Dare To Love Series_Daring the Hard Man

by Aliyah Burke

  “In that case, only a little. You should definitely work on that.”

  He put their foreheads together. “I plan on it. Do you have time to show me your city?”

  “You’re not tired?”

  “Not enough to stop spending time with you.”

  “How about this, we do some sightseeing, then I cook you supper at my place?”

  “I think that is a sound plan. Especially, the bit about being at your place.”

  Five hours later, she stood in front of her stove, stirring the mustard mashed potatoes making sure they’d soaked up all the water and was ready to eat. The salmon—cedar plank—would be done in minutes and she was hoping it would be okay.

  He reclined in a seat his fingers around a beer. “Do I get to meet your family?”

  His question had her clenching the spoon tighter. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because they’re all highly testosteroned, overprotective, and are licensed to carry a weapon. Then there’s my mother.”

  “Moms love me.”

  “Yes, but she’s one. The father and brother are six.”

  “I’m not foolish. Your mother runs it all. What she says goes. They may be the muscle but she’s the law.”

  “Wow, that’s spot on. You summed this up well. Are you sure you haven’t met them before?” She set out their plates.

  When she walked back by him, he snagged her around the waist. “No but I do have a mother who’s managed to keep a hold of the same man for years. My father told me a long time ago, the secret to a happy marriage is to listen to the wife.”

  “He’s a wise man then, I must say.” She took a drink of his beer and went to the oven, picking up her mitts. “I’d like to meet him.”

  “He wants to meet you for sure.”

  “That’s a bit disconcerting.”

  “Why? I don’t hide things from them. I told them about you since Miami.”

  “I told my family about you as well, I don’t think they want to meet you. Well, not to become friends. My brothers do have some things they claim they’d like to talk to you about however, but I don’t think it’s for your own good health.”

  He rose and walked up behind her. “Of course, it’s not. I’m fucking their baby sister. There isn’t a man alive in this world who is going to be good enough for all of them. Whereas, for my side, I’m bringing in a woman. A daughter for my dad to spoil and my mom to spend time with.”

  His chin on her shoulder allowed the scruff on his face to skim over her sensitive skin. She shivered. The timer went off and she pulled out their main course. The scent of the salmon had her stomach rumbling with anticipation. She placed the board on the trivets set out and grabbed a knife from the side counter.

  Luca closed the oven door and shut off the heat.

  “Spoon some potatoes on each plate please.”

  He did.

  She cut the salmon crosswise and placed a piece of it along with some scallions on the bed of potatoes.

  “This looks delicious.”

  “Thank you. I hope you like it.”

  “From the noise my stomach is making, I’ll eat mine and yours as well,” he said with a smile.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He paused in taking the plates to the table as she carried over the extra maple glaze. “Anything.”

  “I did some looking into your stats and all of that, trying to learn.” She licked her lips.

  Luca held her chair for her, kissing her ear as he pushed her in. “And?”

  “I continued to get articles popping up talking about the ‘Baby Scare’, will you tell me what that’s about?”

  He sat beside her and sighed. “I will, but can we discuss it after dinner?”

  Okay, not exactly a blow off but a definite delay tactic. She forced a smile. “Sure thing.” Or as her family would say, the perp needed more time to get his story straight. While it was a struggle, she let the thought go. It wasn’t in her nature to bring a cop’s perspective to everything, she wasn’t one and the people she met tended not to have ulterior motives. So she would give him the time to tell her.

  Not to mention it’s none of my damn business. But I know my family and that’s going to be one of the first questions they put to him. I want to be able to show he’s already told me and it’s not a shock or surprise for me to hear about it.

  So perhaps, she was more like her family than she cared to admit.

  The salmon was tender and flaky. The smoky flavor had them both groaning. In fact, she ate more than she should have.

  After the food was put away and dishes cleaned up, she took him to her bed and drew him down on the white comforter with her. She’d changed once she’d gotten home and was comfortable in her white tank top and purple lounge pants. Lying on her side, she stared at the man with her. “I’m sorry I asked. It’s not any of my business and you don’t have to tell me anything at all. I just wanted to know if there was a child involved. Because if we have something that is going to go forward, I feel I have a right to know.”

  He smoothed his hand down her leg, over her ankle and to her foot. Luca moved her foot up higher on his body and played with her toes as he watched her. “You can ask me anything. I didn’t lie when I said that. I just didn’t want to ruin dinner. You made such a wonderful meal and talking about Ivanna wasn’t anything I wanted to bring into the meal.”

  “But my bed is okay?” she teased.

  “Personally, I’d rather watch you.” He grinned and touched her nose. “We had a thing, the one time before you, I broke my rule and saw a woman more than once. Later, she pops up stating that she’s carrying my child and how we needed to get married, so the child wasn’t a bastard.”

  Her stomach took a dive. “So, the whole marriage thing?”

  “Wasn’t happening. She wasn’t the one for me. I told her if she was actually carrying my child, I would provide for him or her. But there would be no wedding. Not then, not ever. She wasn’t happy with that, so she went to the tabloids. It took a while for the truth to come out of how she wasn’t even pregnant and been trying to get my money.”

  Relief washed over her.

  “After that incident, I became celibate. Wasn’t about to risk that again. And since the incident was out there, I figured it wouldn’t be long before someone else gave it a go.”

  “Being able to attest to the fact you’re definitely not celibate now, what changed that?”

  “You did.”

  Her belly flipped at the way he drew out those two words. Simple, everyday words that in the context they were in currently, did so much to her. “Are you worried I’ll do that?”

  “No. and if you did announce to the world we were pregnant, I would be here the next day with a ring and a proposal, liefje.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Sweetheart. I’ve never called anyone else that in my life. And I never will.” He kissed her. “Are you ready for some dessert?”

  She gripped the sides of his white shirt. “Yes.”

  Luca rolled Kaitlyn on top of him. “Good, I am too.”

  Chapter Seven

  “What makes you think you’re getting out of this room alive?”

  Luca stared at the man who asked the question. Wayne Henderson, the oldest of the brothers and a captain in the Chicago Police Department. Although, right now, he wasn’t facing a member of the police but an older and over protective brother.

  The man was huge, built like a lineman in American football, without any fat—just a damn big man. Luca felt for any of the perps he would have run down, hell, maybe none of them ran. He sure as hell wouldn’t want this man after him.

  Luca gazed at the others, all stony faced and eyes ringing with disproval. “The fact you are all cops and despite your dislike of your sister dating me, you will still uphold the law.”

  As one, they all shrugged. “I didn’t see anything, Your Honor, I’m not sure how he ended
up in Lake Michigan.” Wayne’s statement was followed with similar ones from his brothers.

  Shit. Luca had known they weren’t going to be an easy sell, he’d expected that but at this second in time, he actually thought they were serious. He moved his gaze around to each of her brothers.

  Wayne, Kevin, Devon, Mitchell, and Thomas…All their expressions were the same.

  He lifted his shoulders as if he didn’t care. “Luckily for all involved in the relationship, she’s at the age where she can make her own decisions.”

  “You really think challenging her brothers is the best way to go about this, son?”

  Luca blinked and angled his body to watch her father walk in the room, a beer in his hand. “Not a challenge sir, just stating facts.”

  Mr. Henderson stopped in front of him, blocking out some of the most direct stares but not all, as he gave one of his own. “My daughter is capable of making her own decisions, yes, but she listens to her family. We don’t like you, so you have to go.”

  His skin prickled. “I don’t think so. I’m not leaving her until she tells me to. Not you, not your boys, and not your wife.” Luca took a deep breath and let it out. “Your daughter and I have had something amazing between us since we first met and I’m not throwing it away, without allowing it a chance.”

  His brown eyes hardened. “You’re not right for the family.”

  “Why? Because I’m not a cop? Because I’m not black?”

  “Now, you’re just being disrespectful.” Warning laced his tone.

  “Sir, I mean no disrespect to you or your home, but you don’t even know me and are telling me that I’m not right for her. For this family. How’s that fair, if you haven’t given me a chance.”

  “You’re out in Washington. My girl isn’t moving out there, we live here in Chicago. The longer you are with her, the deeper she will fall and when it’s obvious you’re staying out there and she here, it will hurt her. I don’t want my baby girl hurt.”

  I hadn’t thought about that. Luca crossed his arms. “With all due respect, that’s a talk to have between the two of us. Not the nine of us.”

  “You really think we’re going to let you move our only sister across the country where we’re not there to protect her?” Devon demanded, stepping up by his father.

  His phone beeped and he pulled it out to look at the screen. A text from his coach. ‘Practice was moved up, starting in thirty. Be there.’ Back into his pocket it went. “Again, that’s a discussion for the two of us. And if you all claim to love her as you do, why wouldn’t you want her happy? Maybe she wants to go there. Maybe we have something else in mind. You shouldn’t be so selfish. She’s an amazing woman and having grown up in this family, I’m quite positive she can protect herself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to practice. Thank you for the drink.” He walked away, stopping to say farewell to Mrs. Henderson who was cooking in the kitchen with Kaitlyn.

  “You’re leaving already?” Kaitlyn moved to his side.

  “Coach moved up practice. I’m sorry, I have to go.” He slipped a hand along her side and bent to kiss her cheek. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Let me walk you out.”

  Together, they stepped outside into the early afternoon.

  His car waited and the driver got out when Luca stepped into view.

  “I hope my family wasn’t too hard on you.”

  “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He smoothed a hand along her face, the silken texture something he would never get enough of. “Call you after? We have things to talk about.”

  “Yes, I’ve got something I want to share with you too.”

  He smiled and stole another kiss before jogging off to climb in the car. “Bye, Kaitlyn.”

  She waved as they pulled away from the curb.

  Practice was brutal and he wanted nothing more than sleep as he stood in the shower, letting the streams of water slam into him.

  Beside him in the next stall, David was going on about his time with Jenny.

  Luca gave some appropriate grunts but didn’t contribute much to the conversation.

  An hour later, he was knocking on the door of Kaitlyn’s apartment. She opened the door and welcomed him in. “You look beat,” she said fixing him a glass of water.

  “I’m just exhausted today. I’ll be okay. You said you had something you wanted to tell me, so you go first.”

  She handed over the glass and bounced onto the sofa after he sat. Kaitlyn perched on her knees and her golden eyes sparkled. Happy would be a tame of a word for what rolled off her as she glowed.

  “I’ve just been promoted—trial basis still but my former boss told me not to worry about it, the trial part is just a formality—to run our shift.”

  His heart sank past his feet and below the floorboards, they rested upon. Forcing a smile, he took her hand. “Congratulations. That’s wonderful news.”

  She edged closer to him until her knees touched his thigh. “I know, it’s a huge deal. But I’m looking forward to the responsibility of it. Maybe this will be the next step for me. I want to share it with my family, but I wanted to tell you first.”

  Luca kissed the back of her hand. “You deserve this, liefje.”

  “What did you have?”

  How could she stare at him with those damn golden eyes as if he were her world when she’d just crushed his. He shook his head. “Not important. Let’s celebrate your promotion.”

  “Of course, it’s important. Tell me.”

  “No need, really. You just got a promotion. I doubt you’d be willing to move to Washington with me.”

  Her expression sobered. “You wanted me to move out there?”

  “You don’t have to say it like that but yes, I was going to ask you.” He released her hand and shoved his hand over his head. “We have something fantastic, Kaitlyn. I wanted it to continue. I want you with me.”

  “No, I can’t leave Chicago. This is my home.”

  He got to his feet and forced a nod. “I see that now.”

  “That’s not fair, Luca. We haven’t been together all that long, how could you expect me to move across from everything I know to be with a man who spends his time travelling around the US? You’d barely be there.”

  “The amount of time we’ve been together doesn’t matter to me. I told you before, I knew you were the one from the moment I laid eyes on you. But if you’re not even willing to discuss this, I guess your family was right and I haven’t got a chance. It’s easier for you to get a dispatcher job out there, than it is for me to move here.” He grabbed his phone and called for his driver. “I’ll see myself out. Goodbye.” He slammed the door, so he didn’t have to see the tears shimmering in her eyes or watch as they spilled over.

  “Fuck!” he swore in Dutch.

  The car pulled up and he got in. “Hotel.” Once there, he strode to his room and crashed. A fitful night but they had a game and he did his best to sleep.

  αβ

  “Everything okay, sis?” Thomas questioned as she sat out on the back porch, hand curved around a glass of tea.

  “Just thinking about the promotion.” Words that were partly true. The majority of her thoughts were about how she’d handled the thing between her and Luca.

  “Sure. Because you’re so happy and glowing about that. Oh no wait, I see tears in your eyes.”

  “Let it be, Thomas.”

  “Not a chance. Mom, Kat and I are taking a short walk, I need her help with something. Back soon.” He didn’t give her a chance to protest again, but plucked her glass from her hand and drew her to her feet. Silent until they got to the end of the drive, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “What did Luca do?”

  “What makes you think he did anything?”

  “Sis, family full of cops.” He slanted his gaze at her.

  Sometimes, she hated this family and their ability to sniff out a lie. “He left.”

  “I’m not following. Isn’t he playing today? I mean the match begins in fi
fteen minutes.”

  “I know that, I meant he left my place last night.”

  “Don’t want to hear about that. However, that being said, he had to leave. He’s playing today.”

  “No, I mean he left.” Her heart clenched in pain. “He walked out.”

  “Why?”

  The angered rumble of her brother’s voice had her slipping her arm through his and resting her head against his shoulder. “I told him about the promotion and he was excited for me. But then he mentioned he was going to ask me to come with him to Washington and I basically laughed at him. I can’t go out there. I was just given this opportunity. And he goes and says it would be easier for me to get a job out there.” Pain coated her words.

  “You know I love you, sis and I have your back regardless. But I have to side with Luca on this. Before you ask…no, I don’t want you to move. I like having you in the same city as me.”

  She glared at him. “Then take my side, not his.”

  Thomas stopped and turned her toward him. “He’s right. It would be easier for you. He can’t just walk into the front office and state I want to move to Chicago. There are trade deadlines, contracts, and more that they have to go through. He may want to be here but if the team won’t release him, he can’t go. These guys are commodities and are traded to line the owners’ pockets with more green.”

  “Why didn’t he explain that to me?”

  “My guess is the near laughing told him you wouldn’t be willing to discuss it further.”

  God, she was such a bitch. “There’s more,” she admitted.

  “He not answering your calls?”

  “How’d you guess? I’ve called him ten times since he left my place last night but nothing. No answer. What if he’s hurt?”

  “You know that’s not the case, because we saw him warming up on the field.”

  “Pitch,” she corrected.

  “What?”

  “What they play on isn’t called a field, they call it the pitch.”

  Thomas pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay, sorry. We saw him warming up on the pitch. And I’m sure he is focused on the upcoming game.”