Unspeakable Truths (25 page)

“Oh and Janine,” I call before delivering my parting blow, “If I hear from anyone that you’re out and about gossiping about me and Luca, I’ll be more than happy to show you exactly how trashy I can be.”

She moves quickly, getting the hell out of there, I can see that we’ve garnered the attention of a few surrounding tables, but I fight to keep my composure as Luca spins me to face him. He’s fighting back a smile but he looks at me with pride in his eyes.

“So much for a corner table,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

“Babe you were fucking vicious.”

“She deserved it, and now I’m mortified.”

“Don’t be, it’s already forgotten. Do you want to get out of here?”

“No. I’m not letting her run us off.”

I pull away from him and take my seat, he follows suit. “Are you going to use this as a way to pull back from me?”

It breaks my heart that he thinks that, but I can’t really blame him. It’s not like I’ve done anything to reassure him that I’m not going to bolt at any second. “No Luca, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” he says, reaching across the table and claiming my hand. “I know you were scared that this would happen Ev, so if you want to go it’s okay.”

“I was scared that it would happen, but now that it has it’s done with and I’m fine. It was bound to happen at some point. Well, maybe without the claws being drawn, but it’s fine. I’m okay.”

Amazingly enough, I am okay with what went down, with being seen with Luca by someone who knows our past, and what’s even more shocking is that I truly don’t care as much as I thought I would. If I have to deal with people’s judgment of me and my choices then so be it, it’s worth it if I have Luca in the end. My life as I’ve known it for the last four years is officially over.

~Luca~

I have no idea what the hell happened or how I got to this point in my life. One minute I’m done with Everly, pissed at her for shutting me out again, not caring if I ever see her again, and the next she’s knocking on my door in the middle of the night. She was prepared for a battle, but when the tables turned and it was me pushing her away she let go, and what I got when she did…Magnificent. Her coming to me was completely unexpected but damn if it didn’t only make me want her more. And now…well now we’re in a relationship and that’s probably the hardest thing for me to believe. This time with her has been unreal and intense, because I’m finally living the life I wanted with the woman who I always wanted. I never thought that would happen, I didn’t think it was a possibility.

To hear her tell me that she loves me is surreal. For so long I thought that my feelings for her would go unreturned. I can’t believe how lucky I am. I sound like a girl, I know, but shit, when you care about someone for over eight years and finally get them it’s kind of hard not to be fucking thrilled. She’s everything that I knew she would be and more, sweet, kind, beautiful, and every day she gets more and more fierce. She’s coming into her own again, and I’m happy I get to witness it. The way she laid into Janine last week shit… I’ve never wanted her more than I did in that moment and our sex life is already indescribable.

The knock on my office door brings me back to reality, and I look up to find my dad standing there.

“Dad,” I say, not hiding the surprise in my voice. “What are you doing here, is everything okay?”

My dad and I are cool, we’ve never been super close like my mom and I are, but we have a decent relationship. He’s there when I need him and stands by my side when it counts. He’s not a show affection type of guy, but he’s a good dad nonetheless.

“Yeah everything’s fine. I was down at the home store picking up some things and I thought I’d stop by, is that okay?”

I lean back in my chair and grin. “Of course it’s okay, you can stop by anytime you want.”

He strides into my office and takes a seat in one of the available chairs in front of my desk.

“You haven’t been by to see your mom in a while. She’s trying to give you your space, but she’s worried.”

“Why is she worried?” I question, cocking my head to the side.

“The way things went for you last time you were here, hard for her not to worry about you. I worry too. You weren’t exactly the man of the year around here.”

“I get that, and I’m sorry that you guys were worried. I’m settling in, I like this job, like my place, but I’ll do better to make time for you.”

He sees his opportunity and doesn’t hesitate to strike. “How about coming by for dinner on Saturday. Mom would love to see you and I could use some help fixing the garage door.”

I bite back the laughter, my dad has never been the handiest of men, but he must really be in the dark about his latest project if he’s asking me for help. This is new. “What you’re really saying is that you want me to fix the garage door right?”

“The least you could do for your old man,” he declares with a jut of his chin.

“I’ll be there on Saturday Dad.”

He grabs on to the armrests preparing to stand. “Good, I’ll let your mom know.”

I don’t think before I ask. “It alright if I bring someone?”

“You dating?” he probes, letting go of the armrests and settling into the chair again.

“I’m seeing someone yeah, I would really like to bring her if that’s alright.”

“Of course.”

They need to know about Everly because as far as I’m concerned she’s permanent. I’m not letting her go, they need to understand and accept that.

“I’ll call Mom and tell her myself but I’m telling you now, it’s Everly West.”

“Fuck.” My father’s face goes dark as he leans forward resting his forearms on my desk. “Are you kidding me? That girl hated you, blamed you for her husband’s death, and now you’re telling me you’re seeing her.”

I let out a sigh. I don’t blame him for not being thrilled. If I was in his shoes I’d probably be a bit leery too, but the last thing I want to do is have a walk down memory lane and rehash the past with my dad.

“I let her think what Ty led her to believe was true. I didn’t want her to have to deal with the reality of what got him killed.”

“And now she’s just fine with you?” he bellows, getting up and beginning to pace my office, the way he used to pace in front of me in the living room and lecture me when I was in trouble as a kid.

I lean back in my chair again, try to keep my calm. I don’t want this to escalate into an argument. I just need him to know the facts and accept my choices. “Now she knows the truth Dad, she knows what happened and she’s okay with it now. She’s with me, and we’re happy.”

“Forgive me, but I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You know I don’t involve myself in your personal business often, but I have to tell you I’m worried for you. You’ve paid for far too long for sins you did not commit.”

“I love her.”

He sighs, knowing that there’s nothing much he can say at this point, I’ve never declared my love for anyone, so he knows that if I’m saying it it’s true.
“You love her… she love you?” he asks, pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Ten minutes in my office and I’m already giving him a headache. This wasn’t how I planned for this conversation to go but I can tell by his stance that he’s going to let it go.

“She loves me.”

He makes no attempt to convince me that I’m making a mistake, offers me no advice on how to end things with Ev, says nothing further, he simply nods his head.

“I’ll see you both on Saturday,” he says before walking out of my office. I wait till he’s gone then waste no time in picking up the phone and calling my mom. She reacts much the same way as my dad did when I tell her about Everly, but when I explain to her how things have changed she’s at least a little more open to the idea of me and Everly together.

Everly was understandably anxious when I told her we were having dinner at my parents’ house. Given our history, she was worried about what they might think of us together and was not thrilled with having to face them just yet. I can see the hesitation on her face as I open the front door to my parents’ house. I grab on to her hand and give it a squeeze.

“It’s going to be fine,” I say, hoping to comfort her. She still looks nervous, but she squeezes my hand in return and gives me a small smile and a nod.

I walk with her hand in hand through the house leading her into the kitchen where I know my mom is cooking.

“Hey mom,” I call, releasing Ev’s hand and coming around the center island to give her a hug.

Her face lights up when she sees me, making me feel like a shit son for not making more time for her. “Hi sweetie.”

I detach myself from her embrace with a smile and claim my girl’s hand again, wanting to keep her close. “Mom, you remember Everly.”

“Of course, Everly, it’s very nice to see you,” she greets warmly, though I notice she doesn’t move to give her a hug or a kiss which is unlike my mother. She’s one of the most affectionate people I know.

“It’s nice to see you too,” she replies, sounding a little too timid for my liking. “It smells really good in here, is there anything I can help you with?”

I can tell my mom senses Ev’s apprehension, and she softens her gaze and gives her a more genuine smile. “I’ve got it all under control, why don’t you pull up a chair. I’ll get you a drink and we can chat.”

“That sounds great.”

I pull the counter height chair out for Ev, which earns me a smile and a soft “thank you.”

“Luca, your father’s down in the man cave, let him know you’re here so you can install the garage door opener and be done with it.”

Everly looks up at me, the thought of me leaving her alone with my mother makes her anxious, but she doesn’t say a word. I take a seat in the stool next to her and turn my attention back to my mother.

“Mom, we just got here, can I spend some time with you first. There’s plenty of time for you and dad to put me to work.”

She gives me a knowing look before moving to the wine rack, grabbing a bottle and glasses.

“So how long have you two been seeing each other?”

“Not long.”

“A few months,” I amend her answer not wanting my mom to think this is a flash in the pan type of thing. She needs to understand the seriousness of this relationship. I see shock register in her delicate features, the fact that it’s been months and I haven’t said anything to her isn’t going over well.

“It was my fault he didn’t tell you. I was just afraid of how everyone was going to react, and I wasn’t ready to deal with it. He wanted to say something; he just wanted to give me the time I needed.”

This seems to pacify her, her face going soft again. She knows me well enough to know that if I really had wanted to tell her about my relationship with Ev, I would have. Which means Mom is reacting to the fact that Ev put the blame on herself for my own decision, so she’s also figuring out that Ev has my back and she likes that. She would want that for me, someone who’s not afraid to step into the line of fire for me.

“I know you must be worried for Luca, because given our history we haven’t always seen eye to eye or been the best of friends, but I realize now that I was wrong about him, and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.”

I want to bang on my chest and drag her out of here caveman style. I know she’s anxious to make a good impression on my mom, but she also hasn’t hesitated to stick up for us, to defend our relationship and I love her even more for it. She’s getting through to my mom too—I can tell by her less guarded stance, and the way she looks at us with less hesitation.