Page 111 of Hail Marry
My heart jumps at the sound of Luca’s voice right next to me, and I turn to him in surprise. How’d he get out here so fast?
A cameraman and a guy with a microphone hurry up to Luca. “Can we get a moment of your time, Mr. Callahan?”
“Maybe in a minute,” he says without even looking at them. His eyes are on me.
He takes me by the hand and pulls me away from Ryan and Kimberly, away from the curious gazes. We weave through the crowd until we reach a quieter corner, and Luca turns, guiding me so my back is against the wall.
I can feel the eyes of the group we just left on us, as well as a number of other people’s gazes.
I look up at Luca. His eyes are dark and intense, and I don’t know if he’s angry or something else entirely.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
His eyes search mine another second, then he shakes his head. His hand comes up to cup my chin, and he comes in for a kiss.
It’s not tentative or slow. It’s passionate and unapologetic as his lips cover mine, both hands securing my mouth to his. The world around us falls away, and my hands find his chest. I feel the rapid beat of his heart under my palms, and it sends a rush of heat through me. The only things that exist are the warmth and firmness of his body through his shirt, the rhythm of our lips, and the unchecked want in his kiss, like he’s been hiding it inside him for too long and can’t hold back a second longer.
Flashes of light pierce even the darkness of my closed lids, accompanied by clicks and murmurs. I don’t care. All that matters is Luca and the surge of feelings pouring through me, too powerful to ignore.
Gradually, he slows the kiss and pulls back just enough to meet my gaze. His eyes are filled with something I’ve never seen before, a fire that sends a shiver down my spine, leaving me breathless.
“Mrs. Callahan,” says a voice I don’t recognize. “Would you care to comment on your husband’s incredible game-winning touchdown?”
I blink and look over the man standing a few feet away, his microphone extended toward me. Around him, a dozen people are staring at Luca and me, including Ryan, Kimberly, and Tyler.
“You wanna get out of here?” Luca asks.
I nod, and he threads his fingers through mine, then guides us out of the stadium.
His phone is ringing off the hook as we walk to the parking lot. Media requests, I’m sure, and Zach, probably.
“You can answer,” I say. I don’t want to deprive him of this moment. He earned it.
He shakes his head.
That’s when I remember we drove separately.
“My car’s way over there,” I say, pointing to a distant spot in the parking lot. “P32.”
“I’m driving,” he says. “We’ll get your car later.”
“Okay.” My voice is small and squeaky, awed by his take-charge attitude and the fact that he’d rather go to the trouble of coming back for my car than drive home separately right now.
He opens the car door for me, and I feel like Dorothy. We’re not in Kansas anymore. But where exactly are we?
His phone goes off again as he gets into the driver’s seat. It’s Zach, but Luca turns it to vibrate and sets it in the console.
“He’s just gonna keep calling,” I say.
“I’ll call him later,” Luca says, and he turns off his phone completely. “You hungry?”
“Always,” I say. “You?”
“Starving.”
We grab tacos from a food truck on the way home, and the smell emanating from the Styrofoam takeout container permeates the car for the last few minutes of the drive.
We pull into the garage, which seems empty without my car, and Luca grabs the takeout container.
