Grandma: how’s our girl doing?
Luca: better. It’s taking all my strength to keep her phone from her. Giving me attitude about it.
Grandma: you have your chat yet?
Luca: not yet. Soon. It’s only been a few days since her concussion.
Grandma: stop finding excuses. She’s well enough to talk. Fix it, then call me to celebrate.
She was right. I hated it. It had been four days since the injury, and tomorrow, we had a football game. Not telling her how I felt ate at me all week. I wasn’t excited about the game. It’d mean I’d have to spend even more hours away from her. I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling on the ends as I stared at the snack tray I’d prepared for Lorelei. She was in our living room, away from the TV, but there was so much sunlight. She said she was sick of her bedroom and demanded she come down here. I didn’t blame her.
Callum and Oliver had been talking her ear off, annoying me to no end. They offered to make posts for her project, and she ate it up. I could’ve done that too. I wanted her to need me for everything, as selfish as that was.
“Monroe.” Dean walked into the kitchen, his expression neutral. He jutted his chin toward the table. “Sit with me a minute.”
It’s time.
“Let me drop off the food to your sister first.”
“She can wait ten minutes. She also can walk.” He pulled out a chair and plopped down, holding his hands together so it looked like he was praying. I joined him, my stomach churning with unease.
He knew I loved his sister and wanted to be with her. I’d laid it all out Sunday night after her injury. Told him how I didn’t plan for this, how I’d hurt her, how I’d fucked it up but planned to earn her back. Told him I’d always be his teammate and football was a priority, but I couldn’t have just football as my entire life.
He never punched me, which was a good sign. He said me he needed time to adjust to this, then we’d talk. We agreed to take care of Lo and then hash it out.
Seemed like he was ready.
“I don’t say this lightly.” Dean closed his eyes, exhaled, and glared at me. “I trust you. You’re loyal, intense, hardworking. I love you like a brother, on and off the field.
I nodded, swallowing the ball in my throat. There had to be a but coming.
He winced, glanced over my shoulder before meeting my gaze. “I also know you’re stubborn and can lose sight of others when you’re focused. You say you love my sister, but what—”
“There is no but what. I love her.”
Dean’s eye twitched. “When you hurt her—”
“Then I’ll apologize, learn from it, and never do it again.” My body raced with my pulse, the intensity of this conversation like a Big Ten game. Oxygen flowed through me, fueling me with each breath. This was a defensive play, and I had to react the right way. Instead of bodies on the field, it was words. “This isn’t temporary for me, this is…Christ, how do I say this?”
Dean crossed his arms and leaned back.
“Her and I need to chat still, so all of this depends on her. If she doesn’t want this, then I’ll respect her and be whatever she needs. I can’t not have her in my life. But if she’ll give this a real chance, I’ll put her first. I don’t care if you approve or don’t like it, Dean, that won’t stop me. I know you won’t let this affect us on the field because that’s not who we are as athletes, but I want Lorelei as long as she’ll have me, in any capacity. Now, if that affects our friendship, it sucks, but I hurt her by wanting to hide her. I can’t… I refuse to upset her again.” I stood up, the urge to hold her even stronger than a few minutes ago. “I want a life with her.”
Dean nodded, tapped the table with his fingers, then held out his hand. “Every time you make her cry, I punch you in the face.”
“How long does this stipulation last?”
“Forever. I don’t care if you’re fucking sixty. You hurt her, I punch you.”
My lips twitched. “You’re assuming she won’t hand me my ass first.”
“I expect her to. Romano twins are tough.”
I shook his hand, and he pulled me for an unexpected hug. “You two make sense together, and it’ll get easier to accept. Just, no excessive PDA around me, alright?”
I squeezed him hard. “You got it.”
He patted me twice before walking away, and I jogged toward the snack tray. Lo and hunger didn’t mix well together, and I loved how her face lit up when she saw me. If I made her even half as happy as she made me, then that’d be enough. My teammates had left her, thankfully, so it was just her in the living room. “Hungry?”
She licked her lips. “Is that cheese?”
“Lots of it.”
“God, I love you.” She clapped before her eyes widened. “Wait, I mean, I love cheese. I love cheese, yes.” She blinked a lot and tilted her head. “You’re fine too.”
I smiled and sat on the couch next to her. I placed the tray on the coffee table and pulled one of her feet into my lap. She always moaned a sexy little sound when I massaged her foot. Even now, she closed her eyes and sighed.
“Relax, eat. Then we can talk.”
“Mm, how about we talk while I eat?” She leaned forward and snatched four pieces from the tray. She crossed her eyes as she bit into them. “Mild cheddar gives me a stomach boner.”
I snorted. “You’re feeling better.”
“I am, yeah. I want to start getting on my computer for an hour at a time tomorrow, see how it feels. That is… if my keeper lets me.” She glared at me and pinched my side. “You’re a real mother hen, Luca.”
This is my moment.
“Lorelei.” Shit. My voice cracked and got all deep. My face heated, and my blip of confidence faded into nothing. She could want me as just a friend again, as nothing. She could’ve realized I wasn’t good enough for her. Hell, she could tell me to fuck off.
This was hard.
“Luca.” She smiled and bit into another bite of cheese. She nudged my side with her foot. “Are we finally having the talk?”
Narrowing my eyes, I stilled my hand on her foot. “Are you mocking me?”
“Yes.” She laughed and scooted closer to me. “It’s so easy.”
“This is serious.” I gulped, the back of my neck sweating at this point.
“So serious.” She scrunched her nose.
“Would you stop it?” My lips twitched.
Lorelei grinned so hard her smile covered her entire face, and joy radiated from her like physical waves. She pushed her hair behind her ears and sighed, shaking her head at me as her gaze softened. “I’ll behave and listen. Have your speech.”
“God.” I laughed. “You’re the worst.”
“Yeah, but you love me anyway.”
“See, that’s the thing.” I cupped her jaw, running my thumb over her cheek. She leaned into my touch and placed her hand over mine. My chest tightened with a gooey, warm sense of peace. “I love you, Lorelei. I want your smiles, your laughter, your attitude, and your hanger attacks. I want to wipe away your tears when you cry out of joy, fear, or even if you’re sad. I—” My voice shook, and I blinked away emotion. “You want someone to put you first, and I’ll be that person. You deserve the world, and I can try to give you that. I’m done being afraid of all the what-ifs in my life and want to focus on the what-I-haves, and that’s you. So, can you forgive me?”
“Forgive you?” She sniffed.
Tears fell down her cheeks, and I wiped them away. She smiled, so could they be happy tears? I pulled her closer so she sat on my lap now. Her warmth spread through me and her scent—God, she smelled so damn good. I kissed her temple, pulling her in a hug. “For not being what you needed before. No secrets, no hiding. We do this thing for real. A relationship. I show you every day how much I love you, and you continue being the light in my world. Football is important, and so is my grandma, but you…I need you to be mine. To be my person.”
She glanced up at me, a watery smile on her lips as she said, “You want me to be your goddess?”
I snorted. “Yes, be my goddess. Love me back.”
“Okay.” She hummed, rested her head against my chest and hugged me hard. “I will.”
“That’s all you have to say? I will?” I cupped the back of her head, gently kneading her scalp with one hand and rubbing her lower back with the other. I’d never tire of holding her like this, our chests pressed together and her scent enveloping me. Yet, I expected more from her. More words.
“Four days.” She pinched my side. “You can wait to hear me say I love you back for four days, Monroe.”
“Is there any reason why you’re being sassy right now?”
“You and Dean talked outside my door Monday, and I heard you. You told him you loved me, and I had to wait four fucking days for you to tell me. So yes, Luca, there is a reason I’m being sassy.”
“Fuck, I missed you.” I cupped her face, staring down at her until I couldn’t take it anymore. I kissed her. She tasted like cheese and coffee, and she groaned into my mouth, sliding her tongue into the kiss and stealing all my rational thoughts. “Baby, I have more to say.”
“Mm, can you kiss and talk?” She pulled back, grinning at me with red cheeks and flushed skin.
“You’re fucking gorgeous.” My breath hitched in my throat. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You know that, right?”
“I do.” She cupped my chin, a glint of mischief entering her eyes. “You submitted my assignments, did multiple grocery runs, held my hand, and told my brother the truth. I can feel how much you care for me.”
“I sense a but coming…” I gripped her waist, letting my fingers tease the skin above her pants.
“But if you truly want to be my boyfriend, you’ll meet every need, yes?”
“Anything. Ask me anything and I’ll do it.”
She licked her lips, bent low until her teeth grazed the shell of my ear. “Anything?”
“Baby, yes.”
“Then I want you to take me upstairs and use your mouth to make me come.”
I coughed into her neck, the image of my fantasy already coming to my mind. I’d been super careful because of her injury but… “You can’t move or strain yourself.”
“I don’t plan to. My boyfriend’s mouth is really talented.”
She looked so smug, so pretty sitting on me. I laughed. “Fine. Fine. I guess I’ll eat you out until you come. I’m giving like that.”
Her winning smile felt like a punch to the chest, and her joy knocked me off-balance. I picked her up, held her tight against my chest when she mumbled something quiet. “What was that?”
“I love you.”
I stopped, waited for her to look at me. “Say it again. Slower.”
“I love you.” She chewed the side of her lip. “I teased you before, but I wanted you to know for sure. I’m in this. Whatever we do, its together. You and me. Luca and Lo.”
“Fucking love the sound of that.” I kissed her forehead and continued upstairs, where I’d show her over and over how much I loved her.
I might’ve almost missed my chance with her by being too afraid, but she got me out of my shell. She pushed me to be better, to realize there was more to life than just football. Lorelei Romano entered my life as a forbidden distraction, but she taught me life was about joy, laughter, and letting people in. My world changed for her, and I’d make sure I showed her how much she meant to me every single day.
