Page 4 of Moonlight & Matrimony
I laugh directly in his fucking face, hoping he takes a swing at me so I can press charges. The piece of shit balls his hands into fists at his side, preparing to lunge at me when two officers in full uniform walk in through the front door with Ivy and Rylin in tow. Without preamble, Austin is escorted off the premises andI’m left with my sister’s best friend — the woman I just claimed as my fiancée.I’m so fucked.
Ivy
After the police escort Austin out, his unhinged rants echoing all the way to the cruiser, I’m left standing in my foyer with Luca and Rylin, and she’s looking at him like he hung the moon. It fills me with a rush of sadness that I’m not ready to face.
Now that I’m not on a rampage in a state of exhaustion, I can clearly see Luca’s resemblance to his sister. It’s subtle, but it’s in his eyes. He looks like a grumpy lumberjack in his navy plaid button-down, his muscles tugging at the seams. The kindness in his eyes betrays the scowl on his face as he looks down at my daughter with a tenderness not even her father has been able to muster.
“I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot earlier,” he says, his eyes coming up to meet mine. “Can we start over?” I nod, taking several steps closer to where he’s standing near the kitchen. His scent envelops me, something woodsy with a hint of spice, and I have to stop myself from wanting to drown in it.
I extend my hand, hoping he’ll take this as a gesture of friendship so we can move on from the awkwardness. “Hi. I’m Ivy and this is my daughter, Rylin.” Sparks shoot through my fingertips as his calloused palm engulfs mine. We linger like that for a bit too long before Luca’s deep, soothing voice fills the silence.
“I’m Luca.” He looks down at where our hands are joined, brow furrowed, then gently tugs me closer. “What the fuck happened? Who did this to you?” He lifts my sleeve, exposing more of the angry fingertip-shaped bruises that Austin left therejust twenty minutes ago. I don’t have to answer. He already knows. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
I flinch, tugging my hand free from his grasp, as I walk back towards Rylin. She reaches for my legs, wrapping me up in a tight hug. “It’s okay, love,” I soothe. “Luca isn’t angry with us.”
“Mr. Luca said bad words, Mommy.”
The scowl retreats from his features as Rylin calls him on his bullshit. He crouches down beside her, reaching out a hand to tuck a curl behind her ear. “I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll be more careful with my big people words. I promise I’m not mad at you or your mommy.” Just like that, my heart melts into a puddle on the floor.
“Okay,” she says with a smile. “Mommy, I'm thirsty.”Me too, Ry.
“What do you say we get some chocolate milk?” She nods vigorously, then flaps her little hands for me to pick her up. I lift her onto my hip before walking towards the kitchen. Looking back into the foyer, I gesture for Luca to follow, though I’m not sure why. I should let him get back to… whatever it is he’d been doing before he stumbled upon the dumpster fire that is my life.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask. “I have other options unless you want chocolate milk, too?” He smiles at me for the first time, and a swarm of butterflies takes flight in my stomach. He opens his mouth to answer, just as my golden retriever barrels into the kitchen, nearly knocking Luca flat on his ass.
“Sage. Calm,” I say. “Sorry about her. She’s still a baby, and she gets overly excited by new people.”
“Well hey there, pretty girl.” He crouches down to give her head a scratch and I can’t help but wonder what it would be like for him to call me ‘pretty girl’ in a very un-neighborly setting. Sage basks in his affection and rolls onto her back, silently urging him to rub her belly. She’s already smitten and I can’t sayI blame her. This man could do unspeakable things to me and I’d thank him after.Jesus, Ivy. He’s your best friend’s brother — calm your tits.
In my defense, it’s been a long, long, long, long, looooooong time since I’ve had my guts rearranged. I’ve resorted to one-handed reading with a few battery-operated boyfriends to get the job done, but now I’m feeling like they might be woefully inadequate compared to the hunk of a man currently petting my dog.He could pet something else.
“I’ll take a water if you have it,” his voice jolts me out of my dirty thoughts and I resume the task at hand, placing a glass of chocolate milk in front of Rylin at the kitchen island before returning to the fridge to fill a glass with iced water. “Thank you,” he says before downing the cold liquid in one go. I watch as his throat bobs, and I have to rub my thighs together to ease the ache. My body is betraying me with its reaction to this stranger, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.
“So I guess we should address the elephant in the room?” he asks.
“You’re silly,” Rylin cuts in with a giggle. “No elephants, Mr. Luca.”
He laughs and there’s a twinkle in his deep brown eyes when he looks at my daughter. “You’re right, little one. Thatwassilly.” He turns to me next, his expression shifting to something I can’t quite decipher. “If it’s alright with you, can we have a minute alone? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”
“Sure. Ry Ry, can you go play in your room for a little while?”
“Okay, Mommy.” Rylin hops down from her seat, and I watch as her little legs carry her down the hallway to her room.
I lean my hip against the counter and cross my arms over my chest. “So… fiancé, huh? Funny, I don’t remember a proposal.”
He chuckles — it’s deep and throaty and so fucking sexy. “I just wanted to apologize for how I reacted earlier today. I was a dick when you came to my door.”
“So you’re saying Paige gave you a piece of her mind?”
“Well… yes. But I would’ve apologized, regardless. It’s been a rough few weeks, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”A man who knows how to apologize? Be still my fluttering pussy.
“Apology accepted. And thanks for… everything.”
“Anytime. If you need a surprise fake fiancé again, I’m right next door.”
A laugh bursts free. “I’ll keep that in mind. Do you do this often? Volunteer to fake marry every girl who’s ever had a piece of shit ex-husband?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
