Charlotte

The past few days had flown by.

Luca was like a changed person. We were getting along so much better, and to his credit, he was actually respecting my decision to take this slow. The only time his resolve had even wavered was at night when we'd go to our separate rooms. We both wanted the same thing, but I still felt strongly that we needed to sort ourselves out before we could try anything again.

Luca was doing everything he could to show me we could have a normal life. I had no idea where he disappeared to during the day, but he was home for dinner and to tuck Layla in every night. He was sweet and attentive and slowly getting back to the man I fell in love with. When I saw glimpses of him, it was hard to deny how deeply I was still in love with him. How badly I wanted this life with him.

For all of Layla's life, I dreamed about giving her a real family, just like this. Everyone here loved and adored her, she was happier than I'd ever seen, and absolutely thriving.

The only thing standing that stood in our way was Grant. Like usual.

Luca had him stashed somewhere , and I hadn't broached the topic with him since the first night.

Grant wronged Luca, and I understood his need for revenge. I understood he was doing what had t be done, but it didn't stop the way I was feeling.

It wasn't as simple as Luca wanted it to be. Killing Grant left me without answers or any kind of closure. I was the one he lied to on a daily basis. The one he strung along and let believe her one true love didn't want her. The one he manipulated at every chance out of some sort of sick obsession with hurting Luca. A bargaining chip. A pawn. And I deserved to know why.

Grant would be dead soon, if Luca got his way, and I wouldn't have the opportunity to know. I needed to convince Luca to let me see him once and for all.

Not knowing was making me crazy, and with Layla in school, I had plenty of time to stew about it.

Today, my distraction was having lunch with Lily and Jenni. Jenni's few-day visit quickly morphed into a few-week visit. She claimed it was because she wanted to be here for Christmas, but I had a sneaking suspicion it had more to do with Seth. They'd really made a connection, and he was the first guy I'd seen hold Jenni's attention for longer than a few hours.

"Maybe you should get a job at a little coffee shop." Lily suggested. I spent the better part of our lunch on the patio venting to them about how annoyed I was with all this time on my hands.

"Or maybe you just need to have another baby." Jenni teased, smirking at me.

"Right." I rolled my eyes. "Because bringing another child into our relationship will uncomplicate things."

"A child would just make everyone so deliriously happy, you wouldn't even remember why you were upset with each other to begin with." Lily chided, joining the fun.

"Maybe you should have one." I suggested, hoping to deflect this conversation. I wanted nothing to do with the thought of babies or pregnancy right now.

Lily's face fell a bit, and I could tell it had struck a nerve.

"Yeah, did you and Gabe ever want kids?" Jenni asked, not picking up on Lily's expression.

Lily took a sip of water before beginning to speak. "We did at one point. Actually a few years ago, I got pregnant."

I nearly choked on my salad. Gabe and Lily had a baby?

"We were having a little boy but I miscarried right at twenty-two weeks." She paused for a second, seeming to collect her thoughts. "Gabe was shot in a sting. It was really bad for a while and we weren't sure he was going to make it out of surgery. The stress caused me to lose baby."

"Lily, I'm so sorry." Tears welled up in my eyes, thinking about them having to go through that.

"I know what you're thinking." She smiled at me softly. "I didn't lose our baby because Gabe is involved in the Mafia."

"You don't blame that?" This was a sharp reminder of why I wanted to have my family away from all of this. If Gabe wasn't involved, he never would have been shot and their child would have survived.

"Of course not. Bad things happen all the time, Charlotte. Whether you're involved in the Mafia or not. You're probably a hell of a lot safer here instead of out on your own anyways. You think those any of these man would ever let anything happen to Layla?"

"Not on purpose, but..." I started to say.

"You're going to cause yourself a lot of unnecessary grief if you keep trying to change things you can't control, Char. Of course the Mafia is dangerous, that's the nature of the business. But you'll never find another place where you and Layla are as loved and cherished and safe as you are here." Lily continued to defend. I was almost wondering if Luca had put her up to this.  "If you ask me, I think you're using the Mafia as a cop out. You love Luca, and it terrifies you. And I get that, but you've got to start calling it what it is and stop blaming your hesitation on his business."

"If it was just his business, I could live with it." I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning onto the table. "But the Mafia is his entire lifestyle. He can't separate the two."

"But that's the person you fell in love with." Jenni interjected. "He's always been the brooding, dangerous Mafia man. You've got to admit that added element makes him hotter." She winked.

"We were so toxic when we were together the first time. He's so damn controlling, and we were always arguing. I completely lost myself to him and I'm just getting that back. I don't want to do that again."

"Then make it different this time. He's stubborn as hell, but so are you." Jenni said. "Set some ground rules and make sure he knows how you feel."

"This is starting to feel an awful lot like an intervention." I laughed.

"We're just trying to help." Lily said reaching across the table and squeezing my hand. "You're both better when you're together, and it's about time you started realizing it."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek thinking about everything that they had said. Trying things again with Luca made me really nervous, and maybe I was masking it as fear for Layla. I knew Luca was saw off his own arm before letting any harm come to her. So what exactly was it I was so hesitant about?

"Hello ladies." His deep intoxicating voice sent shivers down my spine that had nothing to do with the weather.

"Speak of the devil." Lily grinned, standing up to greet him. He kissed her cheek and then did the same with Jenni. I expected him to come kiss my cheek as well but he just walked around the table, leaning against a chair.

"Hi Char." He said with a smug grin on his face. He was teasing me now, taking that no touching thing to an extreme and hoping to wear me down.

"Hello." I smirked, seeing right through his games.

"Do you two mind if I borrow Charlotte for awhile? I have something to show her." Luca said, not even bothering to consult me.

"By all means!" Lily smiled.

"Take her." Jenni echoed Lily's sentiments. I glared at both of them.

"I have to pick up Layla." I reminded him.

"Seth is going to." Luca grinned, clearly proud of himself for arranging it.

Jenni's eyes lit up. "Oh good, I'll go with him!"

"Any more excuses?" He arched an eyebrow at me arrogantly.

"Fine." I reluctantly agreed. "See you guys later."

I followed Luca around the side of the house to the driveway where his car was waiting.

"Busy morning?" I asked he opened the door for me.

"Not bad. Just taking care of a few loose ends." There was a duffle bag on the front seat, and with the top open, I could see a set of bloody sweats and a gun sitting on top. My stomach lurched. "How was your morning?"

"It was fine. I'm kind of bored now that Layla is in school." I admitted, watching out the window as he drove.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Funny you should say that."

"Why?" I frowned.

"You'll see soon."

"Where are we going?" My apprehension started creeping up again. Things had been better the last few days, but could I really trust him?

"You'll see soon." He repeated, enjoying making me squirm.

As we drove, I could;t help but replay my conversation with Jenni and Lilly earlier. Were they right about all of this? Was I really just scared about dating Luca again? I didn't want to admit it, but it was starting to feel that way.

I was beginning to see that Layla and I were much safer with him and the resources he had than anywhere else. My heart, on the other hand, was in grave danger whenever he was around.

He whipped the car along the curving backroads on the was into the city, safely resting his hand on the gear shift, mere centimeters from my thigh. It was so close I could almost feel the heat radiating off of him. We rode in silence, and it wasn't until he turned on to 8th Ave. that I knew where we were going. The car came to a stop in front of the building where my gallery once was, and Luca came around to open my door for me.

"I know you've been here with Lily, but I wanted to bring you so you could see a different side of it." He said, eyes set on me as I looked through the front window. It was surreal to see what had become of this place. It was quiet now, since most kids were still in school, but it was filled to the brim with laughing and bubbly children the day Lily and I were here.

"I still can't believe you did all of this." I said. "It's incredible, Luca."

He shrugged. "I just provide the building. It's the counselors that really make the magic happen."

He slid his key into the hole and opened the door for me. The lights were off, but sunlight was pouring through the big bay windows I loved so much. There were all kinds of different projects hung on the walls and ceiling, and when Luca flipped the light on, everything seemed to come to life. It was all still so familiar.

"What made you decide you wanted to open it?" I asked, walking around the room, taking in all the details. It reminded me of the classroom I taught in back in Savannah.

"It sat empty for awhile, but I didn't like the idea of that. There was a group of middle schoolers who used to hang out in front of it and one day when I was here checking up on it, I got to talking to them. They were too young to be just out there by themselves, but their parents were still working. One of the kids reminded me a lot of when I was young.I was desperate for something to put my energy into when I didn't want to go home, and I just wanted them to have something productive. Something to keep them away from a life of crime."

"A Mafia leader cleaning up the streets." I smiled, looking up at him.

"Just your modern day hero's journey." The sound of his laugh drew me in like a magnet.

"It was right over here that we met, remember?" I walked toward the area that a clay station now stood.

"You didn't think I'd forget something like that, did you?" Luca shoved his hands in his pockets, moving toward me.

"I ruined your shirt." I bit my lip, stifling a laugh.

"You left your mark on much more than my shirt, Charlotte." A sweet smile swept across his face. He looked almost boyish in here. His dark hair rustled as if he just got out of bed, and his strong jawline unshaven. He had a dimple on either cheek, and when he smiled, it made me weak.

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't find the right words. After a few seconds, Luca graciously broke eye contact.

"Anyway,  I wanted to bring you here and show you around because my curator quit this week." He frowned. "She was the one in charge of the budget and buying materials and keeping things organized around here and I don't have anyone to do that now. I thought since you're looking for something to do, and I'm looking for help it might be a good opportunity."

I bit my lip, not sure how to respond. Was he offering me a job?

"I'd pay you, of course. And it would only be a few hours while Layla is at school, but it could be fun." He shrugged, looking back at me expectantly. "You could even bring her here in the afternoon when she gets off. I think she'd have a great time. I know it's not exactly as glamorous as having a gallery or even teaching but the kids are great and the parents are so appreciative."

He was talking a mile a minute, not even giving me a chance to respond. He seemed nervous, as if he was worried he might say the wrong thing. "That sounds great. I'd love to."

"Really?" His face lit up.

"Yeah. I love what you did with it, and maybe it's the perfect thing to keep me busy. It'll be nice to be back around art again, too." I surprised us both by standing on my tiptoes and wrapping my arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Thank you."

I was so adamant about taking things slow, but I knew what a huge concession this was for him. The old Luca wouldn't have wanted me to work or hardly even leave the house. This was a huge effort on his part to give me the normal life I was looking for.

"I'm glad you're excited. You know, we're already here in the city, why don't we grab a bite to eat?" He asked, confidence returning to his step. My excitement about the studio had seemed to ease him a bit.

"Sure." I nodded, compromising a little bit of my own. "What did you have in mind?"

"There is a great little taco food truck down the street..." He started, shutting the lights off and getting ready to leave.

I stopped in my tracks. "You want to go to a food truck? With tacos?" I teased. "Who are you and what have you done with Luca?"

He was always appalled anytime I suggested a place to eat that wasn't fine dining. He was a food snob, and a taco truck would definitely have been out of the question four years ago. The only time I ever even knew him to eat Mexican food was at that funny little place on Miami Beach.

"You're hilarious." He grimaced. "I guess you left me with a few bad habits...Now let's go eat before I change my mind."

He offered his hand out to me and I took it willingly.

This new version of Luca was definitely growing on me.