11. Knox

Chapter 11

Knox

Luca's face was the first thing I saw when I woke up. I reached out and took his hand. "Hi."

His face broke into a smile as he met my gaze. It was obvious that he'd been crying.

An IV drip was stuck in my hand and different wires were poking into me. Damn hospitals.

Luca reached down and stroked my cheek. "Do you remember what happened?"

I nodded and felt something bulky on my head. I reached up and felt a helmet of bandages. "I don't remember this, though. Am I okay?"

"You're fine, baby. The bullet didn't go in. Just gave you a good nick. Turns out head wounds bleed a lot." He reached for a plastic cup. "Do you want some water?"

I nodded, and he brought the cup with a bendy straw to my lips. After just a few sips, I immediately felt nauseous and lightheaded. "I think I need to sleep more."

"Of course you do." Luca sat in the chair next to my bed and held my hand up to his lips before kissing it. "I'll stay right here."

I was fading fast. I tried to say, "I love you," but the words might not have made it out before I fell asleep again.

I drifted in and out of sleep all through the night. Luca had a recliner in the corner, but he seemed to sense whenever I was awake and he came to my side. I finally scooted over as much as I could and he climbed in beside me. With his arm wrapped around me, I stayed asleep until morning.

I'd lost so much blood that it took me a couple days to recover. When they were ready to release me, I sat on the hospital bed with my clothes on, waiting for the doctor to come in and sign paperwork so I could leave. Luca was antsy with excitement. We had postponed our trip, but we were still planning on leaving in a few days if my doctor gave the go-ahead.

Finally, the doctor came in. He looked at Luca and smiled. Everyone had gotten used to seeing the mayor in my room these past couple days, so the secret of our relationship was out of the bag as far as Gilded Lake was concerned.

Nevertheless, the doctor peered at his paperwork and then looked at Luca. "Mayor Francesco, may I ask what your relationship to the patient is?"

Luca smiled. "Partner."

The doctor flipped through the chart and cleared his throat a couple times.

"You're making me nervous, Doc." I was kinda joking but kinda not. What was he looking for anyway?

"I have some information for you, Knox, and it's a bit sensitive. Do you want Mayor Francesco to leave?"

My heart sank. This didn't sound good. "No, he can stay."

Luca stepped closer to take my hand and give it a squeeze. I looked at his concerned expression. "I'm sure it's nothing." I tried to give him a reassuring smile.

The doctor chuckled. "Well, only if you count a baby as nothing."

My jaw fell open. "What?"

"You're pregnant. Very early, but you're definitely pregnant."

At first, I couldn't breathe. Pregnant? Luca and I hadn't even talked about whether we wanted kids. I mean, I knew I did, but I didn't know how he felt, especially so early in our relationship.

Before I could panic, Luca wrapped his arms around me and chuckled. "Breathe, Knox."

I looked at him, too stunned to speak. "Did you hear what he just said?"

"Of course I did. Are you excited, Knox? He said we're gonna have a baby!"

The words slowly took hold of me and his joy instantly transferred to me. "A baby…our baby."

The doctor shook both our hands and congratulated us before excusing himself from the room.

I was still in shock as I moved my hands down to my belly.

Luca smiled and put his hands over mine.

"How did this happen?" I wondered aloud.

"Well, see, when two people love each other, they have a special kind of hug?—"

I smacked his arm playfully. "No, I mean, it's just such a surprise."

"Yes, it is." Luca furrowed his brow and his grin dropped. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

I nodded. "It just seems like too many good things. You, my new job, moving here, now a baby?"

Luca patted my still bandaged head. "I mean, I wouldn't say it's been all good things. But mostly. The doctor said you can go, so let's get you home so we can properly celebrate."

It really did feel like too many good things. I hadn't been able to imagine myself with a mate as wonderful as Luca because I hadn't known anyone like him even existed. The fact that he loved me back felt like more than I could have hoped for in my life.

And we were having a baby!

I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't deserve all of this, and I wasn't sure where it came from.

After that, Luca had a hard time treating me like I wasn't a fragile piece of china that could break at any moment. I was so used to proving myself to everyone and always being tough that it took some getting used to to be so taken care of.

There weren't very many omegas in my line of work, and I'd had to prove myself every day. But letting Luca take charge felt really nice.

At my three-day checkup, my doctor gave me the all-clear to fly, so we went straight to the airport from my appointment. My alpha wasn't wasting any time.

I settled in for a long drive, planning on taking a nap, but within five minutes of getting on the highway, Luca veered off at an exit. "Where are we going?"

He winked at me. "You'll see."

We drove down a winding road and then I saw the airplanes. Not small planes, either. Actual jet engine planes and a helicopter. "Are those yours?"

Luca laughed and nodded. "Most of them."

"But…how?"

He gave me a wicked smile and winked. He knew what I was really asking. How did the FBI not know that he had private planes? Keeping those a secret had been a major feat.

"You know what, I don't even want to know." Luca continued to surprise me. If the man was able to keep his ownership of several airplanes completely under the radar, he deserved his secrets. Besides, it wasn't my job to report on him anymore. My boss had made that very clear.

We took a private flight to the Virgin Islands, along with a few servants we brought. I'd already figured out that Luca was a great boss, but I had stumbled into a heated argument amongst his staff about who got to go to the Virgin Islands. Nobody would want to go on their boss's vacation if he was a dick.

True to his promise, Luca had rented us a house on a private beach. The servants had their own house a little ways down the beach. We were very well cared for, but we also wanted a lot of privacy. We had two weeks of that white sand paradise. We snorkeled, ate fresh seafood, swam, sunbathed, and made love. The house came with two mopeds, and we even went clubbing one night in the nearby town.

After we'd been there for a week, I felt more relaxed than I'd ever been. I pretty much wore a sarong 24/7, if I wasn't naked. Luca and I had discovered hammock sex, which might sound uncomfortable but could actually be quite fun. Dinner on the beach had happened a couple times, when we'd have the staff set up a table near the water in the sand and bring dinner to us while we watched the sunset. If he wasn't careful, I'd get used to that kind of pampering.

On one of our last nights, we decided to have dinner on the beach again. As I went upstairs to shower beforehand, Luca called after me. "You should check the bottom of your suitcase."

My alpha had snuck a beautiful pair of white linen pants and a shirt in there for me. After I showered and got dressed, I stopped to check myself out in the mirror. I'd developed a nice tan and definitely had a glow about me. Maybe from the sun or maybe from the pregnancy. Either way, I loved it.

I went downstairs and out across the white sand in the evening light. Luca stood by the table with his back to me, watching the sunset. I paused to appreciate his beauty. Seeing him there without all his responsibilities was a treat. He'd finally been able to relax and act even more playful than usual. My heart ached with love for him.

I placed one hand on my belly, and for the first time, I felt pregnant. It was hard to explain but I finally felt like there was an actual baby growing inside me.

Luca turned and his eyes lit up when he saw me walking toward him in bare feet. He always looked at me like I made him happy. Which made me happy.

"Hi, alpha." I put my arms around him and kissed his full lips.

He pulled me in and caressed my back. "Hi, gorgeous. You look so good in that outfit. Do you like it?"

"I love it." I rubbed the fabric between my fingers. "The fabric is so nice. I've never felt anything like it."

He pulled my chair out for me, and I sat down. " That is Belgian linen. It's the best in the world."

I lifted my sleeve up and caressed my face. "How do you know all these things?"

Luca sat across from me and shrugged. "You learn these things. Honestly, having so much money gets a little boring if you don't appreciate what you buy."

I nodded, having no idea what he was talking about. "I guess you've just never known any differently."

"Well, true, but I've grown to appreciate it now."

Matty came over and poured sparkling water into our glasses.

With a sigh, I clinked glasses with Luca. "Here's to eight more months without champagne."

"Cheers. It'll be worth it."

We enjoyed another delicious meal and talked about Luca's childhood. I knew most of it already, from his FBI files, but there were lots of little anecdotes I didn't know. I loved hearing about his adventures running around in Montana with his brothers and cousins.

"You were quite the playboy when you were growing up." I winked playfully. I had read those files, as well.

Luca grimaced. "I wondered when this was gonna come up."

I chuckled "Oh, come on, surely you knew that I knew."

"I figured you did, but I didn't want to know what you thought about all that." A blush crept up his cheeks.

"Well, it's part of the reason why you weren't what I expected when I first met you. I thought you'd be…more slick. Like a player."

Luca sighed. "I did used to be like that. I was a lost young man, and I had my share of lovers. Like, a lot of lovers."

"I know, I know. We don't need to get into numbers." I wasn't jealous of his past lovers, but I also didn't want to hear the details.

"There was nobody who ever came even close to you." He smiled at me over the floating candles between us with the light of them flickering in his eyes.

My heart skipped a beat when our eyes met. I hoped he always had that effect on me.

We finished eating and decided to take a little stroll along the beach. Holding hands as we walked with the gentle waves lapping at our feet, I rested my head on Luca's shoulder and sighed with happiness.

Luca kissed the top of my head. "Are you happy, omega?"

"Happier than I ever thought I could be. What about you, alpha?"

"Same, my love." Luca stopped walking.

I turned, thinking he'd seen a cool shell he wanted to take home.

Instead, he was down on one knee as my vision telescoped and only he existed in the world. Despite the waves in the background, I could hear my own heart beating as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, black box.

"Knox, you're the love of my life. I don't want to ever spend a day without you. I want us to grow old together, to have a family, and to always take care of each other. Would you do me the greatest honor of my life and become my husband?" He opened the box and withdrew a beautiful black-and-gold band with dozens of tiny diamonds encircling both edges.

I finally found my voice as my eyes filled with tears. "Yes! Yes, of course, yes!" I held my hand out, and Luca slid the ring on my finger.

It was a perfect fit.

He stood and threaded his fingers through mine as tears ran down my cheeks. Luca kissed them away, then kissed my lips. Under the stars and the moon, he pulled me close and began to dance with me.

Something melted away in me just then, some feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Finally, I felt complete certainty that Luca and I could handle anything we encountered.

I truly had a partner for life.