Chapter 13 - THE WRAPPED NAPKIN
Luca walked over to the counter.
He picked up a clean white linen napkin.
With precise, deliberate movements, he placed two warm dinner rolls inside it, folding the edges neatly.
He walked over and set the paper-wrapped napkin right beside my coffee cup.
I looked up at him, my heart fluttering.
“What’s this for?” I asked softly.
Luca pulled out the chair opposite me and sat down, leaning his elbows on the table.
“My mother used to say that nobody should walk through the cold carrying an empty stomach,” Luca murmured, his dark eyes fixed entirely on mine.
“And she also said that the right person always shows up when you need them the most.”
A warm blush spread across my cheeks.
“I was just a housemaid, Luca.”
“You were never just a housemaid, Emma,” he reached across the table, sliding his warm hand over mine.
“You’re the one who brought my family back to life.”
My breath hitched as he leaned in slowly.
The air between us grew thick, charged with an electricity that had been building since the very first night we met in this kitchen.
“Stay,” Luca whispered, his voice deep and magnetic.
“Not as my employee.”
He paused, his thumb gently tracing the back of my hand.
“Stay as my partner. My equal. My home.”
Tears of pure joy pricked my eyes.
May you like
All the fear, the danger, the running—it all melted away in that single touch.
“I’d love nothing more,” I whispered.
