Stealing Luca's Heart (21 page)

He’d have tomorrow to unwind and planned on making the best of it with Ally. He’d outlined what he’d wanted for his assistant, and she’d just sent him a text saying everything was a go. He didn’t usually feel the need to impress anyone, especially a woman, but he wanted to create a special day for her, for them. She needed to know that he wasn’t playing her; he was becoming more convinced of it with every moment they were together. Ally was special, and he wanted to show her just how special she was to him. If she didn’t like surprises, though, he was royally screwed.

He saw her first. She was sprinting the last leg of her run, and he had to admit, she looked fast. Molly barked and took off in pursuit. Ally slowed as she reached the side of the house, bending down to greet the dog. She looked up and gave Luca a full grin as he joined them.

Chapter 16

Ally didn’t know what was stranger. The fact that she and her dad were living in the Tetari’s home, or that Luca and her dad were having a beer on her patio while she got dressed for a pizza date. She decided to let her hair go wavy since Luca seemed to like it that way. She spent a little extra time on her makeup and looked in the mirror for one last outfit check and decided it might look a little dressy for pizza. The clothes she brought were either for going out to dinner or hiking, not dating. She’d chosen cropped white linen pants and a hot pink short-sleeved button-down sweater with a white tank top underneath.
It will have to do
, she decided, slipping into brown flip-flops.

Ally stepped onto the patio and watched Luca’s gaze shift from her dad to her. She felt her face warm when Luca stood and came to her. She noticed her dad’s eyes narrow when Luca took one of her curls, wrapping it round his finger.

“You look lovely.” The way his gaze drank her in was intoxicating.

“George and Simone are taking me out to dinner,” her dad said, breaking the silence.

“Dad, are you sure you’re—” she stopped, catching his expression. “I’m not going to stop worrying about you, so you can stop looking at me like that.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “Ally, about tomorrow. What do you think about flying to Auckland in the morning instead of tomorrow night? It would give you some extra time to get settled before the conference.”

She looked from her dad to Luca. “That’s when the plane leaves, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

Ally shrugged. “Then I guess I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

“See, Luca. I told you she’d be fine. My girl just rolls with it. I’ll see you in the morning before you leave. Now, I’m going to go find my ride to dinner.” He patted her arm and walked into the house. “Have fun tomorrow.”

“Thanks for your help, Cal,” Luca managed before Cal walked out of the room.

“Help with what?”

“Oh, he helped me with some of tomorrow’s arrangements.”

“Do you have some preconference meetings you need to go to?”

“Probably. But I’ll have enough of them once the conference starts.” He closed the distance between them. “I was hoping you’d let me take you somewhere to just unwind for the day.”

“That’s funny because I feel that’s all I’ve done since I got here.”

“This will be my version of unwinding, away from all of this.” He had a wicked gleam in his eyes. “You’ll have to trust me?”

Nodding, she knew she had just pushed all the chips to the middle of the table. She was all in.

“Great! Let’s get going. I’m starved.”

They walked out the front door, and Ally mentioned the strange birds she saw on Gracie’s car.

“Ugh, those cheeky birds are keas. They’re large alpine parrots, and they drive us crazy. They’re smart, clever little creatures who will check out your backpack or anything rubber and carry it off if they can. It’s my own fault; I should have put her car away.” He was still shaking his head while he whistled for Molly.

Ally could safely say this was another first. Tearing down the gravel road on a quad with Molly on the back. She began telling Luca about her run on the way to his house.

“You ran up that hill? That’s impressive. I use that as a training hill. We’ll have to have a little race sometime. Here we are,” he said, turning off the quad.

Luca’s home was in front of them. “This doesn’t look anything like it did from the air,” she said. It was a beautiful stone house with a tall stone fireplace on one end. The front porch ran the length of the house and was built with faded, stressed wood. The house looked extremely old, but while she was admiring the wood, she noticed the nails were new.

“You mean you weren’t impressed with my corrugated steel roof?” he teased. “This was one of the original buildings on the property, and it suits me.” He was leading her into the front door. “I’ve updated the house but wanted it to remain rustic.”

She followed him into the small kitchen, accepted a beer and a tour. The one-floor home was an open floor plan with two bedrooms and a bathroom off the living room. The flooring and cabinetry were mahogany. The decor was modern cabin. There was a large sheepskin rug underneath two leather couches in front of the stone fireplace at the opposite end of the room. It was perfect.

“Aren’t you curious to know how I get pizza delivered out here?”

“The thought did cross my mind.” She sat down on a barstool at the kitchen island. Setting her beer down, she admired the beige speckled granite countertop.

“It’s magic,” he said, opening his oven. Inside were two pizzas warming. “It’s called have your cousin bring them back from town with her.”

“That Gabi is a keeper.”

“I’ll say. So is her sister.” He pulled the pizzas out and turned to look for plates in the cabinet. “Actually, Gracie is a lot like you.”

“Like me?”

“Yeah, she’s more intense than Gabi. She’s completely consumed with her geology work. There’s little room for anything else in her life right now.”

Ally studied her beer. That behavior did sound familiar. “What’s she working on?”

Luca brought over two plates and a stack of napkins. “I’m not even sure. She’s working with the government, so she can’t say much.”

“Sounds intriguing. What’s your Aunt Ginny like?”

“She’s a really nice lady, too nice. I never could figure out how she ended up with Wayne; they’re so different.”

“How?”

“They have different values. She put up with Wayne’s spending for years. He wants the good life, international holidays, winter home in Australia, the lot. That’s not us. I suspect Dad’s relieved she’s finally making noises about giving Wayne the boot. I get the impression that he doesn’t care for Wayne, but he would never come out and say that.”

“Your dad’s a class act, for sure.”

Luca nodded. “Hope the pizza is all right. I ordered a Mordor and a Pandemonium.

“Say what?”

He took his takeaway menu from a side kitchen drawer and handed it to her.

“The pizza place is called Hell Pizza?” That was wrong on so many levels. Ally opened the brochure. “The first seven pizzas are the seven deadly sins. I’ve got to be honest; these pizzas look really good, but not sure about the marketing.” She read down the list and saw the Mordor was smoky BBQ sauce, venison pepperoni, chicken, onion, red pepper, and bacon. The Pandemonium was chicken, cranberry sauce, and camembert cheese. “Thanks,” she said as Luca handed her a plate. She took a slice of each.

“It’s all in good fun. Nothing wrong with a little black humor.”

“Really good,” she said with her mouth full.

After dinner, Luca poured two glasses of sauvignon blanc. Grabbing the bottle and a blanket, he led her outside.

“The sky is so clear; it’d be a shame to sit inside when we could enjoy this view.” Luca spread out the blanket.

“Definitely a great idea,” she said, helping him get the blanket straightened. Molly quickly claimed a corner for herself. Ally sat next to Luca, who was on his back, one hand behind his head, the other holding his glass. His eyes were half closed. Now, that was a calendar pose. She could feel excitement creeping into her veins.

“I had a great time today, watching you and the team. I can see now why rugby players need to be in such great shape.”

“How nice of you to notice,” he said, offering up a sly grin.

“Hard not to. Your parents are your number one fans. Even Sean caught himself cheering a couple of times.”

“Is that so?”

“What’s his deal?”

“I’m not sure. Right now we’re giving him a long rope and watching what he does with it.”

“You’re blessed to have a wonderful family that loves and supports you. No one cheered louder for you today than your parents.” She felt her voice catch, hoping he didn’t notice.

He did. Luca set his glass down in the grass and sat up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She searched the depths of those deep-green eyes and knew that he would listen; he would care. She looked down at the plaid stripes on the blanket. “I’m sorry. It just never gets easier. The pain just creeps up on me unexpectedly, like now. I’m having a wonderful evening and suddenly I’m sad because I want to share this incredible trip with Mom. It forces me to remember that she’s gone.” She wiped the slow trickle of tears on her cheeks away. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to feel the pain. To expose herself.

Luca slid closer, reaching his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as she rested it on his shoulder. “Tell me.”

She knew she needed to tell him, needed to trust him if they were going to move ahead. She took a deep breath, “We had been in Cedar Rapids at a friend’s for dinner. It’s a city just north of Iowa City,” she explained.

Luca watched her steady her breathing, rubbed her shoulders, coaxing her to continue. She felt herself tremble.

She looked off in the distance, recalling the vivid details. “It was freezing rain that night. I drove on the ramp to enter the interstate to head home. The road was too icy. I saw the tractor trailer storming down the interstate and hesitated, thinking I might not be able to get the traction to make it onto the road in front of the truck in time. I decided to slow down and go behind it instead, but the car locked up, sliding down the ramp directly in its path. There was a car to the truck’s left, so the trucker had no choice besides continuing straight ahead. It slammed into us, causing the car to flip over and over and finally landing in a ditch.”

“You were with her?” Luca’s shock was clear.

She slowly nodded. “I was knocked unconscious but came away with a few broken bones. Mom was declared dead on the scene. It should have been me.”

Luca wiped the tears that were trailing down her cheeks and then tightened his hold around her. “I can’t imagine going through something like that. You’re a strong woman, Ally. She’d be proud of you, just like your dad is.”

She studied him, touched by his words. She’d run the scenario of the accident so many times in her head. Her life continued moving along but seemingly on autopilot.

“I appreciate you listening. It’s not something I usually unload on someone during a first date.”

His face darkened. “I hope you’ll realize soon you can trust me, Ally. I’ve pretty much laid myself out there for you too. This sounds like new territory for both of us.”

He leaned over and kissed her deeply. They both lay down on the blanket, with Ally resting her head on his chest. It had been a long day for both of them. In only a few minutes, her breathing smoothed out. It pleased him that she’d fallen asleep curled against him. He had plans for tonight that involved a little romance under the stars. Plans that could wait. As he held Ally, he realized that what he was feeling was deeper than just the physical attraction that was tugging at him. His instincts were telling him he shouldn’t let her get away. He wanted all of her, and after tomorrow he hoped she’d feel the same way.

Chapter 17

Luca’s eyes snapped open when the aroma of freshly cooked bacon entered his bedroom. It was still dark outside. Rolling over on his side, he saw his clock read five thirty. He ran a hand through his hair to help rouse his brain. He remembered carrying Ally in last night, careful not to wake her when he placed her in the guest bedroom. Of course, he’d thought there wouldn’t be any harm in bringing her to his bed; they were just sleeping after all. However, the last thing he wanted was for her to feel that he’d taken advantage of her. He smiled, realizing that the sound of that bacon sizzling was going to be his reward.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and lumbered over to his dresser. He stepped into a pair of nylon shorts and wandered out to find Ally. He walked into the kitchen just in time to catch her throwing a piece of bacon high in the air for Molly to snap up. She was wearing last night’s clothes but had twisted her hair up in a loose knot. She looked beautiful. When she noticed him, she offered up a full, bright smile along with a heaping plate of food. Goddamn, he was falling for her.

*

“Good morning!” Ally set his plate on the kitchen island. She smiled, thinking that Luca looked like a sleepy toddler. That breathtaking face and mussed-up hair, however, was in sharp contrast to the buff body with its massive spiraling tattoos stretched wide over his shoulders and shoulder blades. Finally, she was able to admire that impressive body.

Looking harder at the markings, she noticed the black twining designs. They were very intricate and elegantly done. She willed herself not to stare, but for God’s sake, she was only human and would have stared even without the tattoos.

Luca sat down on the barstool and stabbed an egg. “This is a welcome surprise. How did I get so lucky?”

“I woke up early this morning. Once I remembered where I was and how I must have ended up in your guest bedroom—” she said, handing him a fresh mug of coffee,“I wanted to show my gratitude for your active listening last night, and for caring.” She leaned on the opposite side of the counter on her elbows, coffee cup between both hands.

“It was my pleasure.” He reached over and placed his hand on hers.

“I hope you like fried eggs.”

“This is great, really,” he said, shoving a forkful in his mouth. “Are you not eating?”