I meant it to sound light, teasing, but it came out quieter than I intended. Too raw.
Cade looked at me, eyes steady. “Of course with you. Both of you. I didn’t picture it this way, sure, but that doesn’t make itwrong. The way we are together? I know she could be happy. We could be good for her. Wearegood for her.”
Luca opened his mouth, but before he could speak, his phone rang. He checked the screen. “It’s my mom.”
Cade raised a brow. “You’re gonna answer that right now?”
“She’ll just keep calling if I don’t,” Luca said, and accepted the call. “Hey, Mom.”
He turned slightly, walking a few paces away, but his voice still carried. “Yeah, I’m with Gavin and Cade. We’re at a bar.”
A pause.
“No, Allie’s not with us.”
Another pause, longer this time. Luca frowned.
“She’s still … we’re giving her space.”
He listened a second longer, then blinked in surprise and pulled the phone away. “She wants to be put on speaker.”
Cade blinked. “Wait, your mom wants to be on speaker?”
“I told her everything,” Luca muttered with a wince. “About Allie. The whole…situation.”
I raised a brow. “Bold move.”
“She asked,” he defended. “You’ve met her. She gets what she wants.”
I waved my hand. “Go on then. Let’s hear it.”
He unmuted the call and put it on speaker. “Okay, Mom. You’re on.”
“Finally,” came Rose’s voice, loud and clear, a warm mix of teasing, authority, and genuine motherly exasperation. “Excuse me for interrupting your pity party.”
I blinked. “Hello to you too, Rose.”
“Don’t give me any lip, Gavin Bruce Ratliff.”
“Bruce,” Cade snickered, and I slapped him on the arm.
“You boys need to listen to me, okay? Allie is a real sweetheart, but I can see that she’s tough too. She’s a single mother. I know how hard that can be.”
Luca exchanged a sad look with us. His mom had a husband, of course, but Marco wasn’t exactly father or husband of the year.
“So she’s gotten used to relying on herself. But listen—this is important. No woman asks for space from the men she loves because she reallywantsspace. She’s just scared, and it’s easier to keep things the same when you’ve got a child to consider too. Especially when you three made her feel like this relationship of yours was a decision she had to make, not a choice you were already committed to.”
I swallowed hard. Luca glanced at me. Cade didn’t move.
Rose continued. “You can’t leave that sweet young woman behind, boys. You go to her. You show her that it’s not just some fling or fantasy you’re all chasing. You show her it’s real. That you’re serious about her, about her daughter. About building something that’s gonna last.”
“Mom,” Luca started gently.
“No,” she interrupted, uncharacteristically stern. “Let me finish. You think women don’t want a sweeping romantic gesture? Every girl dreams of a man—or three—who’ll chase after her. Who’ll tell her she’sworththe risk.” Her voice softened then, melting into something more wistful. “It’s what I always wanted. It’s what I never got.”
Luca looked down at the ground, jaw tight. I felt that ache with him, even if he didn’t say anything.
Rose sighed. “So go. Get your happy ending, and get me arealdaughter-in-law. You hear me?”
