Dreadnought (Nemesis #1)(34)

She hurriedly went back to her desk. No, no, no, no, no.

She peeked toward the window, seeing the sun shining. Don’t do it. Don’t listen to him.

Birds started chirping while they passed her window…

Looking down, she felt nothing but defeat. Dang it!





Twenty-Four





The Most Beautiful Prison





The second she opened the door, Lucca’s eyes met hers and the most beautiful smile touched his lips. He had stopped what he was doing, resting back on his heels and waiting for her.

With each step into the garden, the sun and wind began to pick her up, making her defeat feel less painful.

She stopped, standing a foot away from him. You would think she would have to look down on him considering he was on the ground, but she really didn’t. The top of his head came to her chest. Her short stature only made her feel more inferior to him.

A helpless breath came out. “I-I changed my mind.”

He just simply continued to smile. “Okay, darlin’.”

The response he gave her was one she hadn’t expected. She waited for the part where he was going to say “I told you so,” but it never came.

Removing his gloves, he left them in the dirt before standing up and closing the distance between them. He stood before her and held out his hands. “May I see your hands?” This wasn’t a command. He was politely asking for permission.

She should have said no, turned around, and left, but that wasn’t what her body did.

Raising her bandaged hands, she held out her palms to him.

Taking a final small step toward her, he slowly placed one of his hands under hers. Her hand only gave a small jump when his fingertips touched her. She found them to be very warm from wearing gloves.

She held her hand stiffly on top of his, while he used his other hand to pull back the bandage to carefully look at her palm.

Why am I letting hi—

Just like that, he put the bandage back in place before he held her other hand, repeating the process. Again, he only held her hand for a few seconds, looking it over and putting the bandage back in place before pulling his hands away from hers. He didn’t linger, let alone touch her long enough for her to freak out.

Lucca went to the bucket, picking out a pair of soft gardening gloves. Then he came back over to her, stretching out the opening in the glove for her to slide her hand through easily.

She held her right hand out again, and he began slipping it on carefully over her bandage.

“I don’t want you using your hands too much, so take it easy.”

Nodding, she then held out her left hand.

“If they start to hurt, or even get sore, I want you to stop for me, darlin’.”

“O-Okay.”

“Then you can just stay out here, keeping me company, and enjoy not being in the house.” Grinning down at her, he made sure the second glove was secured.

When he dropped his hand from hers, she couldn’t help slightly smiling back at him. She liked how she allowed him to touch her, and how he didn’t abuse it.

Lucca went back to the dirt, putting on his gloves and getting back to work.

Confusion was all she knew anymore. Never had she understood Lucca, and now she no longer understood herself. The longer she continued to be here, the more confused she got.

Working on the garden with him, she did as she was asked, being careful with her hands and not overworking them as the day went on. Sometimes she found herself just sitting there, taking in the beauty of it all. Something about the garden just fit so well around her. It brought a feeling in her that was indescribable, one she hadn’t truly felt before. It was like she felt at … home. She shouldn’t, though. It should feel like a prison, but it didn’t. And if it was, then it was the most beautiful prison she had ever seen.

In her world, places like this didn’t exist, but here, for some reason it did. I did it for you.

Chloe’s eyes drifted over to a sweaty Lucca, who was now putting the tools away. What do you want from me? Nothing. She had nothing to offer him. What he wanted or expected from her, she didn’t know, but she did know that he was going to be let down when he found out she had nothing to offer. Chloe just hoped he would let her go in one piece when he found out.

After Lucca put all the supplies away, he sat down beside her to see his hard work come to fruition.

“What do you think, darlin’?”

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“It’ll be prettier in the spring when the flowers come back.”

It didn’t matter to her. She loved the way it looked in all stages. She only wished she could have seen it before his mother had died.

“C-Can I ask you a question?”

He turned toward her. “I told you, you can ask me anything, Chloe.”

“What did it look like when your …?” She trailed off, unable to get the question out, afraid it might upset him.

“When my mother took care of it?”

She nodded.

Lucca’s eyes scanned over the expanse of the huge yard. “It just looked fuller, healthier, and even seemed brighter. The majority of the flowers died off with her. I’ve gotten some of them to grow back, but others, I’m still trying.”

She didn’t doubt that one day he would get it to return to what it once was, if not better. The changes she had noticed since the first time she had seen it were drastic.