Mafia Heir

Chapter 24

Charlotte

"Are you sure you can't stay tonight, Luca?" Noah whined, leaning against the doorframe as Luca and I headed outside. I hadn't seen my brother in weeks, but he by the end of the evening, he was just as obsessed with Luca as I was. Possibly even more.

Watching Luca with my family was like something out of fairytale. He joked around and watched a hockey game on TV with my dad, pretended to lose at countless rounds of Mario Kart with my brother, and even helped my mom with the dishes when we finished eating. For a few hours, I forgot. I forgot about the danger I was in and who Luca really was. I forgot I was knowingly getting myself caught up in a Mafia Don, who would either break my heart or capture it in every sense of the word.

But still, tonight was perfect. It felt so real and so easy that when I remembered that it would never be like this again, it stung even deeper.

Choosing to stay with Luca would change everything about my life, and these simple , carefree evenings and time spent with my family would be few and far between. They could never know the truth about Luca, and we put them in danger just by being around them.

"We can't stay tonight, but we'll be back soon, I promise." Luca grinned, waving at Noah. I cringed, hoping he wasn't making promises to my little brother that he didn't intend on keeping. It was one thing for Luca to break my heart, but if my family got attached to him and this thing went south, that would be unbearable.

"Maybe we can catch a warm day and take the boat out." Josh suggested, giving me one last hug.

"That sounds great." Luca said.

"Love you guys!" I called over my shoulder as we headed to the car.

"See you soon!" My mom waved. "Let me know when you get home safe!"

Luca opened the door for me and then climbed in the car himself, and before I knew it, we were on our way back to New York.

There was a heavy silence between us as we drove—Luca focused on his coming meeting, and me lost in the uncertainty of what came next.

When I couldn't take the quiet anymore, I finally spoke.

"That was nice."  

Luca reached for my hand, and swept his thumb along the back of it gently. "It was. I loved meeting your family. They're wonderful."

"I think they liked you, too." I agreed. "How long will your meeting be tonight?"

"Not long. I'll only be gone about two hours." He said. "Are you going to stay at my house?"

That's right. Luca was home now. There was no reason for me to stay with him—that is, unless I wanted to. "You're asking me?"

Luca smirked, shaking his head. "Yes. I'm not as concerned about security now that I'm back. My reasons for you staying at my house now would be purely selfish."

A deep blush blanketed my cheeks. Was it getting hot in here or was it just me?

"So what do you say?" He asked. "Are you going to go home and sleep alone, or stay at my house snuggled up warm in my bed until I get home?"

I wanted to say yes so bad, but there was still so much nagging uncertainty in my mind. It wasn't just the Mafia. It was Luca. He was a playboy—charming and dominant and well aware of just how desirable he was. I was outmatched, constantly feeling like I didn't measure up in his company. He was experienced in more ways than I could even comprehend, probably having slept with dozens of women. And my longest relationship had been with Grant, and even that ended up in smoke. This was new territory for me, and as nervous as I was about the Mafia, I was almost just as scared of not being good enough for him. Of turning into another notch on his bedpost. Of him dropping me the first moment someone younger and prettier came around.