LUCA WAS A NERVOUS wreck.

His hands twitched inside his coat pocket anxiously as his eyes darted at anything beside the woman sitting in front of him talking to his bodyguard with a bright smile. He didn't understand why he's body was reacting this way, but he didn't want to overthink it more than he already was.

Amina was coming to a place Luca didn't consider a home but rather a place he lived in. It was just going to be them, and for the first time no one told them to spend time with one another nor did they secretly leave a party to be together. This was them, and they wanted to spend more time together.

Luca had invited Jacob knowing he wasn't going to come, but still wanted to give it a shot to his old best friend. He knew Jacob had to act like he could stand Luca for Amina's and the singles sake, and once the finished writing he went right back to hating him. Luca knew it was an act but a slim part of him wished it wasn't. He knew at times Jacob forgot about what the two had gone through and laughed and even joked with Luca during their sessions, but quickly went serious once he remembered how much he hated him.

Amina was there for him when he needed someone. She was there even if she wasn't there. While he was under house arrest she was on TV making him feel more alive and have hope when Hollywood wanted nothing more than to crush that part of him. She listened to him when everyone else wanted him to remain whit. She believed in him when he didn't see there was anything to believe in. Amina Ryan was the light he desperately needed in his life.

Atticus was the first to step out the limo. He held the door open and took a look around as Amina stepped out and Luca close behind her. Atticus closed the door as Luca quickly walked to the front door and pulled it his keys from his pocket and put them into the lock.

There wasn't anything to be nervous about. It was Amina, the one person Luca felt comfortable around. The one person who could get him to talk for hours or tell him stupid stories in order to clear the air. Being around her her was easier than being by himself or Atticus, Amina always made everything lighter and better when he was with her.

Luca opened the door as he pulled his keys out and stepped inside the cool house. "Welcome," he muttered as he moved to the side to let Amin and Atticus in.

"It's beautiful." Amina complimented as she gingerly took in the room.

It wasn't much to him considering he didn't even like the way the house was designed. Whereas Luca was a more small house with an nice outside Forrest, he loved in a two level mansion that had no color but white. The walls were white, the floor tiles were white, everything was lifeless.

He rarely ever went into the seven empty bedrooms upstairs. Proving that only one had a bed and clothes in it, the others were filled with desks and notebooks for his music. His living room is where he basically lived in-one large room that he never left when he was there. The basement had his small hole studio, but he never bothered to go down there considering his music was always on his piano.

"Not that I expected anything but that for your house," Amina quickly said, making Luca laugh as he closed the door behind Atticus.

"It's fine," he turned to Atticus who stood tall between the two. "Atticus, you're relieved of your duties." Luca teased.

Atticus rolled his eyes as he refrained himself from smirking. "That's not how it works, sir."

"I won't leave the house," Luca promised. "You can get some sleep cause it look like you need it."

Atticus had stayed with them for the four sleepless nights of working on the single. He didn't sleep a wink until Luca was back at his house-which wasn't very long. He took his job seriously, something Luca wasn't use to with all his old bodyguards. The job itself was scary, risking his own life for someone else's, but Atticus didn't seem to think that way. Luca knew he took his job like his life, because he was practically working 24/7.

"Thank you sir," Atticus said thankfully, giving a small nod to both him and Amina. "Goodnight."

"Night." Luca muttered back as he watched his body guard descend up the white stairs.

Loud barking was heard as soon as Atticus opened the door to his room, two large gray pitbulls running down the stairs and straight to Luca.

He bent down, letting the hyper dogs as they both licked his face panting. He had grown use to the animals and even closer to them. Before he resented them because they were brans gifts-he did everything in his will power to keep them outside or busy and far away from his as possible. Now he had a soft spot for the hyper animals and how happy they made him feel.

"Hey, yes, yes I'm home." He reps sided excitedly to the two, causing them to jump even higher and tails to wag faster. Wiping his face as he stood up, he faced Amina. "Amina, this is thing one and thing two."

Amina laughed breathlessly as she looked at the two large dogs amused. "You named them after doctor Seuss characters?"

"Yes," he stared casually. He raised an eyebrows offendedly at her. "You gotta problem with that?"

"No, not in the slightest," she raised her hands up in defense. Her smile widened as thing one and two began to sniff her leg. "Hello, oh aren you two adorable?" she said in a baby voice as she pet both heads.

Luca rolled his eyes. "Their pitbulls, not adorable, their badass."

"No their such cute babies," she remarked back in a baby voice as she kissed both of their nose. She stood back up as wiped her hands on her shirt. "I didn't take you as a dog guy."

"I'm more of a fish person, but dogs are cute." he said sarcastically as he shrugged. He nodded to the hallway beside Amina. "Let's go into the kitchen."

He led the way as she and the dogs followed in suit. The hallway was small but wide, and it led straight into the conjoined kitchen and living room. Luca was thankful for the fact that he cleaned up last time he was there. The couch was clean and neat, no sign of empty liquor bottles around or old pizza slices.

Thing one and two quickly take their spots on the couch as the two lie busied each other. Amina on the other hand stepped in front of Luca as she walked to the small room on the other side of the kitchen. "Why do you have a piano in your kitchen?"

Luca walked over to Amina who looked at his piano with fascination. "Technically it's in a room connected to the kitchen."

"Smartass," she muttered with a playful glare. Suddenly her attention turned behind him as she clapped excitedly."So, let's get to making pizza."

"Right," Luca laughed as he walked to the refrigerator, "pizza." he muttered turning around

He opened the metal door as he automatically took out the multiple pizza setups he had in his fridge and place then on the island behind him. That'd been all he ate in house arrest- pizza and microwave dinners. He cooked any type of pizza he could with the ingredients he made in his small garden in the back yard. After eating the same thin in routine most would despise it, but each time Luca loved it-pizza being a reminder of his childhood before fame, a time when he was a kid playing with his sister on the play guard with his friends. A time of innocence and pure happiness.

Amina looked at him surprised. "Wow, you were prepared."

Instead of telling her that he regularly got delivered pizza setups because he was under house arrest for seven months, he instead said, "always, now what do you want on it

"Depends on what you want."

"I'm a simple man, Amina." Luca said seriously. "Just pepperoni."

Amina wrinkled her nose. "Well, I want peppers and pineapple on mine." She said inside the refrigerator as she pulled out her ingredients from the drawer.

"Okay, so one half plain and the other half exotic, got it." He sarcastically remarked back, wincing as Amina slapped his bicep.

"You're an ass."

Luca just laughed as he grabbed the already made pizza crust and set one in front of them. Opening up the container of Tomato sauce and pineapple, Luca watched Amina do the same with the bag of pepperoni, cheese, peppers, and pineapple. He grabbed a spoon front he drawer beside him as he set it into the tomato sauce.

"Would you mind if I sit on the counter? I won't be able to grab anything without getting my shirt dirty."

Luca immediately nodded his head as he pushed everything to the side to give her room to sit. "Go ahead."

She smiled up at him as she boosted herself up on the island. She paced her hands nervously on her lap as she moves her foot back and fourth anxiously.

"Why are you nervous?" he teased Amina as he tapped her kneecap.

Her cheeks tinged a bright red. "I'm not nervous."

"Yes you are. Your holding your hands and your shaking you foot." He observed with a raised brow.

Amina looked down at her hands before letting go and stopped moving her foot. "Don't act like you're not nervous too."

She got him there. "I'm not that much anymore."

"Why not?"

He smiled charmingly at her. "Because you make me feel comfortable."

He wished she knew just how special that compliment was to her-how special she was to him. He wasn't good with new people, and especially wasn't good with the woman of Hollywood. He never talked to anyone Brandy didn't force him to. He was closed off and reckless, and everyone let him be. No one bothered to try and help Luca with his situation because they had their own to worry about. People that pushed themselves into Luca life were the same people that he couldn't find himself being alone with. He never felt comfortable being around anyone but Jacob and Bella-but now Amina and Atticus changed that. She was changing him into someone he always wanted to be but was too much of a coward to try and become.

"Oh, you're good." She muttered laughing.

Luca rolled his eyes as he turned around to preheat the oven. "So I've become a Chief with making pizza since I've basically ate these for these pst seven months," he said amused as he turned around to see Amina frowning. "So just follow my lead."

He placed some tomato sauce on the dough as he moved it with the spoon to cover the entire circle.

"They let you cook?" Amina asked confused, grabbing the bag of peppers and can of diced cut pineapples and lacing it beside her left thigh.

Luca cleared his throat as he grabbed the bag of cheese. "I never went to rehab," he admitted. There was no use in lying, if he wanted to show her the truth about Hollywood, her mind as well expose his manager who he was trying to protect her and Noah from.

"What? But brandy said-"

"He lied." Luca stated casually as he placed cheese on the pizza. "You'll learn that about him. All he does is lie."

"Luca what the fuck?" The bag was quickly snatched out of Luca's hand. "Stop making the pizza and look at me."

When his eyed met Amina's, he flinched back. He had never seen such fury behind her before. Was this right time to bring up such a huge topic? When everything was going good he decided to ruin it by telling his truth. What if she wasn't mentally ready to be told the truth about Hollywood-what if she never was? Could he hide the photos of that place without Amina having to go through anything? Without her being told by him what truly was wrong with the people in higher power and what they do to musicians like them?

Amina let out a small, uncomfortable laugh. "You can't just put that on me and not expect me to be questionable."

Why would he say that? Why would he tell her? What was wrong with him? He didn't want to keep her in the dark, but he also didn't want to scare or trigger her because of what he was telling her. God damnit what did he do? There wasn't a good ending to the option he had.

"Trust me Amina, you don't want to know."

"Stop it." She wanted as she grabbed Luca's chin to keep him from facing away from her. "Don't close up on me now," she whispered.

She wanted to know-but was she ready to now the small fraction of what Luca and others had gone through with Brandy? With what he's said and done to them? What he lied about over social media and then to save his own ass? He needed to slowly up to her. She wanted to know the truth, but to what extent? He was willing to have her hate him for what he wanted to tell her in order hat she was aware and vicious about the people she trusted in Hollywood.

"I stayed here for those six months." he admitted lowly.

Amina's eyes glazed over. She flinched as if she had been slapped. "You stayed in your house?"

"Yeah."

"No therapy? No rehab to help with your emotions and alcohol addiction? Brandy lied?"

Luca shook his head. "Just me and the dogs."

He could see it was all crashing down on her. Her faced morphed from disgust, to anger, to sadness in seconds. Her foot was shaking again as Amina pulled at her fingers. Her mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. He knew that look and feeling too well-he had seen it displayed on Bella when he told her his truth, his whole truth. Except this time, he wasn't getting yelled at and called a liar.

He wanted her to do something though-this part of Amina not being something Luca wanted to get used to. The sad and quiet woman who was hurt. He knew she was disgusted with the fact she had trusted Brandy, he could tell by the way she spat Brandy's name. She was heartbroken because the one man she was told to trust in wasn't a man but rather a devil.

"Luca this is serious," she finally said, a whisper if he wasn't close enough to hear her.

"I know."

"You didn't get help," she muttered. "He lied to the entire world about where you were." She wiped a single tear drop that slid out her left eye. "He practically held you here against your will."

Luca quickly shook his head, wiping her cheek. "It's okay."

Nothing was going okays he didn't want her crying for him-he didn't want her feeling anything he did when it came to his situation. He hated seeing her upset and crying, it was a sight he'd replace with a happy carefree Amina any day. Knowing she was crying because of him made his stomach churn. He didn't deserve her tears not when everything he had coming he deserved.

He should tell her that-everything that happened to him was his own fault. So why couldn't he? Knowing that what happened to him was his own doing, he still wanted to take Hollywood and Brandy down because of what they put bella and others throughout Brandy did the traumatizing while Hollywood sat and watched it happened. He knew deep down brandy manipulated him in a way to make him believe everything his doing, but Luca couldn't think any differently. He was a man, Brandy repeatedly told him that. No man would let what happened to him happened Brandy would say.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she croaked, clearing her throat as she held on tightly to Luca's hands that were still caressing her cheeks.

"Do you not realize who I am?" No one would believe him, Brandy always told him that and Luca knew he was right. Brandy had the perfect reputation in Hollywood. He was known for being an amazing man and father-everyone outside of Hollywood viewed him as a whole hearted man that couldn't do no harm to the world. He instead did harm on his artists and others in Hollywood. "And at that, what Brandy could do?"

"What could he do?" Amina whispered, almost afraid to hear his answer.

"I'm a depressed alcoholic, Amina." He chuckled bitterly. "No one would believe anything I'd have to say."

"I would," she argued back.

Luca dropped his hands from her face. "Not everyone is as nice and compassionate as you are."

Amina grabbed Luca's wrist before he could step away from her. "Is that why you hate him so much? Because he locked you in here like some sort of animal?"

He let out a bitter chuckle. "No, I've hated him years and years before."

Amina jumped down from the counter as she peered up at him. "How could he do that to you? Why would he hold back getting you treatment?"

"Because I wanted it," Luca admitted. "I wanted treatment and when I was going to get it I told him I didn't want to renew my contract with him."

He had remembered that day like it was yesterday. How livid Brandy was with Luca. The fight that would've happened if Mavis wasn't there to push Brandy away before Luca could get at him. He wanted freedoms, but Brandy wasn't willing to let his number one money maker go.

"You didn't want to sing anymore?"

"I didn't want to be apart of his label anymore." he corrected. "But he wasn't letting me get rehab so I retaliated. Now he's my conservator so I can't leave." Luca frowned with a clenched jaw. "If I spoke up about what I've been out through Brandy would blame it on depression and mental illness and it's his word over mind since he's my conservator."

He had thought so many times of exposing Hollywood and Brandy, and it all came back to Brandy's words saying no one would believe him. Luca was a depressed, alcoholic, and rebellious man who most would think was doing it for attention. He wouldn't leave his label, no matter what he and Brandy would go through he wouldn't ever let him go. It was the respect, healthy fifty year old man's word over the drunks. Not too hard for people to chose who to believe in.

"What led to the breakdown?"

"A million things." Luca whispered, eyes closing as he remembered the day his entire world crumbled. "Everything I've been through came out that day." He opened his eyes with a deep frown, "but I took my anger out on the wrong people."

"You needed to let it out." Amina tried to make an excuse for his disgusting behavior. "It's wasn't healthy keeping it in for so long Luca."

Nothing was healthy-he wasn't healthy. He was so worried about her not being ready for the truth, but he wasn't ready to tel it to her yet. He was terrified that all the feelings he drank away were coming back when he walked about what happened. He didn't want to feel anything that he felt years ago-he didn't want to go back into his dark hole. He was in a good place, he was slowly getting better even without a therapist. No matter how badly he needed one and wanted one, Luca had to resort to something else for therapy-he had to resort to writing and talking about his feelings. One of course being easier than the other.

"You know what's not healthy? How much cheese I put on this damn pizza." he remarked, spreading the cheese evenly on the dough.

He wanted to change the subject, he didn't want this night to go sour. He told her a part of his truth, and now Amina's wasn't too blinded by Brandy's lying persona. She wasn't in the dark to one point, and now it was up to her if she wanted to hear the entire truth of Brandy Manning and his evil ways.

Amina smiled, shimming her way in between Luca and the counter. Her body pressed into Luca's that he knew she found feel his heartbeat. "I don't know, I think this pizza looks quite healthy as it is."

She was letting him change it-she wasn't pushing him for answers or to his breaking point. She was giving him a chance to prepare mentally and not push himself to a breakdown or panic attack.

Luca smiled down at her. Her being so close to him brought him to ease. "Weren't you the one who said hotdogs were better?"

"I take it back," she said laughing. Calming down, Amina peered up as Luca as she played with a long lock of hair. "Luca."

He loved it when she played with his hair, or at that held his hand. The small gestures were everything to Luca-it was a reminder that she was with him. He swallowed slowly. "Yeah?"

"I'll always believe you," she whispered with a small smile. "And I'm here for you no matter what."

"I know."

Amina sighed, twisting his hair around her finger as she dropped her hand to cup his cheek. Her eyes flickered between his and his lips, and suddenly Luca didn't know how to breathe. She wanted what he's been craving. Her eyes held an emotion Luca was all too familiar with when it came to her.

They both leaned in as he bent down to be able to reach her lips without Amina's neck having to be craned up. As his eyes began to close, Amina leaned back against the counter fully before pushing Luca back with a small scream.

"Oh my god why is it so cold?" she exclaimed, turning her body slightly to the red splits her on the back of her shirt from the tomato sauce.

Desire.

He had the desire to do something he never realized he wanted to do until now. The Desiree to kiss the woman who opened Luca up and left him with a heart he thought had been broken for years.

"How the hell did I even manage to get so much on me?" Amina laughed loudly. "You see this is why you can't trust me around anything breakable or stainable-"

He bent down and claimed her lips before she could finish her sentence. She staggered back slightly, but kept her footing as she quickly cut her eyes and brought her hands to Luca's neck as she pulled him closer.

Want.

He wanted her more than anything. He wanted to show her how badly he craved her-how badly she left him when she was gone. He wanted to show her that she wasn't just anyone to him, but someone he wanted to be in his future-to be his future.

The kiss was slow and soft, something that drove Luca into overdrive. Her intoxicating smell and taste of mint mad Luca groan lowly. He could taste the strawberry chapstick she had applied in the limo. He could feel her soft hand pull him closer as if he were to disappear at any given moment.

He grabbed the back of Amina's back with one hand as the other held her tilted cheek. No one woman had made him feel the way Amina did, and the kids proved it. Her soft lips that easily molded agains his wasn't trying to fight for do I dance like most did, but rather moved slowly as if giving into him.

Amina backed away slowly, giving him soft chaste kisses before both of their eyes opened slowly.

Luca was the first to speak. "Shit," he lowly muttered bedazzled.

Amina laughed at his reaction. "Well, you're not so much a stranger to me anymore are you?"

Luca smirked, bringing his lips back down on hers before whispering, "I want to be so much more than that."