Epilogue

Roman

"But why wouldn't you go?"

Roman sighed and glanced at Sam. She offered him a quiet smile and looked at Luca. Luca, who had shown up on his doorstep, last night. She claimed she had some cash stashed and used it to buy her plane ticket, but Roman had his doubts.

"That yacht party is invitation only," Sam said with a shrug.

"And we didn't want to go," Roman added.

"Man, I would have gone." Luca shook her head at him as if he had lost his mind.

Luca's plans had changed yet again, though this time Roman took it in stride. Her friend had moved to Minnesota, but Luca stayed behind in Missouri. She was taking classes now to sell real estate. Or so she said. Roman hated to doubt her, and yet her track record gave him no reason to believe her.

"Think of the rich guys on that boat." Luca sounded dreamy. She crossed her legs on the lounge chair and slouched back in a relaxed position. "Guess you don't need to do that, huh?" she asked with a glance at Sam.

"Luca." Roman cleared his throat and tried to muster up the severe frown he had used on his daughter all through the years. He was angry at the shot she had taken at Sam, and truthfully, a bit embarrassed by it. It was offensive to Sam that Luca thought she was with Roman for his money. And it was an embarrassment to him that his daughter thought he had to use his wealth to find a woman like Sam.

"I don't," Sam answered with a little smirk. "Then again, I never did do that."

Roman met her eyes and smiled.

"Dad said you used to be a teacher?"

"Long time ago." Sam nodded.

"Couldn't have been that long ago, because you're not much older than me. And I've only been out of school for ten years."

Roman refrained from correcting her. She had dropped out of school ten years ago, no graduation, no hoopla. He might have been okay with that, but she had lied to him an entire semester before admitting to him that she dropped out.

"Feels like a whole other lifetime," Sam answered, unfazed by Luca's jab.

"I would hate teaching."

"I loved it." Sam took a drink of her mimosa and looked out at the beach. "Until I hated it."

"Did Damien invite you to his wedding?" Luca glanced at Roman.

"No. But he sent me a couple of pictures."

Part of Roman, the dad in him, had been terribly disappointed to find the photos in his text message from his son. A picture of Damien and his bride on a beach somewhere—never mind that they could have traveled to Love Beach for a wedding. And a close-up picture of their hands, a gold band on his finger and a sparkling rock on hers.

The other part of him totally understood why Damian eloped, his need to keep his happiness separate from the drama and the ugliness in their family.

Roman rubbed the underside of the silicon band on his ring finger with his thumb. Luca either hadn't noticed it or chose not to ask. Then again, wearing it on his right hand probably wouldn't raise any suspicion.

"He's an asshole," Luca announced.

"You wanted to be there?" Sam asked before Roman could speak. He watched his daughter shove her dark hair from her eyes, curious what she was thinking.

"Uh. Yeah." Her shrug took some of the sarcasm out of her answer. "I mean, he's my little brother."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

Luca shot a furious frown at Sam. Roman took a drink of his coffee.

He and Sam had been watching the sunset last night, right here on his patio. They'd had a cheese plate and wine, and they had just gone inside when they heard a tap on his door. Expecting a neighbor in need of a favor, Roman had been surprised to find his daughter on the other side of the door.

While he had no intention of hiding his involvement with Sam, he wasn't sure how she felt about coming face to face with his daughter so early in their relationship. He had introduced her simply as Sam, but before they'd gone to bed, Sam had kissed him, a sweet quick kiss and yet one that left no doubt as to how they felt for each other. Luca hadn't commented, just ventured to the spare bedroom Sam had readied for her.

"I never had any intention of getting married," Sam told Luca. "No interest. My parents are divorced. Sure, I suppose they had good times, but I don't ever really remember seeing them happy. Especially my mom. So I thought, why put myself through that? But if my little sister ever gets married, she damned well better invite me."

"Do you think we grew up in the same kind of family?" Luca asked with a snort. "Because we did not. I assure you."

"I think Sam might just be relating to you in an older-sibling-to-older-sibling way."

"Mmm." Luca dismissed his comment with a blank face. "Did your parents think your little sister hung the moon?"

"Luca." Roman sighed.

"They did," Sam said quietly. "But I hung the moon a time or two, too. It worked out."

"Can I come for Christmas?" Luca glared at Roman, as if daring him to say no. He stared back for a moment, at war with himself. Of course, he wanted to spend Christmas with his daughter. But he wanted her to want the same, not to want to be here simply to ruin his first Christmas with Sam.

"My sister will be here," Sam announced just as Roman nodded.

"So there won't be room for both of us?" Luca nodded. "Okay. It's fine."

Roman felt a pang of sadness for Luca. Maybe she did want a place to belong for the holiday season.

"Of course, there's room." Sam shook her head. "I've got two bedrooms at my house, too."

Luca jerked her gaze from Roman to Sam.

"You don't live with my dad?"

Sam and Roman exchanged a quick glance.

"We haven't decided if we want to stay in the condo or Sam's house," Roman explained. "Until we do, we move back and forth as the mood hits."

The words were dead on serious. Roman grinned when Sam blushed. They did stay at his condo or her house, often depending on where they were when they started undressing and kissing and eventually lost themselves in each other.

"You're welcome here anytime, Luca," Roman told her. His gut burned with anxiety, and his damned heart grew wings of hope. But he meant it. If there was any way to mend his relationship with his daughter, Roman would try.

"Thank you." She spoke so softly, he almost missed her response.

"Luca," Sam said with a bright smile. "We're going back to Italy in the fall. You could come and have the run of my house if you'd like. Smaller and homier than the condo."

Roman blinked at Sam.

"Going back?" Luca asked with a quick look at him. "When did you go to Italy?"

"July Fourth," he answered casually. "We thought a quick trip to wine country would be more fun than a yacht party."

"Nice." Luca sighed.

"Want more coffee?" Sam asked as she stood up.

"I can get it," Roman argued.

"Relax. I've got it." She touched his shoulder as she passed him, the silicone band on her hand catching his attention.

They weren't married.

Not really. Not legally.

But they had exchanged all the vows and shared a kiss in Tuscany, and as far as Roman was concerned, Sam was his wife and always would be.