Page 20 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)

Luca

L et it be.

Let it be.

Let. It. Be.

I repeat those three words to myself over and over as we walk down the hall toward Josephine’s apartment at the end. I see a note with her name written on the envelope taped to the door. Assuming it’s something from the building, I pull it off and knock.

Enzo swings it open less than two seconds later and dramatically ushers us into Josephine’s apartment. Sebastian follows me, with Dante behind him. Enzo squeals at the sight of him holding our lunch.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Big Daddy.” I hear him give Dante a wet kiss on the cheek, followed by a grunt from what I’m assuming is Dante’s elbow in Enzo’s abdomen.

I don’t see any of it unfolding, though. No, my gaze is laser-focused on Josephine, sitting on her caramel-colored suede sofa. She’s surrounded by mountains of pillows and throw blankets, much like Enzo always is, and she looks entirely at home here.

Stunning, really.

As I walk up to her, she notices me out of her periphery, and unlike most of the time, when she sees me, she smiles. Her dark eyelashes fan her gunmetal-blue eyes as her cheeks pink up in real-time.

Suddenly, I’m hit with an urge so intense that my hand is reaching out before my mind can tell it to stop. Without a moment’s hesitation, like it’s almost second nature, she grabs my outstretched hand, and I quickly pull her from the sofa with so much force that she crashes against me .

“Hi,” she breathes out harshly, her breasts pressing against my chest.

Let it be.

“You’re not hurt?” I ask as my hands ghost up her arms until they’re caressing her face.

She shakes her head in my hold. “I’m not hurt.”

Let it be.

Searching her face, I ask, “You’re sure?”

This time, she nods. “I’m sure, Luca. I’m okay.”

Let. It. Be.

“Vita Mia.” Before she asks what it means, I let everything go—every moment of hesitation, every doubt that this won’t work, every worry that Sebastian really isn’t okay with this, every concern that this might damage my relationship with my best friend.

I cast it all aside and crash my lips against hers.

She lets me kiss her for a moment before pushing against me. “Luca… what—”

“I just…” I pant out, practically breathless. “I just want to try something.”

I need to know if this is all some sort of infatuation that I’ve cooked up in my head or if it’s real. However, judging by the way my entire body lit up in the span of three seconds, I think it’s safe to say I’m not imagining a goddamn thing.

“But, Enzo?” she asks as if his name would be enough to get her to stop, yet she doesn’t move away from me.

I look over my shoulder to find Enz leaning against the kitchen counter with his head perched on his fist, smiling like a damn fool. And as I examine my best friend’s expression, I don’t find a trace of jealousy or anger. Only excitement and curiosity.

I look back at Josephine finding her entirely confused by what is happening. Not that I blame her. But I also don’t want to explain it… At least not at the moment. “I think Enzo’s fine.”

Her brows furrow. “Luca?”

My hold on her face tightens as I bring my face as close to hers as possible. The scent of jasmine envelops me as I plead, “Josephine… please. I need to know. Please. ”

Her eyes search my face for a moment, silently trying to decipher the thoughts racing around in my head while, at the same time, figuring out if this is a road she wants to go down.

As much as I want to, I don’t rush this moment.

I give her all the time she needs to make this choice—to either move us into whatever this relationship could be or to keep us exactly as we are.

A wave of disappointment rolls through me as she breaks eye contact and looks at the floor beneath us. Then she inhales a deep breath and looks back up at me. I see it before she even says it.

She wants this.

“Okay,” she murmurs.

The word is barely out of her mouth before I’m slanting mine over it. Her body melts against mine, and her fists unclench from the front of my shirt as she runs them over my chest before wrapping her arms around my neck.

Skating my thumbs over her cheeks, I gently tilt her head back, giving myself a better angle.

Her full lips part with a sigh, and I slide my tongue into her mouth.

The way she tastes on my tongue is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

The way she feels against my body is like she was meant to be there.

The sounds she makes as I explore her mouth sound as angelic as angels singing from the heavens.

I wasn’t imagining it. This isn’t something I can avoid. I’ve had a taste of her, and I want it over and over again until the end of time.

This is real.

Knowing we still have an audience, I give her a few more feather-light kisses and pull away. “Do you know now?” she asks breathlessly.

“Yeah, Vita Mia. I know.” The double meaning doesn’t seem to be lost on either of us.

“Well damn, Sweetheart.” Josephine pulls away from me quickly, but when she sees Enzo jumping around like an excitable puppy, I watch her body instantly relax. “Wanna give Big Daddy or Seb a try before we get down to the nitty-gritty?”

Seb snorts out a laugh, and I pin Dante with a look. He takes my silent order and smacks Enzo across the back of the head.

“Goddamnit! Always with the hitting!”

“Yet you somehow never seem to learn,” Dante grumbles.

“Sorry, I’m funny, you big giant ogre. ”

Seb nods his head in our direction and says, “Come on, Love. Let’s eat some lunch, and we’ll explain everything.”

I give her a soft kiss on the forehead before ushering her forward toward her kitchen. “No need,” she quips while grabbing the beef Pho and sliding onto a stool. “I figured most of it out while you guys were on your way over here.”

“Oh, you did, huh?” I ask, grabbing my food and sliding into the spot next to her before Enzo can steal it.

“Sure did.” She squeezes some lime into her bowl and sprinkles an outlandish amount of cilantro into it.

“Can’t wait to hear this,” Seb says to her.

“There’s just one thing I can’t quite put my finger on.”

“And what’s that, Sweetheart?”

“What were the three of you doing the night you scared the shit out of me in my office?”

“I told you, we were—”

She points her chopsticks at me and says, “And don’t tell me paintballing. Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, Luca.”

The four of us look at one another quickly, trying to decide if we should actually tell her everything. But ultimately, I know it’s my decision.

However, considering our current situation and the skills necessary to get us out of it, it seems pertinent that she knows. Considering the woman sitting in front of us is about to become inextricably entwined in our lives, I don’t see how we could get around it.

Reading my mind like he always does, Sebastian shoots her the most adorable fucking smile he can manage before he says, “Let me sweep the apartment first.”