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Chapter eight

Luca

If I could give her the world, I would. -Luca

I take Mondays off from the shop. It’s my day to disconnect from the outside world, to remind myself that there are other things out there besides my art and the people I sell it to. Honestly, the time away from the general public is so damn welcome. They can be absolutely exhausting. I’m an introvert at heart but forced to be an extrovert for business.

The day starts with a run with Lucky. We run our usual path, the gravel path that runs by Noelle’s house and then through the surrounding hills. There are days when I miss my youth in Ireland and the beauty of my home country, but today I breathe in and appreciate the rolling hills and changing colors of the landscape of Maple Falls.

I’m so lucky that I get to have a store here and that I’ve made a family of sorts out of the people that live here. Hank, the local bar owner who gives the best advice, Reggie, and all the other regulars downtown. They’ve made me feel welcome.

I lost my mum and da in a car crash when I was fourteen. When I came over to the United States to live with an uncle I had never met, I was like a lost puppy. I tried to form an attachment to my uncle, but he was far more interested in the ladies than being a dad to a pimply, awkward boy. We came to an agreement of sorts. He stayed out of my way, and I stayed out of his.

I found my calling while looking back into my heritage. My great-grandfather worked with glass back in Galway. According to legend, people came from everywhere to buy his creations. I became intrigued with the ancient art and that led me to study it. Then I wandered through this town years ago for that first annual fall festival and that was it. Something about Maple Lane Falls called to me.

I’m slowly jogging up the steep hill that approaches my house from the west when I see her.

Noelle. Sweet Noelle.

She’s sitting on my front porch steps, hands primly folded in her lap, watching me. Lucky immediately barks when he sees her.

My heartrate spikes and I speed up my jog to a full-fledged run. By the time I reach her, I’m breathless. She slowly stands and wipes imaginary dust off her jeans. The look in her brown eyes is unreadable. Is she here to yell at me for another unforgivable thing I’ve done? Is she here to berate me again? Is she…

She launches herself into my arms with a small cry and I barely have time to catch her. Her shapely legs hug my waist, and she reins kisses down on my face as she keeps repeating thank you.

Lucky, like me, is completely caught off guard. He runs around us in a circle, barking and wagging his tail like a maniac.

Finally, I lean back from her barrage of kisses and place a hand on her cheek, noticing tears in her eyes. “Noelle, I love to be greeted this way, but I’m not sure what I did to deserve it. Is everything okay, my sweet girl?” My voice comes out husky. My dick immediately responded to the feel of her in my arms.

“You got me tea.” Her words are said in a volume barely above a whisper.

I cock my head to the side. “Yes, I did. I did a little research and decided that would be the best thing to get you to say I’m sorry. I was an arse at the festival, a complete and total arse. I was also a jealous fool. Seeing you flirt with those other men made me crazy.”

She reaches out and traces a finger along the ridge of my jaw. “You got me something that I would like though. And something that’s special to me. It’s expensive, yes, but it’s something that took a lot of thought. I haven’t gotten a lot of presents in my life, Luca.” Her breath hitches. “It meant a lot to me.”

“You deserve all the presents in the world, lass. Everything you want. You deserve the best,” I murmur. She does. This beautiful woman who has captured my heart. She deserves everything and more. A tear runs down her cheek and I rub at it with my thumb.

“Will you make love to me, Luca? I’ve had so many fantasies of us together. I want to know what it’s like in real life. I want to feel your hands on me. I want to feel you inside me.” She stops and licks her lips. “Please, Luca. I want you.”

This gorgeous woman is begging me to make love to her? No, it should be the other way around. “I won’t deny you, lass. Or myself for that matter. It took everything within me not to make you mine the other day. Because that’s what you are. Mine to treasure, Mo shiorghra, all mine.”

Chapter nine

Noelle

Damn, he really is good with his hands. -Noelle

Luca punctuates his words with a kiss that quicky becomes passionate. I rock against him, my pussy already wet and wanting to feel the length of him against me. He grunts as I finally feel his hard dick pulsing inside his athletic shorts. He’s big and I rub against him harder, seeking completion, seeking his heat.

“Fuck, Noelle. We have to get inside.”

I hold on as he carries me inside. Lucky runs in ahead of us. He’s already become bored with his favorite humans since they aren’t paying any attention to him. I can’t think of anything besides this adorable man who has made me feel so special.

I have a small niggle of self-consciousness as he starts up the stairs, me still in his arms.

“You shouldn’t carry me up the stairs, Luca.” I duck my head. “I’m a bigger girl. You’ll put your back out or something.”

He lifts my chin and gazes into my eyes. “You are perfect, Noelle. Just perfect.”