Page 50 of Hat Trick
Just then Luca slides up next to me, setting one of the personalized cocktails in front of me with a kiss.
"Hey babe, sorry I was gone so long."
"It's alright, sweetheart, your cousins were kind enough to keep me company." I caress my fingers over the back of his hand tenderly.
"Luca! You never told us you were engaged." The blonde admonishes, obviously hoping to catch me in a lie.
Luca looks at me and simply beams. I plead with him with my eyes to maintain the ruse. He laces his fingers through my left hand and lifts it to kiss my third finger.
"We didn't want to steal the thunder from Melanie and Andrew. We haven't told anyone, really. Snookums here is a very private person."
I wince. Snookums? Good God man.
"But Aunt Alice never told my mom! There's no way she would have kept that a secret."
"Well, we wanted to tell mom in person and haven't had the chance yet."
"Your mom's never even met her?" The shock and astonishment should be comical, but all I can do is regret opening my big mouth.
Luca simply looks at me with a tender smile. "No. Not yet. But I knew I'd marry her the first day I met her. I guess when you know, you know." And my mouth suddenly goes dry. He's not lying. Not a word out of his mouth is teasing, or silly, or exaggerated. He's genuine. He actually believes that. I stare up at him, a little slack jawed.
"In fact, you know what. Let's go find my dear mother and introduce her to my fiancé."
My stomach plummets towards my toes. Oh my God, no. I give the mean cousins a tight smile before Luca pulls me away.
Luckily, he pulls me behind the large tent set up for the reception and not directly to his mother. He spins me, pulling me towards him and holding me close.
"We're engaged, are we?"
"Well best-friend's-nanny, roommate, and sometimes-fuckbuddy seemed like a mouthful." I tease, a little breathless.
He nuzzles against my neck and goosebumps erupt over my upper body and I give an involuntary shiver.
"Well, fiancé is on the way to wife."
"They were calling you a player and I couldn't stand for it, so I said you've been calling me your future wife for months. Which isn't lying. I just hated that they assumed you are still what you were. I wanted to put them in their place. Oh God, what have I done?!" I gasp in a panic.
I'm so fucking stupid. Of course, his cousins would tell his mom, and then what? We have to pretend to be engaged? And what happens when this ends? We come up with a story about how we broke up? I'm suddenly sick to my stomach.
I take in Luca's handsome face. It's...bothered. He's upset. Oh God, I read everything wrong. He doesn't want to marry me. He's always been teasing, playful. I pull back from him.
"Oh, God Luca. You don't want me. I've told your family we're more than we are. Oh my God, I'm so sorry." I'm in a full-on panic now. Me and my stupid big mouth.
His gorgeous blue eyes snag mine and flare. He grips my arms hard and pulls me against his chest. The fire, the intensity in his eyes and his body is one I've only ever seen before a game.
"I do want you. How many times do I have to tell you you're mine? I'm upset because I don't have a ring on your finger. I'm upset because I can't legally call you mine and let you legally claim Gabe and Carter. I had planned to bring you here and introduce you to my parents as my girlfriend tonight. But fuck if I don't love the sound of fiancé better."
Tears prick my eyes as I reach up and rest my hand on Luca's cheek. "God, Luca. Any woman would be so lucky to call you hers. You're so goddamn sweet, and funny and thoughtful and caring. Your heart is the size of Texas, and you love completely out loud. I envy you. I'm so afraid of the opinions of others I can't hardly function."
Luca reaches out and cups my face the way I'm holding him. "If other people didn't exist. If the boys were good with it and no one else would judge us, would you? Would you marry me?"
I think about it for a moment. An alternate universe where Luca isn't a famous hockey player, and I'm not so plain. Where we could just live, be ourselves, and love each other without the opinions of others.
I nod. "Yes. Yes, I would. I would be so lucky."
He rests his forehead against mine. "Luck has nothing to do with it. You are amazing. You're everything I could ever hope for in a wife. I wasn't lying when I said I've thought of marrying you from the moment I met you. You're it for me, sweetheart. You're the one."
A small sob breaks free from my chest. His beautiful words, the feeling behind it, and the loss, knowing that I can never have it, wrench my heart in two.
