Hers To Love (complete) Cover By @army_ss841

Chapter 52

Ari practically flew down the stairs.  She didn't want to be away from him any longer than she had to be.  Paulo was in the kitchen on the phone and stared at her as he continued to talk.  She really should apologize for yelling at him.  She knew how he felt about her and that he wanted her safe as much as Luca did.  His call ended and he held up his hands in a defensive manner and said "friends?"  She responded by giving him a big bear hug and a sincere apology for flying off the handle.  Of course he accepted.  "I actually liked that wild woman side of you" he said.  "I was beginning to think that you were all cotton candy and fluff".  That earned him a playful jab in the ribs.  "Would sir like something to eat?" she asked sarcastically.  He said no that he was heading into the city with Lu to do a few things but before he left he said "By the way, the house looks amazing!  You really captured the holiday spirit here.  It feels like home should.  Good job!"  She grinned at the compliment.  "Well who knew that on the inside of that hard crunchy exterior there was a molten center of gooey caramel?"  He acted like he was going to get her and she let out a little scream and ran to the other side of the bar.  She bid him be careful on his way out the door and proceeded with her and Luca's lunch.

While Ari was downstairs Luca made a call to Enzio Fabretti.  He had also been injured but only required a few stitches to Luca's 12.  Enzio had gathered some more information on the attack that he would give to Paulo when he arrived.  The two men talked strategy.  Luca laid out what his thoughts were and Enzio had some to add and they came up with a plan that both could live with.  After Thanksgiving Luca told Fabretti that he would be able to travel and they would hold a meeting with the heads of the other families to get their take and set the final plan in motion.  They had three weeks before the affair at Santini's.  They would be ready.  Luca asked about the other men that had been injured and Enzio assured that everyone would be ready to play their part come the night of the gala.  Luca was pleased to hear this.  He trusted Fabretti like he trusted Paulo.  There were few people that earned that trust from Luca, he was one of them.  They said their goodbyes and hung up.  Luca didn't want to be on the phone making business calls when Ari got back.

Ari fixed the rolling cart with mugs of the fragrant and creamy soup, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, Coke and some of the cookies from yesterday's lunch with Paulo and Fabio and set off to the elevator.  She arrived in the room to see Luca getting back into bed.  "I just went to the bathroom" he said defending his actions.  He was still wincing when he moved but his bandage seemed to be clean from the outside so he was definitely getting better.  She hoped he would be up for her joining him in bed for a nap after lunch.  Sleeping in that chair was for the birds.  She rolled the cart up next to the bed.  Under it she had brought a tray with legs and sat it across Luca's lap.  She put his glass with ice and Coke on the tray, then the plate with the sandwich and chips, then the cookie and lastly the mug of soup.  She put a spoon down and laid a napkin on his thigh.  She would eat on the cart and sit in the chair.  He hummed in appreciation at the first taste of the soup.  She loved that her cooking pleased him.  They ate in silence not realizing how hungry they were.  Once their soup was gone and they'd started on the sandwiches they opened dialog with light conversation.  "Paulo tells me you did an amazing job decorating the house.  I am hoping maybe later this evening we can take the elevator down and I can see what you did?"  Ari smiled and said "I had a lot of fun.  It was truly a labor of love.  I can't believe that Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow.  I guess when we go down later I will do a quick run through and make sure I have everything I need for the feast.  I've checked once already but I just want to know beyond a doubt."  They continued talking about the holiday, the people coming etc when Ari thought to ask him about her parents.  He said that Paulo would be picking them up at noon tomorrow.  She was so excited.  She would get to see her parents for Thanksgiving after all and introduce them to someone that had become and important fixture in her life.

There was nothing left of their meal.  "That was one of the things that I needed" Luca said sighing from the full feeling.  "What else did you need babe?"  This from Ari.  "I need my woman under the covers laying with me."  Well I could most certainly do that for him.  "Let me get all of this out of the way" she said clearing up the remnants from lunch "and I need to change your dressing and give you the other half of the pain pill then we can nap the rest of the day if you like."  He liked.  Ari got the cart out of the way, went to the bathroom and washed her hands.  She picked up the tray with her supplies and repeated the same steps that she had before.  The hydrogen peroxide still stung but not as much and she finally got the last of the dried blood cleaned away and saw just how jagged the cut was.  What had that bastard used?  A hacksaw?  She tried not to think about that.  She didn't want to get angry all over again.  When she finished she put the tray up and climbed in bed with Luca relishing how good it felt to be near him, to feel his warmth and she wrapped her arm around his waist careful to not touch his bandage.  She needed this too.  She felt sated and closed her eyes and drifted off into a world without Morelli.