Chapter 30

Iris' Pov

My eyes fly open as I sit up, sprinting to the bathroom. I push the door open and stumble over to the toilet, doubling over the porcelain bowl as I empty the contents of my stomach.

A horrible way to start the morning.

As I continue to barf my dinner up, I feel my hair being pulled away from my face, thankfully, as he rubs my back soothingly.

Once I'm finish dry-heaving and I'm sure nothing else is left in my stomach, I sit up blinking and cradling my head as a pounding headache reeks havoc on my body.

Luca releases my hair once he realizes I'm not about to emit more digest food etc out of my body and he helps me to my feet as I staggeringly make my way over to the sink.

Grabbing my toothbrush from the container it rested in, I squeeze a good amount of toothpaste on the bristles of the the brush.

Luca is leaning against the counter watching me with curious eyes.

"How coincidencental would it be if I'd gotten you pregnant?" Luca inquires trying not to smile, he cocks his brow in a questioning manner.

"Quite coincidental but not possible, I take the pill like my life depends on it," I answer dryly after I've spit the foaming toothpaste from my mouth.

"But what if?" He persists.

"Then we'd be royally fucked." I glance at him in the mirror, my expression somber.

Luca hums but says nothing more only grabbing his own toothbrush, as well. I rinse my mouth of the toothpaste and place my toothbrush back in its original position before exiting the bathroom.

There is no fucking way I'm pregnant.

I pick my robe off the ottoman and put it on, securing the strings around my waist. I run my hand through the tangled mess of hair atop my head, reaching for my brush I try to brush the tangles from my hair before sighing in frustration and throwing the brush down.

I can't be pregnant, I must be sick or something.

"Would you like some help, tesoro?" Luca offers though he's laughing at my frustration.

He's trying to lighten the mood isn't he?

I bite my lip and nod swallowing my pride, Luca strolls towards me in his Calvin's, picking the brush up off my vanity, he brushes my hair with patience and care, much more patience and care than I would have had, before long he's detangled my hair and pulled it into a messy ponytail.

"Where did you learn to do that?" I ask, turning to look up at him amazed.

"Sometimes I had to help Iliana." He grins with a shrug.

I smile and stand up, pulling him into a tight embrace to show my affection, Luca's arms encircle my waist and he gives me a little squeeze with a kiss to the top of my head which makes me giggle.

"How about we go get breakfast at IHOP and then go ........Christmas shopping?" Luca suggests, making me stare up at him in wonder at how I landed a man such as he.

"I'm in. Let me shower first though." I say, drawing back from our embrace.

"I'll help with that too." He grins seductively, wiggling his perfectly shaped eyebrows at me.

"No thanks, I'll decline." I laugh, walking briskly towards the shower.

There would be no getting clean with Luca only....well you know.

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As the waitress places my stack of Double blueberry pancakes in front of me and placing Luca's Belgian dark chocolate mousse pancakes in front of him, I watch as she gives him a lustful look and a show of her ample bosom.

"If you'd like anything else, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask." She stands up straighter, jutting her chest out and looking my man up and down suggestively.

"We will, thank you..." He trails off looking at the name tag attached to her tight constricting uniform. "Rose."

"You are most definitely welcome, handsome." She titters, irritating the fuck out of me.

"We get it, you want to fuck him. Everyone does, move along." I all but growl, shoveling my mouth with pancakes.

The girl scrunches her nose up, holding it high before turning on her heel and marching away.

"What was that about?"Luca questions, trying to bite back his smile and failing. "Was that jealousy, il mio amore?"

"Oh, whatever. She was practically raping you with those beady little eyes of hers." I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You're so adorable when you get pissed over someone who means nothing to me." He remarks immediately cheering me up well that's until he tries to steal a bite off my plate.

I blush, defending my beloved pancakes with my fork, I purse my lips and take a sip of my protein shake.

After Luca has taken a bite of his pancakes he suddenly says. "So, you haven't told me what you'd like for Christmas?"

I scratch my head and a frown settles on my lips as I realize I'd completely forgotten about the getting aspect of Christmas "I haven't really thought about what I'd like for Christmas."

"That's a pity," Luca comments, his brows furrowing.

"I mean what more can I ask for I've got everything a girl could dream of." I give him a toothy smile, resting my hand on top of his. "So, what would you like?"

Luca taps his chin in thought before a broad smile spread across his lips as possibly a gift idea comes to mind. "I'd like to take you on a date."

I scoff unbelievingly. "You can't be serious, that's it?"

"I'm deathly serious, nothing would make me happier than taking you out on a date." He grins reaching across the table to stroke my cheek.

"Okay, Mister. You can take me on a date for Christmas." A smile lights up my face and I push the wisps of hair from my face suddenly shy.

Luca lends over the table pressing a kiss to my forehead, I blush even harder, trying to contain the bubbling happiness within me.

We ate breakfast, making small talk and laughing a lot, I even caught him staring at me and when I asked him about it he said he couldn't help it.

Once we're finished eating Luca drops a 100 dollar bill on the table and takes my hand, leading me out the door and towards the car.

"So, where do we go now?" I ask him, watching as he opens the door of the passenger side and I slide in.

"The mall, I'm taking you Christmas shopping, remember?" Luca chuckles and shakes his head at my forgetful nature.

I smile as he closes my door, waiting for him to get in, Luca slips into the car and turn the key in the ignition starting the car up.

"Buckle up," Luca says, concerning himself with my safety but not at all with his own.

"I'd say you should do the same as well." I grab the strap of the seatbelt and shove it into the other end, securing it.

"Worried about me, amore?" He gives me his signature amused smirk.

"Buckle up, Luca." I state in all seriousness.

"I always knew you loved me, Iris." Luca jokes as he buckles up.

My heart stops and I think I experienced a heart attack once the l word left his mouth.

Fuck is it that obvious?

I swallow unnecessarily, biting my lower lip and laughing nervously. "Shut up, Luca."

He cocks a brow at my questionable behavior but says nothing, how awkward, Luca drives us out of the parking lot and on to the road which is crammed, I'm guessing everyone has some last minute shopping to take care of.

"Soooo, tell me about your childhood, how did you grow up to be the fierce woman you are today?" Luca leans back in his seat, clearly getting comfortable since we wouldn't be moving much anytime soon and fixing his gaze on me.

"You wanna know my backstory?" I smile, settling back as well.

"Yes, I do. I wanna know what makes Iris Donario...sorry, Iris Harding-Donario, tick." He says, staring into my brown eyes.

"Well, I grew up here in New York with my mom and dad, sadly I was an only child with a fish being my only companion, he was a goldfish named Jasper," I recall, tapping my chin. "As you know my dad's a lawyer and my mom's a certified trophy wife who would dress me up in pretty pink frilly dresses and make me compete in pageants."

Luca asks thoughtfully. "Did you ever win?"

"Fuck no." I snort before continuing. "I was a smart kid, I didn't see the point of dressing up in oversized dresses and caking your face with makeup just to please dumb people. I would rather read in my daddy's study and dressing in a pair of overalls."

"To say, I was always a daddy's girl, my mother and I always had sort of a strained relationship. Her idea of my life was me, marrying a rich handsome billionaire, being a real housewife and popping out babies but that just wasn't exactly me." I bite my lip as I recount the early stage of my life.

"I mean one of those things came true, right? You are married to me. A rich handsome billionaire." He grins cheekily, moving the car further up in line before coming to a stop.

I roll my eyes at him and place my finger on his lips, shooshing him. "As I was saying, I wasn't what my mother wanted exactly instead I wanted to be like my dad and help people, then as I blossomed into my teenage years I realized I wanted to be an artist."

"But I can't draw for shit so that dream didn't last long. I went to Liberty Academy and when I was 13 years old, I met my best friend, Lila. I went through the dark phase like all teenagers do, where I was an absolute brat. I only had a boyfriend briefly for senior year but ended it with him because he was always trying to bone and you know the fact that we were going to different colleges." I summarize my boring teenage years. "My mother and I's relationship only seemed to decrease even more in those years, we just didn't seem to have anything in common, she wanted a kid she could mold as she pleased and I didn't want that, I wanted to be my own person."

I glance over at him watching him listen attentively to every word I was saying.

"So after that then there was college, I got into Yale when I was 18 years old and I pursued a degree in Psychology because I wanted to know what made people, people. I met some amazing people like my friend Calvin but unfortunately, we're not as close anymore." I sigh sadly my shoulders slumping. "Those were some of the best years of my life, the parties, the people, the memories."

"I graduated and got my degree, got a job and then a year or two later, I got my own space on account of some of daddy's money and my own. I worked my butt off and opened an orphanage to help the kids who needed families and a place they could call home even if it would be just for a while...and then I met this douchebag asshole that turns out isn't really an asshole after all." I conclude with a laugh.

"A fucking sexy asshole." He snickers in mock hurt, rolling my eyes at his dramatics I peck the pout on his lips.

I shake my head at his adorableness before sitting up and facing him. "Now, you tell me about your childhood."

Luca brows furrow and he shake his head, driving forward as the line moves further along.

"My childhood," Luca rubs the back of his neck with his right hand, tapping the fingers of his other hand on the steering wheel. "was hardly interesting, darling."

"I'd still like to know, what a young Luca was like." I push on, wanting to know more about him.

Luca was like a damn puzzle and it frustrated me that I couldn't figure him out but at the same time it drew me to him.

He scowls and sighs heavily finally giving in to my request.

"Well, I was born here in New York but for a few years I grew up in Italia with my nonna. I'm the second child of three children but unfortunately.....my older sister died when we were kids and my younger brother is a fucking idiot." He shrugs, his tone clipped and void of emotion. "I had 3 or 4 bulldogs, I can't remember what they were named but they were cruel beasts. I was brought up to become the future leader of my family business but even from a young age, I knew it just wasn't for me."

Luca licks his lips as he proceeded with his backstory "I can't remember much.... from when I was a child but I do remember every piano lesson taught to me by my nonna and endlessly listening to old men drone on about bullshit, I remember countless memories, good memories I had with my siblings, Ezra and Estevon and bad memories I had with my family."

"I uh... saw a lot of messed up stuff that a kid should never see, but my old man said it would make me a man. When I got a little older and started middle school, that's when I really started learning a few trades for the business, trades I have the scars for." He chuckles bitterly at the cold memory.

"There were sunny days though, days I'd play in the maze with Esa or around the house with Iliana and sometimes Arsenio when he wasn't a fucking brat. Iliana was always happy, always had a pretty smile on her face." He moved on remembering the happier times before going back to the grimmer memories. "It's when I hit teenage years when it got bad, I had to do something unforgivable the day I turned 13, it's what they said would truly make me into a man. So I did it and.... it was never the same for me, I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror for a while, I felt disgusted with myself, with my family but Iliana helped through it."

I place a comforting hand on his shoulder, my heart heavy with his story. "Luca, you don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to."

"But I do." He brushes my hair from my face with a soft reassuring smile. "I want to tell you what makes me, me or at least some parts of what makes me, me."

"I struggled for a while with everything and then after a while, I just became numb to it. I would constantly get into trouble for dealing drugs to students, I used to drink a lot, get into fights and every little bad thing you can think of. At one point I think Arsenio once looked up to me but after a while, he didn't and I could understand why." He recalls his eyes averting to stare out the window.

"When Iliana got sick I thought this was it, I was done being fucking angry at everything because if she could always smile despite her pain why couldn't I. I remember really well when I would sit by her bed and read her those shitty romance novels and play her songs, most times she'd request to hear her favorite song......I wasn't religious but I use to pray that she'd get better but.... she never did, she only got worse."

He swallows hard as he tells it all and I could feel my eyes well up with tears, tears of his pain.

"The night before she died, she made me sit down by her bed and she made me promise that I'd do what made me happy and not what was expected of me, she told to get my shit together and stop acting like a fucking idiot." He looks up at me finally and I feel my heart burst as I see the unshed tears which fills his hazel orbs, he works his jaw and I can tell he's holding back the ache.

"So that's what I did that night, I told my dad I didn't want to do the family business and he lost his shit but I didn't give a fuck, I was content that I'd fulfilled my sister's dying wish." He smirks at this.

"Iliana died on Christmas Eve and we mourned her and then we went on with our lives, I went to Harvard and I met my other best friends, Nikolai and Zevenous. I got my degree and with the help of a few associates I started my company and became one of the greatest business man alive today." He gives me a gentle smile, wiping the stray tears which had somehow slid down my cheeks. "And then I met her, the beautiful woman who'd managed to capture the heart that is mine."

I lean in to kiss Luca when the loud blaring of a horn makes me nearly jump out of my seat in fright. Luca grits his teeth but does nothing rash instead he drives the car up further in line so that the idiot beeping their horn will stop.

"You know you still haven't said, why you and Arsenio don't get along." I point out.

"It's not that we don't get along, it's more like he enjoys annoying the fuck out of me and rousing my bad temper," Luca explains his relationship with this brother I still haven't met.

"....You and your sister shared a bond I would have only hoped for if I had a sibling." I comment, more to myself than to him.

"Yeah, but when we did fight, it was brutal." Luca chuckles, with one hand on the wheel, he pulled up the hem of his t-shirt. "She stabbed me where my tattoo is, once."

My eyes scan the tattoo on his left pec, the one with the roses bracketing the word omertà, gently grazing my finger over it I felt him shudder. Usually, I would have commented on his reaction but my attention was captured by the beautiful cursive inked writing; Omertá.

"Omertá?" I mumble, cocking a brow at him. "Tell me what it means."

Luca hesitates, his tongue darting out to lick his lips before telling me reluctantly. "It's a code of silence."

A code of silence would be the same thing as being sworn to secrecy, right?

"Oh." I utter as he pulls his shirt back down.

"You know what, waiting in this traffic is bullshit. I can take you Christmas shopping tomorrow." Luca shakes his head, making a drastic u-turn which earns him a whole lot of curses from other drivers.

I snort loudly at his lack of patience before sitting back and watching as my husband drives us home.

Once we pull up in front of the house, I open my door and get out, rushing into the house so as to get out of the freezing cold.

Dammit, why hadn't I chosen warmer clothes instead of an oversized Superman sweatshirt and black leggings?

Luca enters after without much haste, he closes the front door and strolls towards me.

"What do you want to do to pass the hours?" Luca questions his gaze on me though I already know what he has in mind.

"Wellll, you could play me a song and then you know, take me up to that room and make sweet music with me," I suggest but really I'm urging him to do so.

Luca smiles and interlaces our fingers, leading me to the piano room. We enter through the large doors and Luca takes a seat pulling me down to sit with him.

"What are you going to play?" I ask watching as he runs his finger along every white note.

"Tears, it was Iliana's favorite," A wide smile breaks across his lips.

The moment his fingers play the first note I'm mesmerized, it felt as if he'd hypnotized me with his sweet melody. He has a beautiful smile on his face as he plays every familiar note.

The way his fingers caress each note is simply beautiful, I can't help but feel at eased by the music that courses through my body.

"That's so beautiful, Luca." I gush, laying my head on his shoulder.

He shrugs and plays the song, the song which was his sister's favorite. As I listened I wished she was still alive, I wished I'd met her, gotten to know her.

Luca turns his head to the side and stares deeply into my eyes, his eyes flickering down to my lips as my eyes do the same. I lick my lips and he grins at that, leaning forward his hand reaches up and caresses my cheek.

"Thank you." He mumbles low, his hands leaving the piano.

"For what?" My brows furrow and I scrunch my nose up in confusion.

"For being you." He replies before crashing his lips on to mine.

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