Luca

When I left Charlotte, I went straight to the bar. All I could think about was numbing the thoughts swarming my mind right now. I fucked up. I was an asshole. I was stupid. And Charlotte had called me out on my shit.

I was used to having the upper hand in conversations--strong-arming and bullying people into what I wanted. When you were as powerful and intimidating as I was, it was easy to do. But with Charlotte, all it did was blow up in my face. She was right. I couldn't approach her the same way I did nearly everyone else in my life, not if I had any hopes of this working out. I had never had any woman I cared about like Charlotte. Any woman I was scared to lose. And when she kicked me out of the studio tonight, that possibility was at the forefront of my mind.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and nearly turned around swinging until I heard Angelo's voice.

"Is it working?" He smirked, sitting down on a barstool next to me.

"Is what working?"

"Drinking away all of your problems? You feel better?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not in the slightest. I feel worse."

"Reggie told me what happened. I guess he overheard some of your fight with Charlotte."

"Reggie needs to learn to keep his head down and mind his own business. Guy can't even follow orders." I pressed my glass to my lips, taking a big gulp of whiskey and letting the slow burn warm me up.

"You and I both know how persuasive Charlotte can be." Angelo chuckled. "Give the guy a break."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and Angelo ordered another round. My conversation with Jenni was still weighing heavy on my mind. I didn't want to fuck this up more than I already had. What if I wasn't the right person for her? What if she really was too good for me and I was holding her back and trying to force her into a role I wanted her to play, just like Elena said? How did I make sure she was safe, while still keeping all of the parts I loved about her intact?

I wouldn't know what a functional relationship looked like if it hit me on the head. The only examples I had were my own parents and Elena and Antonio, and neither of them were prime examples. So far, I never let it get far enough with a woman to be an issue--keeping them out on a limb, like Jenni said. But if I didn't figure it out soon, I was going to lose Charlotte.

"So what are you going to do?" Angelo asked, slugging the last of his beer back. "Sit here and drink with me all night or get apologize to your girl?"

"She made it clear she doesn't want to speak to me." I let out a sharp laugh, replaying the conversation in my mind.

"What exactly happened?"

I let out a heavy sigh. "Reggie texted me that Grant was there, and that Charlotte was trying to get him to leave. So I went over, and I found Charlotte and Grant alone in the back room together."

"Doing what?" His eyes widened.

"Absolutely nothing." I chuckled. "In fact, she was kicking him out. But all I saw was red. I jumped in and threatened to kick his ass. And when he left, I told her that if I was another Don I would beat the shit out of her."

"Jesus, Luca." Angelo looked at me like I was insane, and maybe I was. Telling the story again made it sound even worse than experiencing it the first time. "What did she say?"

"She said she wasn't going to be with me if I was going to treat her like one of my soldiers and that I needed to go home and think about it."

Angelo burst out laughing. "Girl's got guts, I'll give her that. But honestly, she's right you know..."

"Of course she is. It's just that that's the only thing I know. I don't know how to handle things differently because that's exactly what my father would have done. It's what I know. And the worst part was, that I was so pissed off that for a second I considered it."

"You didn't consider actually doing it, Luca." Angelo shook his head. "Like you said, that violence and response is all you know so of course it's going to be your knee jerk reaction. The important thing is that you didn't. Because you're not your father. You're not Antonio. You're not that kind of person. You realize it's the wrong way to handle it."

"I shouldn't have said it either."

"Maybe not, but that's something you can apologize for." Angelo said. "I've only known Charlotte for a little while, but she strikes me as the kind of person who appreciates effort. She's not going to expect everything to be perfect, but you've got to show her you you're willing to put in the work for the actual relationship part. It's easy to focus on keeping her safe, but there is a hell of a lot more to a relationship than sex and protection."

I rolled my eyes, chuckling. "You know, maybe you're in the wrong line of work. You sound an awful lot like a shrink."

"I wear many hats as Capo around here." He grinned. "You want one more piece of advice?"

"You're going to give it to me anyway."

"You need to tell her the truth about Antonio before it's too late, especially if you really care about her. You might not have a relationship to worry about if you let it go on too long." Angelo stood up, slapping my back.

"Love." I said, finishing my whiskey.

"What?"

"I said, love. I don't just care about her, I love her." Why was it so easy for me to tell everyone but her?

"Wow." Angelo was surprised. "You're in deeper than I thought. Then you really better swallow your pride and go fucking apologize. I'll call you later."

He was right. When Charlotte found out her father and brothers were alive and I knew the truth, none of this might matter. Maybe it was time to consider telling her, or at least having another conversation with Antonio about it.

First and foremost, I needed to fix what I'd broken this afternoon. I paid my tab and headed toward Charlotte's.

I went inside and right for the elevators but was stopped by a man at the front desk. "Excuse me, you need to be buzzed into go up there."

"Right." I said. "I'm here to see Charlotte Parker in Apartment 1267."

"Mmm." The man said. "Ms. Parker isn't accepting any visitors this evening. She has the Do Not Disturb light on."

Was this clown serious? After the first bellman was so flippant and let anyone up, I hired a new team. The joke was on me though, because they were so thorough that they weren't even letting me up.

"Look, I really need to get upstairs to see her. My name is Luca Catalano, I'm the one who hired your team as security for this building."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Catalano. There are no exceptions. But if you want to give her a call, she can give me verbal permission over the phone. Otherwise, I can't buzz you up until her DND light is off."

The irony of this was too perfect.

"Fine." I conceded. "Thank you."

Since I couldn't get inside and Charlotte's phone was going straight to voicemail, I found a comfortable spot on the bench outside the building. I wasn't leaving until I made this right.

Charlotte

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. After my fight with Luca, I came home, opened a bottle of wine and watched cheesy romcom movies all night. It was exactly what I needed.

I decided to go for a run before heading into the gallery and got myself ready, slipping on a pair of maroon yoga pants and black crop top. If I was quick, I would have time to shower before I needed to get to work. After throwing water all over my canvas yesterday, I was starting over which was going to set me back.

"Good morning!" I waved at the man at the front desk as I put my ear buds in. A new team started a few weeks ago, about the same time my security system was installed and I had a sneaking suspicion that Luca had something to do with that, too. He had his hand in nearly every part of my life, and I was beginning to question it. Ice wanted to protect me, and I was thankful for everything he was doing, but as my boyfriend, it was a little off putting. There were some things I wanted just for myself, and last night proved that a little alone time was good for me. Maybe it was time to take a little step back from Luca so I didn't lose sight of myself.

I got outside and turned toward my route. Grabbing my ankle, I did a quick stretch and then felt a hand on my shoulder. My heart jumped into my stomach as I whipped around, pulling out a move Luca taught me and knocking my attacker right in the nose.

Except it wasn't an attacker. It was Luca.

"Ah!" He cringed, shrinking backwards as blood started pouring out of his nose.

"Oh my god." I reached out for him, guiding Luca over to the bench and offered him my sweatshirt to stop the bleeding. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

Luca started chuckling. "I guess I deserved this. I knew you were pissed off, but I had no idea you were this pissed."

"Why did you sneak up on my like that?" I asked, completely breathless. Poor Luca's head was tilted back trying to contain the mess.

"I called your name a few times." He said.

"I had my earbuds in. I'm sorry." I covered my eyes. This was a complete disaster.

"It's okay. Really." He said. "Glad to see my training paid off, you've got a mean right hook."

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. For the first time, I realized how disheveled Luca looked, and it wasn't just from the punch. He was wearing the same suit I left him in yesterday, and he looked exhausted, and dirty?

"Have you been here all night?"

Luca nodded, the bleeding finally having subsided. "I wanted to come apologize. But the doorman wouldn't let me up."

"So you slept on a bench? Why didn't you call me?" My eyes widened in exasperation.

"I did, but your phone was off and I figured you didn't want to talk to me anyway."

"Jesus, Luca. I'm sorry I had no idea."

"Don't be sorry. Like I said, I deserved it and probably worse. A night on a dirty, cement park bench does wonders for a man's ego."

Luca reached for my hand, and stroked his thumb across the back of it gently. "I don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like fighting with you either, but I also don't like my boyfriend threatening me." I swallowed the lump in my throat. This wasn't exactly how I imagined having this conversation, but here we were.

"I didn't mean to threaten you, Char. Well, maybe I did, but not really. Intimidation is my go to, and in the moment, that's the only way I knew how to handle the situation. I never should have said that, and I don't, by any means, mean it. I'd never lay a hand on you Charlotte."

I didn't respond, letting him continue.

"Look, I'm just trying to get you to understand the severity of all of this. It's not just about Grant. I have Reggie with you to keep you safe, and you sending him away makes you vulnerable. Especially since we know Silvano is watching the gallery."

"Luca, it's been weeks since he tried anything. I'm sure he's forgotten all about me by now." I sighed. I really felt like we were in the clear at this point, at least I was really hoping we were.

"Problems like Silvano don't just disappear, Charlotte. And trust me, a cop like Grant Fallon is just as dangerous to us as Silvano. You can't trust him."

"I think you're giving him a lot more credit than you should. He's not smart enough to be apart of this." I folded my arms across my chest, staring across the street.

"People die when I underestimate someone, Charlotte. I don't care what you think of Grant, I can't afford to overlook him. Which is why I asked you to stay away. Not because I have some crazy jealous streak."

"Really?" I quipped "Because it kind of looked that way."

"It might have been part of it." He admitted, shaking his head. "The thought of another man with his hands on you makes me out of my mind with rage. My mind went to the worst, and I wanted to rip every limb from Grant's body just for looking at you."

"Except we were just talking. And you know how you keep telling me to trust you? It would be nice if that trust went both ways. I had Grant, Luca. It didn't work out, and I have no interest in going back there. I'm with you. I want to be with you. I love you and..."

The words almost fell out of my mouth. I didn't even realize I said them until I saw the look on Luca's face. What I said was true, but I had been holding it back, and now it was out there in the open and I felt incredibly vulnerable. What if he didn't feel the same?

"Do you mean that?" He asked.

"Yeah, I do." I said definitively. "And that's why it hurts so much that you don't trust me."

Luca leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips. "Charlotte, I do trust you. Yesterday was about me and my own insecurities. If anything, its Fallon I don't trust. But I'm not going to let a rat like him get in between the two of us. I trust you, and I love you, too."