Treachery

Confused, I answer with a simple, “Yeah.”

Blue eyes snap up to narrow on me.

“Are you serious? After everything? Why would you do this? There was a family living there.”

Taken aback by her reaction, I tuck my hands in my pockets and stare at her.

“The family was happy to give me the place since I paid off another house down the road for them to live in.”

I don’t like how quiet Luca is at the moment. The expression on her face is the same as the one she had when I cornered her in the bathroom at the courthouse.

She can’t seriously be that pissed off at what I did. The other family is happy. It’s not like I threatened them or anything. Although I would have if it came to it.

“Let me guess. You’re going to hold this over my head, too? Threaten to burn it down if I don’t behave? What the hell, Ta

The fuck?

“No. I bought it for you. We still need to transfer the deed into your name, but the house is yours. I saw how much you loved it, and I felt partially responsible for everything, so I bought the house to give it back.”

Luca stills in place, her eyes rounding as her fingers clamp down on the papers.

Glancing down at them and back up at me, she asks, “Why would you do that?”

“I just told you. But I didn’t think you’d be so upset about it.”

Tears well in her eyes, and it only makes me feel shittier.

This.

This right here is why I don’t go out of my way to do shit for people.

I try to be nice for once, and I still get crap for it.

Reaching out to take the papers from her, I grumble, “I’ll sell it to someone else if you don’t want it.”

Luca clutches the papers to her chest, a damn tear slipping down her cheek that I can’t stand.

“I’m sorry,” she shakes her head and looks at the papers again.

“I shouldn’t have accused you of that, it’s just-“

“Something I would do to get a person under control?”

Luca nods.

She’s right about that, so I don’t hold it against her. I’ve done a lot of horrible things to people. Burning their family home to the ground wouldn’t be the worst of it.

I stand there like an asshole not knowing what to do, and she silently reads the papers again, tears slowly slipping down her face.

It takes a few minutes for her to finally speak again.

“Is this your way of telling me you want me to go back to Georgia?”

“Fuck no. I want you to stay here. Right here. In this house. In this bedroom. Next to me. But it’s your choice when I finish the divorce and deal with Clayton.”

This is the part where she’s supposed to jump up to promise me she’ll never leave and admit she’s so in love with me that I can burn the house down if I want to. The happily ever after that everybody wants with bullshit rainbows and fluffy kittens. The gag inducing sweet ending that makes a normal person breathe easy and walk away satisfied.

Except she doesn’t do that.

And it pisses me off.

Her absolute lack of response worries me.

And that also pisses me off.

This is out of my control.

And that is something I’m not used to.

Simply nodding her head, Luca tucks the papers back in the folder, places it on top of the creepy dead people box, and moves to walk past me.

Pushing up on her toes, she kisses my cheek and whispers, “Thank you.”

I watch her get dressed, grab the box and folder again and walk out of the room.

She didn’t tell me she would stay.

Didn’t promise that I’m important enough to keep her from returning to Georgia.

She didn’t tell me she loves me and that this house is her home now.

This didn’t go the way I wanted at all.

I can’t help but think that I just gave Luca a damn good reason to leave me.