by Piper Rayne
“Nice to see you.” I swing my arm around his shoulder bringing him back to the gang.
Vanessa and Maddie are speaking in hushed whispers now with the helpful lady working at the desk. Their eyes scanning the progress screen.
“Tell me the rumor I heard…” Enzo lets it hang. You’d think that deception gets easier the more you do it, but it doesn’t.
“You heard right. I just walked her back to work.”
He shakes his head, sitting down in his chair propping his ankle up to rest on his knee, leaning back like he runs the entire waiting area. One quality I’ve always been jealous of is my cousin’s way of being comfortable in his own skin. He doesn’t really give a shit if you like him or not.
“Can’t wait to meet the woman who nailed you down.” He raises his eyebrows in question just like everyone else we’ve told.
I didn’t think I was as much of a manwhore as everyone else apparently does. I mean, it’s not like I’m a sworn bachelor like Enzo’s brother, Dom. Kids and a wife were always on the horizon for me. Just, you know…far, far off in the distance.
“She’s the best,” Maddie’s back now, sitting next to Mauro.
Enzo shoots her a smile that says your biased. He must have already gotten the lowdown on the interconnected ties in this group.
“I’m happy for you all. You seem…happy.”
“There’s no seem about it,” Mauro wraps his arm around Maddie, kissing her temple, letting his lips fall to her neck.
“Luca?” Zia stands up, walking toward us, her arms already extended.
“Hi, Zia.” I wrap my arms around her small body.
Sometimes you wonder how we all ended up so tall when our Mamas are pint-size. With that thought my mind wanders to my own kids and how big they’d be if Lauren was their mom.
What the hell?
“Your mama told me.” She steps back, her fingers pinching my cheek. “I’m so happy for you and as for me,” her eyes find Enzo, “at least I can dance at someone’s wedding.” Her scowl at Enzo makes everyone laugh.
Everyone but Enzo, who rolls his eyes. “It’s not my fault they didn’t clone a younger version of you.”
Zia smiles and shakes her head at her son. “See, that’s why you’re so good at your job. Great bullshitter.”
“Zia,” I say, loving her ability to call it out when she hears it.
I’m actually surprised she hasn’t called me out yet and the fear of when she meets Lauren weighs heavy on my shoulders because if I don’t get the perfect cadence of a new relationship right in her presence, she’ll know.
As if sealing my thought, her eyes linger on my brothers and their significant others. She might as well be that love emoji with the two heart eyes. Zia wants her boys to settle down and they are far from ready. As if I can talk.
Enzo runs his hand down the light scruff on his face. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he puts it to his ear while stepping away.
“Lorenzo Mancini,” he answers.
Her hand hooks through my arm and she escorts me to an area of seats away from everyone. “Tell me about this special girl.”
We’re all crammed in a hospital room.
My mom is waking up from anesthesia, so my dad is with her while we wait for her to return to her room. Enzo and my brothers are talking about hockey, but my eyes are on the nurse writing down my mom’s information.
“Excuse me, do we know anything?” I ask.
The cute blonde girl, wearing braids making her appear too young to care for my mom, shoots me a nice smile.
“I’m sorry, the doctor will come in as soon as your mom wakes up.”
“Thanks.”
I know more than to press for information. She can’t give it to me and I’m not going to be a dick about the situation.
Lauren walks in, her hair a little windblown, her cheeks flushed from the cool air. She’s cute as hell.
She smiles at me.
She smiles like I’m hers.
She smiles like she’s mine.
A stabbing sensation pierces my heart with the same feeling I had when I left her physical therapy office.
“Lauren.” Maddie jumps up and wraps her arms around her, whispering something in her ear.
Vanessa joins the duo, and the three of them talk. Lauren peeks away to get a glimpse of Enzo, but her eyes travel back to me before returning to her friends.
Enzo and my brothers are too heated to notice Lauren, but my Zia is not. She stands from the chair nearest the bed, the rosary still tight in her hands.
“This her?” she asks, nodding toward Lauren.
Lauren drops her bag next to Maddie and Vanessa’s and beelines it over to me, taking her gloves off and tucking them into her coat pocket.
“Hey, any word?” she asks like she’s as worried about my ma as me.
“She’s out of surgery. We’re waiting on her.” I mimic Mauro with my hand around her waist and I kiss her temple. Sweet and not overly claiming.
Lauren side glances me, but doesn’t push me away or elbow me in the gut. “Oh good.”
“Lauren this is my aunt, Anna.” I hold my arm out.
Lauren places her hand out between them, but Zia grabs her by the shoulders, which is easy with the two of them being equal height and yanks her into her chest.
“Oh she’s beautiful, Luca,” she coos, talking to me instead of Lauren. “Perfect fit. We could share clothes.”
As abruptly as she pulled her to her chest, she shoves her back, but her hands stop Lauren from stumbling with her hold on her shoulders. Zia’s eyes fall over Lauren like she’s inspecting her.
“Good birthing hips.” She points to Enzo, who’s figured out Lauren is here. “If you’re going to push one of those out of you, you need hips.”
Lauren glances at me and then back to Enzo. “Well…”
I think she’s caught off guard and not sure what to say.
“We don’t plan on having kids for a while,” I say, saving her.
“How come, Luc? You don’t want to be the first to give Zia a grandchild?” Enzo’s hand slaps my back and his eyes turn to Lauren, sticking his hand out in her direction. “Lorenzo Mancini.”
He introduces himself like I assume he does everyone he comes into contact with. To me, my cousin is still the kid who didn’t grow until freshman year in high school. The dorky kid with glasses and a scrawny body. By the time sophomore year came around Enzo was no longer the kid people picked on. He became the kid you feared because he had a chip on his shoulder and he was out for revenge.
“Nice to meet you.” Lauren’s sweet voice says like she means her words.
She lightly shakes his hand and I catch my cousin’s eyes linger on her body. Especially when Lauren decides now is the time to disrobe her coat. Enzo elbows me in the ribs when I don’t help her. I take the collar and she slides her hands out, a surprised glow in her eyes.
“Thanks.” She tries not to crinkle her eyebrows, but she can’t help it.
“What is it you do that lets you dress so casually?” Enzo asks Lauren.
She giggles. “Tough gig, right? Yoga pants and sweatshirts are my go-to work outfit.”
“Personal trainer?” he asks, his gaze again flicking over her body.
She should be wearing bigger sweatshirts. Not these thin fabric ones that are snug across her chest. Especially if her boss is already trying to get a date.
“Physical therapist. Peds.” She pulls down the edge of her sweatshirt and under normal circumstances I’d be mad that I’m losing the view of her ass, but I don’t mind when Enzo’s in the room.
“Nice. You’re both in the healthcare field. Stable field of work thanks to insurance companies skyrocketing the costs of every medical procedure.”
Lauren looks at me like the thought never occurred to her before. Does she not remember our conversation in the car?
“Yeah. What do you do?” She fiddles with her hands and she keeps shifting her weight from one foot to the o
ther.
“I’m in advertising.”
“Well, who doesn’t need to be bullshitted into buying products they don’t need, right?”
I think I just fell in love with her.
Enzo laughs. His head falling back, stuffing his hands in his pockets again. “I like you,” he says.
So do I.
Lauren looks to me with an apologetic look.
I rest my arm around her back, my hand molding to her hip and I kiss her temple again.
This time it isn’t an act, I kind of wish she was mine.
Enzo’s eyes follow my arm and a genuine happy smile forms on his lips.
“She’s here,” my dad announces coming in while an orderly opens up the other door to make room for the big bed.
My mom smiles, her eyes still a little droopy. I doubt they’ll let us stay for long.
Everyone crowds around her and she cries when she sees my Zia, the two embracing for a long time.
The doctor comes in some time later and Lauren entwines our hands, squeezing mine, letting me know that she’s here for me. The older man with a receding hairline, checks on my mom a little and then situates himself so everyone is looking at him. He holds his tightly clasped hands in front of him, a somber look on his face.
I’ve seen enough doctors talking to families to know he doesn’t have good news. My stomach sinks and a painful lump grows in my throat.
“I’m sorry, Maria, the procedure wasn’t successful.”
Silent tears stream down my mom’s face, my dad holding one hand, my Zia the other.
Fuck.
“We’re going to let you heal and then we’ll talk in the morning about where we go from here.” He pats her shoulder. “I know we had high hopes, but it’s not like we can’t try the procedure again.”
My mom nods and the doctor nods at each of us with his lips pressed together before he leaves the room.
Lauren looks up at me, sorrow filling her eyes. Her other hand grabs my bicep as though she’s trying to hold me in place.
Mauro and Cristian chase the doctor out the door and I do what I do best…I flee.
Chapter Fourteen
Lauren
I’m going to kill him. Here I am for him and he just runs away.
Maddie and Vanessa chased after their boyfriends, so here I stand in the middle of a room with people I’ve met only a handful of times.
Enzo notices Luca’s gone and saddles up next to me.
“Did you not know this is how Luca is?” He laughs, rocking back on his heels. “This one time when he was five, my Zia decided he was too old to keep carrying around his blankie everywhere, so she threw it out. He ran away. Everyone was out looking for him well after dark.”
“I’m guessing they found him,” I add in since I don’t really care what he did when he was five. I care about him leaving me, right now, when I’m here as a favor.
Just when I was starting to think he was an okay guy.
“Yeah, he was in the neighbor’s shed. Luca can’t handle feelings. I figured you would have discovered that already. You know since you’re wearing his ring and all.” He stares at me. This set of sparkling blue eyes questioning me. Does he not believe us?
“Well, as I’m sure you’ve heard it’s been kind of a whirlwind with us.”
“I did.”
The more judgemental tones this guy throws at me, the more I want to dig my feet into the sand and scream from a pedestal that I am Luca Bianco’s fiancée.
“So this is really the first time I’ve had to see him really affected by something. You know since we’re madly in love and all.” I throw his phrase back at him.
The corners of his lips lift until he can’t stop the smile from emerging. “Okay, now I really like you.”
“Too bad, your cousin saw me first.” The words come out before I can think better of them. He may construe them a whole different way.
“How am I supposed to interpret that? Is that a give me your hotel key and I’ll meet you later, or you don’t hold a candle to Luca?” Humor lights in his eyes.
“The latter. I’m with your cousin.” I hold up my left hand and the light catches the diamond.
He holds his hands up in the air. “Do I look desperate? I don’t touch my brothers’ or my cousins’ girls. Actually, I stay away from any woman who would bring drama to my life.”
“At least for more than a night, right?”
He laughs. “Jeez, do you have a sister?”
“No. Three brothers.”
“Ah,” he nods. “That’s where this spunky attitude comes from. That’s why I like you. You remind me of my sister Blanca.”
So I was wrong about him being attracted to me. That’s kind of ego bruising even though I didn’t really care for him, other then he’s fun to banter with.
“Maybe I’ll meet her one day.”
“You will. At the wedding.”
My eyebrows furrow. Maddie and Mauro haven’t started planning theirs and unless it’s Blanca’s…
“Your wedding,” he clarifies and there goes his damn eyebrows again.
I wish I had some duct tape to keep them in place.
The coupledoms walk back in, all whispering until they see all eyes are on them and they plaster a fake smile on their faces.
Vanessa’s gaze deters to me, a questioning look on her face.
“Exactly,” I mouth.
She elbows Cristian and nods in my direction.
He shoots me a look of apology.
Great, so I’m the pity party.
I need to leave.
I step forward to the hospital bed and place my hand on Maria’s cold forearm.
“I’m going to find Luca. Rest and I’ll stop by tomorrow.” I smile and step back.
Zia Anna steps behind me, blocking my departure.
“You kiss on the cheek,” she whispers like all the eyes in the room aren’t on us and I can just slyly go back in and kiss Maria’s cheek without anyone being the wiser.
But I do. Her cheek just as cold as her forearm.
“Hug him,” Maria says softly and when I pull back, I see the pained expression on her face. Like she expected him to do this all along, but she’s passing the torch to me.
I smile then say my goodbyes and by the time I’m in the hall, I exhale a big breath, thankful to be done.
Where would Luca go?
I will find him, but then I’m going to kick his ass for leaving me alone in there.
Pulling out my phone, I dial him up.
No answer.
Shit. Where would he go?
The only place I can think to try is his apartment. He drove me home one night when we were all together and then to make a stop there. I waited in the car, but I’m sure I can probably figure out what apartment it is once I’m there.
Well, I guess I get to meet Ben after all.
I step off the elevator surprised by the building where Luca lives. Part of me assumed it’d be like a frat house with trash outside before I even made it to the door.
But the carpet in the hall is nice and the foyer was spacious and clean. Luckily, I snuck in after someone else because I’m not even sure if Luca would let me up. I mean I didn’t do anything to him, but he might be worried about my wrath after leaving me—which would be wise on his part.
I knock on the door with numbers 2354. Thankfully the mail slot downstairs had his last name on it and yes, I slipped in behind someone who lived in the building. You’d be surprised what people will let you get away with if you look like you know what you’re doing.
No sound from the other side.
Great and I’ll be sitting here waiting for him to answer all night.
I knock again.
“Coming.” I hear a deep voice on the other side, but it’s not Luca’s. “I’ll call you right back honey.”
The door springs open and there stands who I assume is Ben.
He’s normal looking. His pants are a little tight and his shirt a littl
e faded with a stain or two, but I’m not judging. He’s in his home.
He’s clean shaven and his hair is an unkept mess.
“I was looking for Luca?”
His gaze runs up and down my body.
I’ve had about enough of men looking my body up and down today.
“He’s in his room.” He points down a hall.
I take that as a welcome and step into the apartment.
Luca wasn’t lying. I don’t see a lot to complain about. The place is modern and clean with a couch in the living room and a coffee table in front of it that has a bunch of controllers and a headset sitting on top.
“I was playing with my fiancée. She’s moving to Chicago.” Ben’s tone is one of excitement.
“That’s nice.” I smile.
“Oh take off your shoes please.” He points to my sneakers.
I untie them and slide out of them thankful I don’t have holes in my socks.
“I’ve never met her. Isn’t that crazy? I mean she’s moving out here from Russia… for me.”
I wish I could be more happy for Ben, and his excitement is a little intoxicating, but unfortunately, I’ve known the guy for less than a minute. Not to mention, I’m skeptical about the whole ‘girl from abroad’ scenario. I’m sure there are legit relationships where someone isn’t using the other for a green card. Maybe I’ve just watched too many episodes of 90 Day Fiancé.
Then again who am I to cast stones? I have my own fake fiancé.
“That is great. Well, good luck with all that.” I take a few steps toward the hall.
“Thanks. I mean I feel bad for Luca, but I gotta give this a shot.”
I stop in my tracks, my eyes leaving the closed door at end of the hall and turn back to Ben.
“Why would you feel bad?”
He runs his hands through his hair. I understand the hairstyle now. “I own this lease and since Daria is moving here, I just don’t think she’d be comfortable with another guy living with us. Especially with our schedules…”
I hold my hand up in the air. “So you’ve kicked Luca out?”
