Page 34 of Tempting Me (The Asher Family #3)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LUCA
I’ve never been so nervous in my entire life.
I don’t know how the whole grand gesture thing works, but buying The Marina so that the woman I love and I can run it together seems like a pretty damn good place to start.
Which is how I ended up sitting in the Collins Reality office a couple of days later.
“She said she would show up?” I ask and look at Shay’s parents and brother.
Her mom and dad share a look, and then her mom says, “I left her a note.”
“A note?”
Her mother nods.
“Did she by chance respond to this note?”
“No, but she’ll come.”
“I’m not so sure she will,” I admit and stand.
I glance at her dad, who smirks with a nod to the door.
I don’t give anyone time to ask me where I’m going before I run out of the building and jump into my truck .
Thankfully, the roads aren’t busy today, because I’m definitely speeding as I head toward Shay.
I thought it would be a cool surprise when she got to the sale and saw me. I’d confess how stubborn I was and how I’m buying The Marina so that we can run it together, but hell, I should have just gone to her and told her.
Waiting for some big moment was stupid. It’s not real life. Real life is going to the woman you fell in love with the moment you knew that, through the good and the bad, you want only her at your side.
I spot her walking out of her front door the moment I pull up in front of her house.
I quickly put my truck in park and get out.
She stops dead in her tracks. “Luca,” my name slips from her lips in a whisper.
“I need to talk to you,” I tell her.
“Okay.”
A hopeful look flashes through her eyes.
“I came to talk to you about The Marina.”
Her eyes narrow and she spins back for the house.
“I don’t want to talk about The Marina, Luca. If that’s all you came for, you can leave.”
“It’s not all I came for.” I follow her inside. “But it’s how this starts.”
“No. How this starts is, you pick up your phone or answer my texts or reply or acknowledge something I?—”
“I bought The Marina!”
Her head pulls back.
“What? You … you bought it?”
I step toward her.
“Yep, that’s right, Shay. I’m so far gone in love with you that I went to your parents, who apologized, by the way, now that the truth is out, and begged them to sell me The Marina, just so I could put your name on it beside mine and we could run it together.”
“You … bought The Marina?”
“Yes. Well, I’m trying to buy it, but you didn’t show up today, so now here I am showing up on your doorstep so that?—”
“You love me?” she asks, cutting me off mid-rant.
I pause as her tear-filled eyes gaze up at me.
Her lips twitch to smile. Of all the things I just told her, that’s what she chooses to focus on?
Me.
The fact that I love her.
“You love me? After what I did?”
“I do,” I say and step close enough that I can wrap my arm around her waist. I brush the other hand against her cheek, until the tips of my fingers thread through her hair. “So much, baby. I know that we won’t be perfect, but you’re the only person I want to be not perfect with.”
She presses her lips together, and I swear to god, the fact that The Marina isn’t her focus after my announcement makes my entire body relax.
I’m her focus. My love for her is. And that right there is exactly why I know she’s it for me.
She loves that marina, but she loves me more.
I’d get on my knee right now if I didn’t think that was too much for her.
“Now,” I begin, because even though she hasn’t said she loves me, we still have papers to sign. “Are you going to get in my truck with me so we can buy this place, or are you going to stand here and argue with me? ”
She answers by standing on her toes and pressing her lips to mine.
“I love you, too, Luca Asher. So much, baby .”
I wrap my arms around her waist and drop my head back with laughter as she smiles at me.
“I knew it.”
She laughs, too, slapping my shoulder.
“Did you really buy The Marina?”
I set her to her feet.
“Do you really think I would lie about that? Your entire family is waiting there right now. Well, I think they are. I sort of left them the moment your mother said she left you a note to meet us.”
But in all honesty, getting the chance to have this moment without an audience was worth it.
“You do realize this means you’re tied to me legally, right?”
I grin. “Yes.”
“For years.”
“I do.”
“You can’t just decide one day that you don’t want it.”
“I’m aware.”
“This is forever.”
“I sure fucking hope so.”
“Luca!” she scolds, crossing her arms and leaning into me so I can hold her tight. “I’m talking about The Marina.”
“Shay, baby, if it involves you, I’m in it for life, trust me.”
She’s silent for a moment, but then she grabs my hand and pulls me to the door.
“Where are we going?” I ask. “The bedroom is behind us. ”
“Oh, trust me, as soon as we sign those papers, you’ll get plenty of bedroom time with me.”
“Good.”
I lean in to steal another kiss, because there’s no stopping me now.
“Come on. I need to show you something.”
She waves for me to follow her out to her car and leads me all the way to the back and points to the driveway. There are empty soup cans tied to the back of her Jeep.
“Were you celebrating something?”
“No, I was trying to make a statement.”
“And what was that?”
She opens the back door and pulls out a bright yellow sign.
I’m in love with Luca Asher is written in big bold letters with a Sharpie.
“I’m so, so sorry that I lied and I hurt you.
I was scared to lose what I thought mattered the most to me, but turns out, you’re that thing for me, and I was going to keep fighting until you figured it out, too.
I was about to drive through town with this sign, the cans making enough noise that people had to look at me. ”
I know there is a huge goofy grin on my face from the way Shay rolls her eyes.
“Come here,” I say and grab her hand to pull her body to mine. “I still think you should do it.”
“What?” She laughs. “Really? But we just made up.”
“So.” I shrug. “We have to get back into town to sign those papers somehow.”
Her nod is instant.
“Get in. ”
I race to the driver’s seat, and she races to the passenger.
“I can’t believe we are about to own The Marina.”
I start the engine and back out of her driveway.
She squeals when we hit the road.
“Hey,” I say, and she beams a smile at me.
“Yes?”
I love how happy she sounds.
I nod to the sign.
“Put that thing out the window, Shay. You owe me.”
She crawls over the center to kiss me quickly then takes her seat again, rolls her window down, and sticks the sign out.
Shay Parker loves me.
I grin.
Shay Asher sounds better.