I stared at the half-finished canvas in front of me; trying—as I had been for the past two hours—to gather the motivation to paint.

I had nothing else to do and Luca had disappeared into his office above the garage.

I fought the urge to slap the paint on my brush in a large 'X' across the canvas and trash it. All I had done for the past few hours had been stare at the imperfections and flaws that I saw and it infuriated me.

Would I be able to finish the painting in a month? If I was, who knew if I would even see my parents on their anniversary... When would I give them the painting?

I couldn't imagine just mailing them something that had taken me months to finish. All of my work up to that point felt useless.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up from the floor and stretched my legs out.

As I was walking downstairs to make myself a late lunch, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see Mady's name and photo flashing across the screen.

I eagerly answered the call.

"Bitch, you are not going to believe what I'm about to tell you," I said as soon as I answered.

"Oh, let me guess," she laughed.

I stopped on the staircase.

"Wait, you know about Luca?"

"The whole town knows about you and Luca," she mumbled through the phone.

"Why? Did my dad say something?"

"Your dad flipped his shit," Mady answered honestly. "He came over at the crack-ass of dawn a few days ago and met with my dad for over three hours. I could hear them yelling at each other in the garage."

"They were arguing about Luca and I?" I asked, continuing down the stairs.

"More so about Luca," she answered. "Neither of them were happy he was on our pack land. Obviously they weren't happy you had gone with him either."

I sighed as I sat down at the kitchen countertop.

"Do you know what they're going to do?" I asked.

"I don't think there's much they can do. Luca Ronan isn't exactly known for his respecting the pack codes and ordinances."

"You can say that again," I mumbled.

"Don't worry about things here," she said, trying to cheer me up. "Tell me how things are there... Tell me about Luca. What is he like?"

I took a deep breath, wondering where to start.

"I'll admit it hasn't been as terrible as I thought it would be," I said slowly. "Luca is certainly not what I expected after hearing my dad talk about him in Vegas."

"Is he scary?"

"A little intimidating," I said honestly. "But I'm not frightened by him."

"What does he look like?"

I laughed hearing her question.

"Like a figment of some horny soccer mom's imagination."

Now it was her turn to laugh.

"You're kidding?" She said. "That good-looking?"

"Yep."

"You need to send me a picture."

I hummed.

"I'll work on it, but for now you'll have to take my word for it."

"Does he have a brother you would want to set me up with?" She asked laughing.

My eyebrows furrowed.

"Carrie?" She asked when I didn't say anything.

"Sorry," I said slowly. "I just... I don't know if he does or not. To be completely honest, I don't know a lot about him other than he knows how to run a pack and workout like he's training for Mr. Universe."

"I'd say you might need to work on that," she said. "It's kind of weird to be living with someone you don't know."

"Tell me about it. I feel like Persephone trapped in the Underworld."

"Except you don't want to escape," she guessed.

I didn't answer her.

"Have you fucked?"

"Mady!"

"What?" She asked defensively. "I've been dying to ask since you answered the phone."

"No," I answered shortly.

"Why?"

"The circumstances haven't exactly allowed for that," I said. "I didn't really choose to be here."

"Oh, whatever," she said. I knew she was rolling her eyes just by hearing her tone of voice.

"Mady, he literally kidnapped me in the dead of night from my own home."

"From what I heard, it sounds like you agreed to go with him," she argued.

"I didn't have a choice not to!"

"Listen, maybe give the guy a chance. It doesn't sound like he's as terrible as you thought he would be. And he is your mate, right?"

I sighed.

"In other news, I got fired today," I said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, Kate, one of my friends from the school, called to ask where you were yesterday. I figured it was gunna happen."

"It sucks," I told her.

"Maybe you can find a teaching job there," she said, offering a little hope.

"Yeah, maybe."

We talked for a few more minutes about the final she had taken for her civil procedure class that morning and the internship she was lining up for the summer in the courthouse to clerk with her dad before she had to hang up.

After hanging up, I sat at the kitchen countertop for a few more minutes, thinking about my dad.

I tried to call his cell phone, but my call was sent straight to voicemail.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and grabbed a bag of apple slices from the fridge before walking outside. I walked out under the breezeway to see that the garage doors were open and the Jeep and truck were both sitting on the driveway. I could hear old rock music blaring from inside.

Taking a bite of an apple slice, I walked around the truck to see Luca standing behind a gorgeous, sleek slate-gray sports car with the back of the car popped open.

I walked up slowly, admiring the car.

As soon as Luca saw me, he pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the music down.

"Is this a McLaren?" I asked him, gesturing towards the car.

He nodded.

"720S," he said. "It's about a year old."

"It's a pretty car," I said.

Luca just smiled to himself.

"Pretty," he repeated under his breath, almost sarcastically.

"What?" I asked.

He just shook his head, still smiling.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to seem interested.

"I like to check the oil the old-fashioned way," he said, pulling off a cap and tapping it to the corner of the hole it covered. "Typically, if there's an echo, you need to add more oil."

He must not have heard one, because he put the cap back on.

"That's not a very scientific method of checking your oil," I said skeptically.

"It works."

Luca closed the engine cover and looked at me.

Noticing the apples in my hand, he reached out and grabbed a slice from the bag.

"Wanna go for a ride?" He asked.

"Can I drive?"

"No."

He answered so quickly that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Maybe another time then. You like Mötley Crüe?" I asked, hearing the music that still played faintly in the background.

He nodded.

"It makes for a great distraction."

My eyebrows furrowed and he gestured behind me to the open kitchen windows.

"I heard the part about me being the figment of a horny soccer mom's imagination and I began to feel intrusive," Luca laughed.

My eyes widened and cheeks flushed.

"A rather creative compliment," he said, walking around the McLaren to stand in front of me.

"Glad you thought so," I mumbled, reaching for another apple slice.

Luca looked as if he would say something else but was interrupted by his phone ringing in his pocket.

He pulled the phone out and sighed when he saw the name on the screen.

"Sorry, I need to take this," he said.

I nodded and backed away as he answered the call. Going back inside, I put the apples away and walked back upstairs to paint.

- - -

After finally making some progress on the canvas, I was robbed of my lighting by the setting sun.

I went downstairs and stepped out onto the back deck to get some fresh air. As soon as I walked out, the lights in the pool came on, turning the water bright blue.

I heard a gate open and shut and looked over to see Bates running full speed at the pool, taking his shirt off and throwing it on the concrete.

"Cannonball!" He screamed before leaping into the air and the crashing down into the pool, soaking everything within a fifteen foot radius.

As he surfaced, we made eye contact.

"Are you six?" I asked him, laughing.

"Come down here and ask me to my face," he said threateningly.

"Dude, I was trying ask you what kind of pizza you wanted!" Blaine shouted, walking through the gate that Bates had just dashed through.

Luca followed him, noticing me standing on the deck.

"I've already told you!" Bates yelled. "I want cheese with extra cheese!"

"Six-year-old status confirmed," I said, earning a playful glare.

"Seriously dude, you won't shit for a week," Blaine said.

"So I'll buy some apple juice, big deal."

Bates looked at me and pointed.

"Don't even say it."

I laughed.

"Do you like pizza?" Luca asked me.

"Pepperoni," I answered, nodding.

"Basic bitch," Bates mumbled.

Luca didn't think it was as funny as I did.

"So order a large pepperoni for her and I. You can get another large and split it; half meatlover's for you and half cheese for Bates," he said.

"I wanted a cauliflower crust," Blaine told him.

"Back the fuck up, you soggy lampshade. I will punch you in the nose and laugh at you bleeding if you even dare get a cauliflower crust," Bates said, getting out of the pool.

"Just get two separate pizzas," Luca said shaking his head.

Blaine shrugged and put his phone to his ear, calling to make the order.

Luca looked up at me.

"Want to come with me to pick up the pizza? We'll probably stop and get some drinks, maybe some ice cream–"

"Mint chocolate chip," Bates interjected.

Luca just rolled his eyes and I laughed, nodding.

"Let me get my shoes."

When I walked outside to meet Luca at the car, he was standing by the truck looking down at his phone.

"Not in the mood to drive your fancy car?" I asked him.

His nose scrunched.

"And get that nasty pizza smell in my three-hundred-thousand dollar car? No, thank you."

I thanked him as he opened the door for me to climb in. Luca closed the door behind me and got in on the driver's side before starting the truck.

"So, what have you been doing all day?" He asked, pulling out of the driveway.

"Painting."

"Painting?" He repeated.

I nodded.

"I've been working on the same one for about four months now."

"Four months?!" Luca said incredulously.

"Yeah, it's taken a while."

"Good grief," he said.

"What about you?" I asked. "What have you done today besides pretend to check the oil in your fancy sports car?"

He rolled his eyes.

"I've been working, mostly."

Working.

When I went quiet, looking out the window at the trees flying by, Luca spoke again.

"You mentioned when we were at your house that you worked two jobs," he said. "What did you do?"

I noticed his use of the word did.

"I was a librarian and I taught art at the elementary school."

The bitterness that laced my tone was evident.

"Did you like it?" He asked.

"If you're asking whether I'll miss it, the answer is yes."

We were quiet for a few moments before Luca sighed.

"My mom wants to meet you," he said.

This caught me off guard.

"That's who called today while we were in the garage," he continued. "She's upset with me for not bringing you over to meet her and my step dad sooner. But, I figured, given the circumstances, that maybe it was best to wait a while."

I was quiet, trying to process what Luca had said, when he turned to look at me briefly before returning his gaze to the road.

"I am trying, amore."

I took a deep inhale before nodding slowly.

"Me too."

- - -

The rest of the night passed without allowing for anymore time to think.

The boys plowed through the pizza and went downstairs to the basement to watch a hockey game while I stayed upstairs and took a bath.

Luca came upstairs later that night after Bates and Blaine had left to find me sitting in the bed with my notepad resting on my knees as I doodled.

He leaned over to look at the sheet of paper, seeing the dogwood flowers I had sketched out and begun shading.

"That's really good," he said.

I couldn't help but blush.

"Thank you."

He backed away and walked into the bathroom, staying in there for a few minutes to shower and get ready for bed.

I was pestered the whole time he was in there by a nagging guilt in the back of my head.

When he came out of the bathroom, dressed again in only boxer briefs, I felt like I was experiencing déjà vu.

He grabbed the blanket that was thrown over the back of the chair beside the bed and tossed it to the ground.

As he reached over to grab a pillow, I stopped him.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," I said.

Luca pulled the pillow from my grasp.

"It doesn't bother me."

"It bothers me, though. I feel bad that you sleep on the floor in your own room. I can go back upstairs, if you want your bed back."

"I don't mind, really. I'd rather be on the floor with you in here than sleep in separate rooms."

"But I mind," I said.

I pulled back the comforter and slid over so he could get into the bed.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

I grabbed a pillow and put it in the middle of the bed.

"Just stay on your side."

He rolled his eyes as he placed his pillow back down on the bed and climbed in next to me.

"It's kinda cute you think that pillow will keep me over here and you over there," he said, pulling the duvet over his legs.

"We'll pretend," I said, stacking another pillow on top of the wall I had built between us, just in case.

Luca rolled his eyes and laid down, his face disappearing behind the mound of pillows that separated us.

I closed my notepad and placed the pencil next to it on the nightstand.

"Goodnight, Luca," I said, as I reached over to turn out the light.

"Goodnight, amore."

- - -

Ok but they do be kinda cute, tho?

Ugh, I'm ready for them to fall in love already... but I gotta pace myself here, haha

Tomorrow's chapter will be posted around 8:30am EST (New York time), so be sure to be back here then!

Don't forget to vote on the chapter and leave your thoughts on the comments!!

I'll see you tomorrow!!

MaybeManhattan .x