When It Falls Apart (The D'Angelos, #1)(49)

Instead, he looked at the woman behind the pen who now sat staring beyond the open garage door in thought.

“Cara?”

She looked up, her eyes glazed. “I’m okay.”

“There’s more.”

Her eyes widened and she jumped up.

Luca handed her the letter he’d just read. “I read this one. It feels like a violation now. I’m sorry.”

And he was, because the letter had been personal, and not something he should have stumbled upon.

Without a choice, Luca stood by and watched as she read her own words to her father and her eyes swelled with tears.

His palms itched to reach for her.

Only when her hand fell to her side, her chin dropped to her chest, and a sob tore from her throat did he give in to the urge and pull her into his arms.

She let him.

In fact, she wrapped around him as if he were a life preserver and the only thing keeping her afloat.

God, this woman.

This strong, valiant, beautiful woman was holding so much together for someone who had left her and caused her to write a letter like that. Did he ever come to her rescue? Did he bring her in and make it better? What happened after that letter? So many questions. Why had she done all this for the man, was doing all this for him?

Brooke cried into his shoulder. Her fingers dug into his back, and her frame pressed into his.

All while Luca whispered to her in Italian. Telling her he was there and that she could cry and it was okay. That he would catch her.

When her tears emptied, and her body released the last of the pain, she sniffled against his chest and pulled away.

Luca pressed a palm against her cheek. “Are you okay?”

She bit her lip, nodded, then changed her mind and shook her head. “I just need to get this chapter done. Get my dad on autopilot so I can process all of this.”

He moved away, even though he could continue to hold her into next year. “Let’s push through then.”

Brooke reached for the box he had been going through.

“Do you want to keep all of that?” he asked.

“Yeah. For now.”

He could only imagine the pain in those letters. There was comfort in knowing that she was only a few feet away, upstairs, should she need his shoulder again.

Brooke stood tall, and within minutes they were back at the work in front of them. Twenty minutes before the five o’clock deadline, the work was finished. His car was filled with the remainder of Brooke’s belongings and the papers, letters, and files she deemed important enough to keep.

They both stared at the pile of trash.

“Sad that one’s life is reduced to a pile of rubble,” she said.

“Don’t forget the money.”

She smiled. “Oh my God, the change.”

Luca placed a hand over her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “You’re an amazing woman, Brooke.”

“Who needs a shower.”

They both did.

He brought his fingers to her chin, moved her face to look at him. “Bellissima, tesoro. Even with dirt on your face and a twig in your hair.”

Her hand shot up to her head, and she moved closer.

When she didn’t run away, he did what he’d been dying to do from the first time he’d seen her walk up the stairs of his family home.

His lips reached for hers.

She leaned in.

He pulled her close.

Yes. This. Exactly this. Luca opened her lips like a fine wine and sipped her slowly to savor the taste.

Fingernails pressed into his arms, and his hand moved behind her head to tilt it back.

Her tongue teased his.

Mutual. This was all so mutual. Any possible doubt about how mutual this was shot away with how her body pressed against his.

His hand met with the ponytail she wore. He wanted to pull it free and feel all of it in his fingers. Instead, he rubbed her neck, opened his lips, and caught her top lip between his teeth before returning to the kiss.

Their breath mixed and grew heavy and thick. How would she feel in his arms like this, after a long, hot shower? Their bodies wet and lax, lathered in soap . . . How would she look waking next to him in his bed, her hair on his pillow, her lashes fluttering open to gaze only at him?

He wanted to find out.

This woman whose hand slid down his hip enough to touch a part of his ass that only a lover would touch.

He wanted her.

And she, he knew, wanted him.

Luca eased their kiss. The garage was not the place for this to happen.

Her eyes slowly opened and looked up at him. “Whoa.”

“Bad?” he asked, knowing it wasn’t.

She laughed. Any tension that might have been, broke. “Awful. We might need to do that again to see if it gets any better.”

Luca grasped the back of her head. “Challenge accepted.”





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


It was done.

The condo was empty.

The problems had been fixed, and everything should pass inspection.

The only thing that could possibly be needed was one last cleaning day, which Brooke had already decided to hire out.

She watched the place fade away in the side mirror as Luca pulled back from the curb, and hoped she’d never see the place again.

Sad as that sounded.

“You okay?”