Stealing Luca's Heart (18 page)

Ally wondered if that slick maneuver was a rugby move. “Luca, this could be a mistake,” she managed.
Yah, right
, her conscience spouted out.

“So,” he murmured. He lowered his head, closing his hungry mouth down over hers.

Her brain exploded as their kisses became more desperate, each of them unable to get enough. She ran her hand up his chest, enjoying the feeling of his muscles tightening under her touch. He
so
needed to lose his shirt. Her arms went up, wrapping around his neck, and her fingers lingered on its nape. She could run her fingers through his beautiful hair forever. He felt so good. Her blood pulsed as she couldn’t get enough of him.

“Oh, Luca…” she managed, gasping for air. Her body’s reaction to his touch betrayed any objection she could have made. She was completely lost in the haze of Luca’s assault on her system. She needed him.

Luca’s hands were skimming up and down her sides, gripping her buttocks, rolling his hips into hers. “You’re driving me crazy,” he breathed out.

She reached around him, running her nails down his back and over his jeans. A tiny voice asked her if she really wanted to have sex with Luca under a tree, but she ignored it. But that voice did wake up her common sense. For every one of the checks she’d been putting in the “Luca is Great” column, he was still Luca the supposed womanizer, and that meant she needed to be careful.

She willed herself to pull back from him. “Have you been tested lately? I’m on the pill and am clean, but you’ll just have to trust me,” she blurted. Jeez, wasn’t she the romantic?

Luca removed his lips from her neck and rubbed his nose against hers, steadying his breath. “I do. If I’d known I’d be ravishing you under this tree, believe me, we’d have had this discussion long before now.”

He looked apologetic, but the twinkle in those stormy eyes continued to undo her. The effect she was having on him was obvious, and it thrilled her.

He reached around to his back pocket, pulling out his phone, scrolling to find what he was looking for. Finally satisfied, he held the screen up for her to view. It was a picture of his most recent test, all clear.

Now, wasn’t that a little too handy?

Before she formed her next thought, Luca was back at the task at hand, covering her mouth with his. She tugged on his waistband, bringing him closer. Luca groaned in response. His busy hands wrapped around her neck, untying her halter dress, pulling it down, exposing her breasts. Luca took both her wrists with one hand, placing them above her head, looking down upon her reverently. “So perfect.”

He started lowering his head when there was a shuffling sound very close to them. They both froze.

“Fuck,” Luca gasped, pulling away from her. Protectively, he motioned for her to stay under the tree as he left to peer out from underneath the low-hanging branches.

Hearing familiar voices, she quickly retied her dress and ran her hand down, straightening it. Taking a shamed step out from the tree, she came face-to-face with Tara and Gracie.

“Holy shit! Luca, you just scared the crap out of me!” Gracie yelled. “What are you doing?” Gracie didn’t need to wait for an answer as Ally appeared from under the tree and walked over to Luca.

Ally saw her sister close her mouth as quickly as it had popped open. Tara gave her a wink.

“I am so sorry to interrupt. I was just walking Tara back to her room,” Gracie quickly explained.

Ally and Gracie smiled at each other.

Tara made the introductions. “Gracie, this is my sister Ally.”

Gracie closed the gap between them and offered a hug.

She met her embrace. “Nice to meet you, Gracie.” She wasn’t sure how Gracie felt about finding her cousin with a girl under the tree. Probably wasn’t the first time.

“I’ve heard all about you from Tara, so I feel like I already know you. I think we have a lot in common, actually.” Gracie took a step back and eyed her cousin. She held up two fingers and moved them from her eyes to his in the “I’m watching you” sign.

“What?” Luca said, looking innocent.

Ally grinned at the girls. “If you give me a minute, I’ll be right behind you two.”

Tara stepped over to Luca. “Thanks for everything with Dad.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Hopefully, I’ll see you again soon.” She took a step back and walked with Gracie up to the house. Ally was sure she heard giggling.

Luca pulled her into his arms. “What are you doing to me, Ally Edwards?” He gave her a long hug.

“I think I could say the same thing, Luca Tetari.”

“It’s probably for the best. Like I said, I really should get to bed. It’s a long day tomorrow.”

Ally nodded, looping her arms around his waist. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Luca whispered in her hair.

*

On his way home from Ally’s, Luca thought back to Sean. Luca wanted Ally to have a chance to spend time with her sister tonight and let off some steam. By the looks of it, they’d done just that. He’d been keeping an eye on her all evening. Not just an appreciative one, like when she was rocking the dance floor, but in case he needed to move in, if necessary, to protect what he now considered his. He didn’t figure he’d be going up against his own brother.

Chapter 14

The next morning the flight to Christchurch was uneventful. Any family drama was avoided as Sean sat in the back of the plane with a few All Blacks family members who were catching a ride. Simone explained to Ally during boarding that she was happy to give anyone a ride as long as there was room.

There were a few young kids on board who were fueled with pregame excitement. When they weren’t talking All Black statistics, they had their noses stuck to the windows enjoying the view. That could be said for the adults too as the plane flew by the country’s highest peak, Mount Cook. The pilot announced the plane would be landing in twenty minutes at the Christchurch International Airport.

Ally was sitting next to Luca on the front couch with Simone and George across from them. They had talked briefly about the overall success of the party last night before George brought up the wind farm.

“Luca, at the meeting tonight we’ll need to fine-tune your speech for the conference. Hard to believe that’s in two days. I don’t anticipate any issues, do you?”

Luca stared at his dad. “You mean do I think Sean is going to fuck this up?” When his dad just glared back at him, he said, “Nothing we can’t handle.”

Seemingly trying to change the subject, Simone asked Ally about growing up in Iowa. They compared American football to rugby, the high school sports they each participated in, and places they had enjoyed visiting. It turns out both she and Luca had quite a bit in common. She mentioned Waiheke Island, and all four agreed it was a special place.

The subject of Nancy Edwards came up when Luca asked Ally what made her and Tara both become teachers.

“Our mom encouraged us to get educated in a field that we were passionate about,” Ally explained. “She was a high school science teacher who loved what she did. She had such enthusiasm for her students—” Her voice caught.

“You know, I met your mum, Ally,” Simone offered.

“Really? When?”

Simone thought for a moment. “Let’s see, we met your parents together when Cal came here for business. It had to be just over ten years ago. Is that right, George?”

“At least.”

“Beautiful, smart woman who kept Cal in line, that’s for sure,” Simone laughed. “She couldn’t say enough about her wonderful girls, as I recall.” Simone leaned forward. “It goes without saying we were extremely saddened to hear of her accident.”

Ally nodded. “Thanks.”

Luca put his hand gently on her leg, offering support. “Hey, do you want to check in with Tara and see how she’s getting on?”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll give her a call after lunch.”

George turned his head and looked behind him. “Ally, why don’t you look out your window now. This is one of the best views in the country. The Southern Alps level off into the Canterbury region right here,” George said, nodding toward her window. “That’s good grape growing down there, and we try to use it just for our excellent wines.”

The plane made a wide sweep over the ocean prior to landing. Luca pointed out Bank’s Peninsula to Ally and the kids. It was located just south of the city and held two massive extinct volcanoes, the Lyttleton and the Akaroa, which still looked fairly ominous as they loomed out in the harbor.

Once on the ground, a parade of white tour vans pulled up to take the group from the east side of town to the AMI Stadium in the city. Ally noticed that Sean continued to stay with the group from the back of the plane, hopping into a van with them.

Ally breathed in the warm, dry air as she pulled her sunglasses out of her purse. She slid them on and turned her face up to the sun. Yep, just another gorgeous day in paradise.

Luca showed Ally to his van where his parents were waiting. “We’ll ride together, but I need to be dropped off at a different gate.”

Ally noticed the mature trees and manicured flower beds lining the city streets as the vans zipped through town. “The city is really beautiful.”

“It’s called the Garden City because the English settlers were determined to make it feel like an English garden,” Simone explained. “We’re now driving through Hagley Park. It’s almost five hundred acres of botanical gardens, walkways, and sporting fields. Look over there,” she said, pointing across the street. “That bridge goes over the Avon River. Tourists take little punting boats pushed by men in Edwardian costumes. The river is lined with tall willow trees and plantings. You’d love the English feel.”

“Sounds great. You know this is the first place I’ve been to in New Zealand that actually reminds me of the Midwest because the land is flat.”

“Like Iowa? With just with a few volcanoes,” Luca added.

The caravan headed south past The Cathedral, an iconic towering church that Simone said the city was built around. It had been damaged during an earthquake, and Ally hoped it wouldn’t have to be torn down.

Pulling up to the AMI Stadium, it was clear who the home team was. The majority of the crowd was wearing black shirts with white All Blacks lettering or carrying black flags with the large silver fern emblem in the center. There were just a few brave souls wearing the yellow and green of the Australian Wallabies.

The outdoor stadium left Ally awestruck. It was similar in size to a Big Ten team but more modern with tall wings on the sides for seating, and the ends held fewer seats, allowing for a spectacular view of the city and landscape.

The other vans had stopped behind them to unload at the main gate. Their van continued on and pulled up at the player entrance, at least that’s what Ally guessed. There were so many people out front it was hard to tell. Luca pulled out his cell and made a quick call. Within seconds security personnel were at their door, along with a news crew.

George shook his son’s hand. “Kick ass.”

“That’s the plan.” Luca picked up his duffle bag. “I’ll catch up with you guys right here after the game.”

“Good luck,” Simone offered.

Luca turned to Ally. “Have fun.” He opened the van door, but just before stepping out, he hesitated and turned quickly back to Ally.

“I was going to kiss you, but…” He stopped, nodding to the circus outside the van.

Ally sighed. “Good luck.”

Luca brushed his thumb gently over her cheek before he stepped out to greet the sports reporter and her camera crew.

There were so many people in front of the van, George told the driver to just wait until Luca finished his interview. He put the windows down so they could hear.

“We’re here with the All Blacks captain, Luca Tetari. Luca, clearly the test match today against the Wallabies is an important one, even if it’s just an exhibition game. Do you worry at all about the team staying motivated for games like these?”

Ally thought the attractive female reporter would be better suited for entertainment coverage. The woman was clearly drinking in Luca with the way her eyes were roaming his face. Ally felt a wave of jealousy.

“Well, Liz, you really want to make sure you go out and perform, do your job as well as you can, it doesn’t matter if it’s just an exhibition or not. That’s the pressure we put on ourselves.”

“That’s what your teammate John Stockman said today, as well,” the reporter stated looking down at her notes. “He says you lead the boys by example; they follow your lead. Another player called you heady and not willing to hold back for your teammates, always putting your body on the line.”

“Wow, they said all that?” he chuckled. “The Wallabies are a great team. If we don’t walk on that field expecting to go full-out, then we’ll come in a far second. I don’t want that, ever, and I don’t expect any player I stand beside to want that.”

The security team started to pull him away, and the reporter thanked him. Finally, the van was able to creep away from the stadium. The crowd and reporter followed Luca to the player entrance. Ally looked over her shoulder as the reporter tugged at his shirt, causing him to turn. Even she could tell from a distance what was going on in the attractive reporter’s mind and smiled at the disappointed expression on the woman’s face as Luca shook his head and walked inside.

Ally was expecting to be in some type of luxury box, given the Tetari’s status, so was surprised when they took their seats in what she’d classify as front row of the fifty yard line. She looked around the packed stadium, and there were indeed plenty of suites available.

Sean was already waiting for them in his seat. Before Ally sat down, Sean reached out and caught her arm. “Hey, I was pretty drunk last night, so I apologize if I acted like an idiot. Can’t hold my liquor very well, I’m afraid.”

She was speechless. Was he joking? “Apology accepted,” she said flatly.

Sean sat next to his dad, and she could hear them talking about the Australian players. She took the open seat between his parents and looked out at the players warming up, seemingly just feet away. Fans were able to get much closer than at professional football games.