Page 14 of Moonlight & Matrimony (Oak Ridge #2)

With a resigned sigh, she agrees. “I’ll see you then.”

“Bye, Mr. Luca.”

“You can just call me Luca, little one. See you later.” She glances back with a wave as Ivy leads her down the sidewalk, and the smile she aims in my direction hits me square in the chest.

Ivy

We step onto Luca’s front porch at exactly 6pm on the dot.

It looks like we’re the last to arrive and I’m hesitating on the stoop, my nerves taking over.

But my daughter has no such compunction, and she wastes no time rapping on the front door.

When the door swings open, Paige’s bump comes into view first. I wrap her in a quick hug, noticing the scowl on her face when I pull away.

She’s never scowled at me before — it’s almost unnerving.

“You have some explaining to do.” Her fists land on her hips, but she’s too damn cute to be intimidating.

“Mommy, why does Auntie Paige look like she gots to poop?”

A boisterous laugh carries over the threshold, and my insides do a little flip. “Let them in, sis. We’ll explain over dinner.”

“Come in, traitor. I can’t believe you and my brother are keeping secrets from me.”

“I promise it wasn’t on purpose. You-know-who has been causing problems, and your brother has been a huge help.”

“I can’t wait to hear this,” Cade says, his dark eyes narrowing in my direction.

“Uncle Cade looks like he gots to poop, too.” Everyone except Rylin laughs as Paige leads us further into the house.

It exudes a cozy rustic charm with exposed wood beams and various shades of dusty blue on the walls.

As we make our way to our destination, we pass an expansive living space with an oversized gray sectional that I would kill to curl up on for movie night.

In the middle of the dining room is a large table with an antique finish.

A long bench takes up one side while the other has shaker style chairs that match the dark wood of the table.

It could easily seat ten, and, with its similar style to Paige’s rocking chair, I’m certain it was handmade by my fake fiancé.

“Wow, Luca. This house is beautiful.”

He smiles. “I can’t really take the credit, but I’m pretty happy with it.

” He turns to address his guests. “Dinner is ready, so why don’t you all find a seat.

Ivy, can you come help me in the kitchen for a minute?

” I nod and he gestures for me to walk ahead of him.

His hand finds my lower back as I shuffle past, guiding me back towards the kitchen.

A shiver skates up my spine at his touch.

Instinctively, I step away, putting some distance between me and the man who’ll become my husband in less than 24 hours. “Did you talk to Rylin?” he asks.

“I did. She reacted about as well as you would expect a 4-year-old to react.” I shrug, attempting to secure a mask of indifference.

I can’t tell him that Rylin asked if he was going to be her new daddy, and if he would be nice to us.

It shattered my heart, and I had to step outside to compose myself before coming over for dinner.

This fake marriage isn’t ideal, but it’s the only hope I’ve got right now.

That doesn’t mean I have to let him in — he hasn’t earned the right to know me on a deeper level.

Nobody has. And, if I'm being honest with myself, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to open up to another man that way.

Luca must notice something in my expression because he drops the basket of rolls he was holding, tilting my chin to meet his gaze. “What are you not saying?”

“It’s nothing, Luca. Let’s just get back in there.”

After a few heartbeats, he releases me with a resigned sigh. “Okay,” he says. “Let’s get this over with. Can you carry the salad?” I take the large bowl off the island, leading the way back to the dining room as hushed voices carry down the hallway.

“I’m telling you—” Paige’s voice is barely audible, but I still can make out most of the words. “Rosie said they’re engaged. Heard it straight from Ivy. If anybody knows anything in this town, it's Rosie Sullivan.”

“Rosie is right,” Luca says, with no hesitation whatsoever, his voice carrying in from behind me.

I step over the threshold, placing the salad bowl in the middle of the table.

Luca reaches my side in three strides, brushing a hand against my back as he places a giant dish of gnocchi down beside it.

I glance up into his deep brown eyes, pleading for him to keep talking so I don’t have to.

My heart leaps right out of my chest when he leans down and gently kisses my temple, as if in answer to an unspoken question.

Nana gawks at the gesture and Rylin squeals in delight.

“It’s true. Ivy and I are getting married. Tomorrow. We hope you’ll all be there.”

“But you only met like a month ago!” Paige shouts.

I extend a hand towards my best friend in mock greeting. “Hello Pot, nice to meet you. I’m Kettle.”

Cade snorts and I plaster a smug look on my face. “She has a point, Sunshine.”

“Ok fine. But you need to tell us how this happened.” She gestures wildly between her brother and me, her face scrunched and lips pursed.

I open my mouth to speak, but Luca beats me to the punch. “Honestly, I’m not really sure. When I visited for the first time, I ran into her at Chapters & Brews. She didn’t know who I was to you and I didn’t mention it. She introduced herself and we struck up a friendship.”

The lies slip so easily off his tongue, despite every single plot hole running through my head.

He continues, “But I didn’t really see it until she stormed over to my house bright and early on my first day in town, knocking on my door with this fire in her eyes.

There was something about her I couldn't ignore. Add in this little cutie right here —” he tousles Rylin’s curls, looking down at my daughter with fondness, “— and I didn’t stand a chance.

” Luca’s words steal my breath, leaving me utterly speechless.

“I get it. I fell in love with them as soon as we met, too,” Paige says, a warm smile replacing her previously pinched expression.

Although her support means the world to me, I’m not entirely convinced she’s buying it.

Luca’s pinky grazes mine, and I take it as an invitation to link our fingers.

He raises our joined hands to his lips and the tenderness almost has my knees buckling.

“Nana, I was hoping I could talk to you,” he says.

“Yes, I bet you were. I suppose you’ll be needing this?” She raises her left hand, showing off an oval cluster ring with a large garnet in the center on a dainty gold band. It's clearly a family heirloom, and way too important for this fake marriage.

“I can’t possibly—” I start to speak, but Nana interrupts.

“Come here, beautiful girl. And you, too, Luca.” Her tone leaves no room for argument.

Luca tugs on my arm, leading us around to the head of the table where Nana sits perched like a queen on a throne.

She hands him the ring, raising an eyebrow with some kind of unspoken command.

Before I have a chance to decipher what’s happening between them, Luca drops down onto one knee right there at the head of the table for everyone to see, the ring pinched between his thumb and forefinger.

“Ivy, ever since I first saw you, I knew there would never be anyone else who could unravel me so completely. So, I’ll ask you again, for the third time, mind you, in front of some of the most important people in our lives… will you marry me?”

The room erupts into a mess of noise that I’m too distracted to analyze because Luca is looking up at me with an expression I can’t even begin to describe. “Sweetheart… this is the part where you say yes.”

I nod, still unable to form words as Luca's impromptu speech replays in my mind. It felt real — too real . But all of the tension leaves my body the moment Luca stands and slides his grandmother’s ring onto my left hand. “It’s a perfect fit,” I whisper.

“I knew it would be,” Luca says, intertwining our fingers.

“Third time, huh?” Paige asks. I’m not sure how to respond, so I just laugh it off. But Luca plays into the farce, giving Paige exactly what she wants.

“I practically had to beg her to marry me,” he says, pulling me into him with a hand on my hip.

Our bodies collide, the air becoming thick with tension as I let him wrap his arms around me in a gentle embrace.

It’s just a hug, but it feels like so much more as my cheek rests on his chest, his heartbeat pounding in sync with mine.

The room grows quiet as Luca leads me to the long bench seat where Rylin is sitting.

We take a spot on either side, caging her between us.

I don’t know if Luca anticipated the need to sit beside Rylin instead of me, or if he’s just smitten with my girl, but it melts another piece of my frigid heart.

“So, do we have a dress? Flowers? Plans for a reception?” Paige asks.

“Let me bring you back down to earth, hun. You are about to birth a whole human being. Despite your compulsion to micromanage everything, you need to take it easy.” It’s not that I don’t want all of those things.

But I’ve already done the big wedding, and when I think back on it, the only thing left is regret.

It’s best if we get this done with minimal fanfare.

“You at least need a dress.” The pleading look in her eyes is almost unbearable. “I can go with you —”

“Absolutely not. The closest boutique is one town over, and I will not be responsible for the little nugget’s early entrance into the world.”

“You can drive and I’ll park myself in a chair near the mirrors, I promise.” She gives me her best puppy dog eyes and I feel my resolve crumbling.

I shift to look at her husband. “Cade, a little help here.”