Page 34 of Hail Marry
“You really didn’t have to do that, Luca.”
He turns back to his computer. “It’s no big deal.”
I scoff. “It’s $4832 worth of a deal. I’ll pay you back.”
“No.” There’s no give in his response. “I was the one who forced you to go to the hospital. I’m the reason you have that bill.”
“You’re also the reason I’m alive.”
“And that you’re spending your evening doing immigration paperwork.” He squints at the screen. “I don’t even understand half the stuff this form says.”
“Luca,” I say with a hint of amusement at his attempted diversion tactic.
“Statutory interpretation?” he reads from his screen. “What does that even mean?”
Trying and failing not to smile at him blatantly ignoring me, I stare him down. “You know what? Fine. If you won’t let mesaythank you, you give me no choice but to express it through other means.”
I turn my body toward him and, before he knows what’s happening, I wrap my arms around him. As much as I can, at least. My hands don’t even meet on the other side of his shoulders, but my chin rests on the one closest to me.
It’s like hugging a block of granite—if granite had amazing taste in cologne.
“Thank you, Luca,” I say softly.
His shoulders relax slightly, and his face curves toward me so that the rough hair on his cheek tickles my temple. “You’re welcome,” he says, his voice barely audible.
A smile tugs at the edge of my lips. The granite isn’t as impenetrably hard as it looks. I pull away, letting my arms fall from his body.
He leans forward with his elbows on his knees, already back to trying to comprehend legalese.
I follow suit, but I steal a couple of glances at him every now and then. If marriage to Luca means hanging out with him like this, I’m not mad about it.
I may make a constant stream of questionable decisions, but I’m starting to suspect I married a really good human.
9
LUCA
I getto Zach’s office before Victoria the next day, but he’s on a call. Preston hasn’t arrived yet, either.
I sit in front of Zach’s desk while he irons out the specifics of a media appearance for one of his athletes. That’s one thing I don’t look forward to and never have. Some of my teammates are naturals on camera; I’m not. Zach scheduled a photoshoot for tomorrow, and I’m dreading it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch someone walking past the glass walls of the office, and I glance over, hoping to see Victoria. It’s just a stranger, though.
My foot taps restlessly on the floor, and I take a deep breath.
Will she show up? At some point, she’s got to come to her senses and bow out of this thing, right?
Not that she’s given me any real reason to worry. If anything, she’s been the one pushing things forward, so I don’t know why I’m stressing. I’ve just had too many experiences where the people I was counting on disappear when I need them most. I don’t like relying on others, and everything is riding on Victoria.
It’s ten minutes past our scheduled meeting time when she appears in the hallway. My foot stops tapping at the sight of her, and I let out a sigh of relief. Her blonde hair is big and wavy, and she’s half-running to the door in heels. She looks at me and smiles as she opens it, and Zach hangs up at the same time.
“So sorry I’m late!” Victoria shuts the glass door behind her.
“You’re fine,” I say as if I wasn’t imagining the worst. “Preston isn’t here yet.”
Zach, who’s been scribbling down some notes on a Post-It, glances up. “It’s a phone meeting.”
“Oh.” I look at Victoria, who clearly didn’t understand that point, either. Not like it matters much.
