to Luca. “How long do you want to stay?”
He cups my cheek, his thumb stroking my bottom lip. “A day or two. Then I thought we could rent a car and drive back home.”
“I’ve never been on a road trip!” I gush.
Luca chuckles. “Your parents were zero fun.”
“I’m aware.”
“Do you think they will like me?” he asks.
“No,” I giggle. “But I don’t care. Their opinion doesn’t matter to me anymore. They’re just ugly. Besides, I have your family now.”
“They’re ugly? Really?” Luca laughs.
“Oh, no. I mean their personalities. My parents aren’t kind. They don’t have compassion. They’d run their best friends over with their cars if it meant they gained an inch. I don’t want to be around them. Your family is kind and genuine. Thoughtful. Empathetic. No comparison which family I’d choose.”
“Amazing I came from them, huh,” Luca says with a bitter laugh.
I study him. “Why would you say that?”
He shifts uncomfortably. “Well, I was known as the man-whore of Denver. Even my family joked about how much I got around. Just like you did when you first met me.”
When his eyes refuse to meet mine, I grab his chin and force him to look at me. “Your past doesn’t define you. Do you understand that? Yeah, the notches on your bedpost could probably line a football field. But that’s such a small and trivial part of your life. You know how I’m feeling before I can even verbalize it. You stayed with Arianna for a weekend helping her when she broke her wrist, and I bet she was fully capable of taking care of herself. Even when Mrs. Willowby gives you attitude, you are nice to her every single time. And how you care for me? No one has ever loved me like you do, Luca.”
I’m getting choked up as Luca leans forward to place a gentle kiss against my lips. “It’s a privilege to love you, baby.”
Luca and I spent two days exploring San Francisco. Well, mostly we stayed in our hotel room. We feared getting recognized, and thanks to Luca’s obviously injured face, we didn’t want to take that chance. Instead, we stayed in our little bubble and fucked like bunnies. When we weren’t in the throes of orgasmic bliss, we talked. Laughed. Cried a little.
It was the most euphoric start to our life together.
The drive back to Colorado was … interesting.
My sweet cinnamon roll of a man does not like taking directions from me. Literally. I realized quite quickly that Luca doesn’t have the best sense of direction when he began heading south out of San Francisco. He got a little snippy with me when I corrected him, so I decided to shut my mouth and see how long it took for him to recognize the error.
Three hours. That’s how long it took.
At that point, we were well on the way to Los Angeles, so we just continued on. Seeing the Hollywood Sign in person was also on my bucket list, so I figured we might as well. The press had zero clue where we were, and this was a wonderful opportunity to remain anonymous for a little longer.
Two days in LA, a forced usage of Google Maps, and another two days in the car, and we arrived back in Eternity Springs. We timed it so we’d arrive at sunset, thus making it more difficult for any press that might be loitering around the town or hotel to see us. It helped that we were in a rental car as well.
When Luca passed the hotel entrance, I wondered how bad his directional skills were. “Where are you going?”
“I told you, baby. We’re going home.”
“Huh?”
“Remember? I told you I have a house here.”
“Will the press be there?” I ask.
“I doubt it. No one knows about the house, except for my mom and dad.”
“Couldn’t someone just search the assessor website and find the info?”
“We went to extreme lengths to guarantee it isn’t attached to my known name.”