Chapter 298

We walk slowly to the front porch, murmuring our plans for tomorrow. His family lets me go with a few calls of goodbye, but without much fuss. I’m warmed by this – by the casual goodbye of family members who know they’ll see you soon, and so don’t need to make a big deal out of it. As we step onto the front porch though, Luca’s grandmother calls him back, saying something in swift Itablio.

Luca sighs, hesitating but stepping away from me. “She wants you to take a slice of cake to Rafe - is that all right? I know it’s ridiculous, but –“

“Of course I will,” I say, laughing and pushing him towards her. “I’ll call Captain Conner – you get the cake.” Luca nods, smiling his dazzling smile at me, and then he steps back into the house with his Gran. I make a quick call to Conner, who let’s me know he’s just around the corner and will bring the car up.

I sigh happily, looking down the dark street, but I jump slightly when a shadow detaches itself from the corner of the porch and steps forward towards me. “Did you enjoy yourself tonight, miss Ariel?”

I press a hand to my heart, laughing a little at how skittish I am when I see that it’s just Luca’s uncle, who was out here enjoying a quiet cigarette. “Yes,” I say, nodding when I get some of my equanimity back. “Your family is lovely – thank you so much for making me feel so warm and welcome.”

“You are very welcome here,” Bruce says, nodding evenly to me, and I can tell that he means it by the serious way he says it. “You’re family now, and I’m glad we’ve let you know that. Even if I didn’t think the party was a good idea.”

My face falls a little. “You didn’t?”

Bruce glances at me for a moment, perhaps takes in my crestfallen expression. “It’s nothing about you, miss – you’ve been nothing but a lady tonight, and I’m grateful for it. Some of the girls that boy

brought home,” he shakes his head contemplatively here, “…they were a mess. But you did very well. Still – I told him to hold off introducing you until after the fight – to just concentrate on what needed to be done. But he insisted.” Bruce shrugs, like Luca’s a problem he can’t quite solve and has resigned himself to that fate. “And his mother and his gran indulged him, like they always do.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, shaking my head and feeling guilty – because as lovely as tonight was, perhaps Bruce is right. Luca should already be in bed, he should be thinking about the fight tomorrow, not me. It is a big deal to be boxing against the Atalaxian champion and…well. This party could have waited, couldn’t it?

“I should have thought of that,” I murmur, dropping my head to look at the wood of the porch.

“Well, perhaps you should have,” Bruce murmurs, and I raise my head to look at him, my eyebrows raised. Because I meant it – I should have thought of Luca’s responsibilities, should have encouraged him to delay the party. But…I didn’t really expect Bruce to agree with me.

He looks at me evenly now, assessing me, his mouth pressed to a thin line.

“Do you mind, miss?” he says quietly, seriously. “If I say something true to you, that you might not want to hear?”

Anxious, but wanting to know, I nod.

Bruce nods quickly and then looks away into the dark. “Luca is a talented boy – ambitious, hardworking, and he’s got a left hook like I’ve never seen. But his emotions run high – and he lets them. He’s got a temper, which I’m sure you’ve seen –“ noveldrama

He glances at me and I eagerly nod my confirmation, which makes him smirk fondly and shake his head.

“The temper’s just the start of it, though. He lets his emotions run him, sometimes, gets his damn heart into something and can’t quit it even when it’s not good for him. Or he quits something good because he got his feelings hurt. That’s why I say he’s been a damned fool with women – dates them all, loves some who treat him like crap, breaks up with others over the pettiest nonsense. But he lets it run him, lets it wreck him. He likes the intensity of it, I think – and that love for thrill and passion makes him a good boxer but…” he sighs, shaking his head, lost a bit in his thoughts. “It’s not always wonderful for his career.”

I turn my head to the side, suddenly confused because…

Is Luca’s uncle suggesting, right now, that him being mated to me is bad for Luca’s career!?