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"You okay?" Luca questions once I re-enter the living room of his beach house. His suit jacket is thrown over the back of the couch and he's unbuttoning his cuffs, a bottle of champagne and two flutes, along with chocolate covered strawberries on the coffee table.
I nod, words escaping me at the sight of the roses that weren't there when we first came in after dinner on the beach. Red petals are scattered along the floor, candles lighting up the area around the table.
"Uh," I clear my throat, "Yeah, Jori's knocked out. Food coma I guess." I joke though I know I could've delivered it better. Despite that, Luca chuckles, his dimples making an appearance. Sucking in a breath, I motion to the set up, "Is this for us?"
Finished with rolling his sleeves up, he glances down at the table and purses his lips, "Yes. Do you ..." He nervously scratches the back of his head, "Do you like it?"
I can't fight the smile that grows on my face. Stepping up to him, I take his face into my hands and kiss his lips, "I love it." He releases a breath of relief. And I thought I was the nervous one.
After a few more kisses — because I just can't get enough — we find ourselves seated with our backs to the bottom of the couch, a glass of champagne in each of our grasps, laughing at jokes we share.
He feeds me another strawberry as I run my fingers along his exposed arm. Brushing a drop of chocolate from my lip, he licks it from his thumb and just watches me.
"You know, I used to be a stripper." I recall, thinking of the months after Ghost was arrested. Luca says nothing, just stares at me with those comforting eyes of his, "That's how I met my friend, Talia. She practically scooped me off the street after Matthew was arrested. Took care of me. Made sure I was fed, in warm clothes. She knows everything about me and I know everything about her."
Luca licks his lips, "I'm happy she was there for you."
"Me too." I smile with pursed lips, attention drawn to his inked skin.
"Did you like doing it?"
"Stripping?" He nods and I shrug, "It was fun for a minute, getting the money I needed, but the guys got too touchy for me as time went by. Then there were the insecurities." He brushes a curl back behind my ear and arches a brow. I elaborate, "The girls I worked with saw me as damaged because of my scars," I zone out as I imagine the marred skin on my back, "Said I was too confident to be on the stage looking the way I did. Said none of the customers wanted to see used goods. And I believed them. So I quit, moved to a smaller, cheaper apartment deeper in the city and started working for Nathan."
He caresses my cheek, thumb occasionally brushing against my jaw. I lean into him. "And how do you feel about them now?"
I bite my lip, "I don't know." Pausing, I rest a hand on his, "Jori told me what you said about his." I kiss his arm, "Thank you."
