Page 228 of Claimed At First Sight

My head snaps up when I hear footsteps in the hallway. I hold my breath, wondering who it is.

Seconds later, Luca enters the room.

I can only stare.

His gaze travels over my face, and something almost like surprise softens his expression.

“Wow,” he says before I can find my voice. “You’re all grown up.”

My fork clatters onto the plate as I shoot to my feet and rush to him. I throw my arms around him before I can think better of it, holding on tightly enough to convince myself he’s real.

“Oh my God, Luca. Mamma told me what happened.”

I step back and take him in. “Look at you. You’re so much… older.”

It’s strange seeing the boy I remember in the face of the man standing in front of me. There’s a hardness in his features now, something in the sharper lines of his face that makes me wonder what he went through during all those years he was gone.

He rolls his eyes, and for one brief moment he’s exactly like the Luca I grew up with.

“And even more handsome than before,” I add quickly, grinning.

“Nice save,” he says, but there’s no smile with it. Exhaustion is etched into his face, and torment shadows his expression.

“It’s been so long.” I hug him again, tighter this time.

“Five years.”

“Don’t I know it.”

I haven’t forgotten what those years did to my sister.

“Isa pined for you for most of them.”

His body goes rigid beneath my arms.

“Where were you all this time?” I ask, needing answers.

He shakes his head. “That’s a story for another day.”

I pull back, my attention dropping to his bare ring finger. “Are you and Isa really married?”

“Yes,” he says. “She can tell you all about it when I bring her home.”

The confidence in his voice should reassure me. Instead, it only reminds me that she isn’t here.

I hold his gaze. “Get her back, Luca.”

“I will.”

His answer leaves no room for doubt, but it still isn’t enough. Nothing will be until Isa is safely with us again.

There’s something else I need to know. I lean closer and lower my voice.

“What happened to Sebastian?”

Luca’s expression turns glacial. “He’s no longer in the picture.”

There’s something in his tone that makes me suspect Sebastian might no longer be anywhere.