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Chapter fifty

Luca

Thursday, August 27, 2026

“ A lright, Gia, Daddy’s got you all packed and ready to stay with your mom this weekend. Are you excited?” I ask her, and she just gives me a dimpled smile, drool running down her cheek.

“I thought you’d say that,” I joke. “I’ve gotta call the pretty lawyer now and make sure we’re really doing this, but afterward, it’s just you and me for the night, kid.” She giggles, more drool spilling out of her mouth.

I pick her up, wiping her face with a wet wipe before pressing a kiss to her head and placing her in her kiddie corral with all of her favorite toys. She leans forward on her hands, settling herself into the mat before trying to pick up a block sitting beside her.

Right now, she’s mostly working on strengthening her muscles and getting used to the kinds of movements necessary for playing. I swear, every day, she gets stronger and stronger. It’s wild to see her progression over the last few months, but I’m loving every moment of it.

Sure, it’s been hard, but I have the best support system and the most amazing kid.

I blow Gia a kiss, one she tries to mimic but ends up just smacking her lips with her palm.

Grabbing my phone, I search for Samara’s number. She answers on the second ring, which is fucking shocking.

“Luca,” she says, her voice panicked. My heart rate starts to skyrocket from the worry suddenly building in my chest.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my voice shaky.

“How are we gonna pull this off? My family is never going to believe we’re actually dating!” she nearly screeches into the phone.

So that’s what this is about. My heart begins to settle knowing that she just has anxiety and isn’t in danger.

My voice is soothing as I say, “Samara, take a deep breath.”

She does so audibly, and my chest begins to relax too. “Good, now I’m gonna need you to count on those incredible lawyer skills of yours to keep your composure and go with the flow this weekend, but I promise it’ll be fine. We’re gonna have a good time, and I have no doubt that I’ll be able to convince your family,” I say, chuckling.

The line goes silent for a moment until I hear Samara taking in a few more steadying breaths. “We need to set boundaries,” she finally huffs out.

My brow quirks. This’ll be good. “Okay, what boundaries would you like to set, Samara?”

“First off, we’re definitely not sharing a bed.”

“That’s already been established. Our room has two queens in it,” I remind her, settling into the couch cushions as I put the speaker on and set my phone down.

“And no holding hands.” She says this next request as if she’s checking off a list.

“You have clammy hands around me, principessa ?” I joke, trying to clear some of the tension encasing us from her worry.

I scrub at the little milk stain on the cushion beside me, squinting my eyes at it. It sort of looks like Samara. My chest vibrates. No, it fucking doesn’t. That’s the dumbest shit I’ve thought in a long time, and it’s clear as day that I’m starting to develop some sort of dependence on her.

“Luca,” she says sternly.

“Yes, ma’am, no hand-holding,” I agree, doing my best to keep the laugh inside that’s threatening its way out of my throat.

“ No kissing ,” she stresses over the line.

A breath of air whooshes out of my mouth. “Now come on, princess. ” I drop the rag I’d been using to clean the stain. “Have you seen yourself? Do you really think your family will believe I’m able to keep my hands and lips off you?”

“Stop being a flirt,” she huffs out.

“Samara,” I say, dragging her name out. “You’ve got to try and relax. I’m not delusional enough to think this is real, so whatever we have to do to convince your family and get them off your back within your boundaries is what we’ll do. But if we want this to be believable, you’re gonna have to rethink some of the lines you’ve drawn in the proverbial sand. Okay?”

“Okay,” she finally agrees, but I can still tell she’s reluctant. “But definitely no sex, got it?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, princess.” That’s a lie, but it’s one that’ll hopefully ease her racing mind.

“Be ready by six,” she says before hanging up.

I peer down at Gia. “You heard the lady; we’ve gotta be ready by six.” Gia’s wide eyes shine brightly up at me, totally unaware that I’m about to leave her with her mom for an entire weekend. Meanwhile, I’ll be pretending to date a woman I can’t stop thinking about, even though I know damn well I should.