Page 57 of Arranged

I looked down at my hands on my lap.

Maybe he was right.

“What if it’s too early?” I lifted my gaze to his. “I’m still young.”

“You are, but why not enjoy every second you can? Your life can be taken away from you or turned upside down in a fraction of a second.” He tapped his wheelchair. “You don’t want to postpone things, because you don’t have forever.”

The door opened, and my mom rushed to me. I got to my feet and she pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Oh, thank god, you’re okay. I thought I was going to lose you!” she said, and when she stepped away, she looked at my shoulders. “I heard you got shot.”

“Not really. It was just a scratch. I took some pain killers and I can’t even feel it anymore.” I offered her a reassuring smile.

She turned her gray eyes to my father. “Just a scratch? She says it’s just a scratch!”

“She’s fine,” my father said. “That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, Mom. I’m okay.”

“I still don’t understand how you do what you do.” She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “Or why.”

“But you stayed with Dad anyway.”

“How could I not? I fell in love with him.” She grinned.

“Yeah, but if you didn’t like what he did, why did you stay?”

She frowned as if she couldn’t understand what I was asking. “Honey, I’d be with your dad no matter what. Love makes us overlook some things, even if we’re not happy about them. But all the wonderful moments I get to spend with him are totally worth it.”

“Right.” I bit down on my lip.

Maybe Luca and I could make things work, despite everything.

Or we could at least give it a try.

We’d already been forced together and into each other’s lives.

It wasn’t like we had anything to lose.