I grabbed the board games that grandpa used to keep to play with me when I was little; Chutes and Ladders, Candyland and the beaten up plastic Hungry Hungry Hippo set. They represented hours of giggling and playing. It was going to be ok. I wanted to help Luca.

Love was opening new doors, ones I'd thought to be closed. What someone perceives to be their life might just be just a dream or a vision. Life isn't that pigeon holed, in reality it's ebbing and flowing. Everything changes. I wanted mine with Luca to be beyond my expectations.

Checking one last time, I scanned the living room for anything I might have left behind. I smiled remembering the first time we'd sleep together here, and our coming together out on the lanai. Passion was definitely what bound us, and hopefully we would sustain it in the long run.

S'more's!

I chuckled at the thought and grabbed the ingredients for the tasty treat, stuffing them in the top of my bag. I bet Emily would love to make s'mores with Luca. Satisfied I had everything, I left and locked up. The sun was beginning to set. Beautiful tones of purples and oranges washed the sky like a watercolor painting, before the paint began to run. Hawaii was and always would be my home.

The drive to Luca's apartment was short, and gave me time to reflect further. If I was going to move to North Carolina, I'd only take a few suitcases. Everything else I'd leave. Two years would go quickly, then hopefully Luca would want to come back to Hawaii. I pulled up in front of his place and unloaded everything.

"Mila!" A tiny voice called out.

Luca was holding Emily in his arms, both of them grinning.

"Hi!" I said back, turning to smile. "I've got lots of things for us to do."

The tiny toddler wriggled free and ran over to hug me. She might look like a tiny copy of Leer but I also knew she was an equal copy of her dad. Luca's best friend. If he was looking down on us, he'd no doubt be happy that his little girl was being cared for. And not by social services. Yep, it was the right thing.

"Everything ok?" I asked Luca.

He wrapped me in a warm hug, kissing my hair.

"It will be. Emily's safe and the command is allowing me to care for her while I finish filling out guardianship papers. Leer is going to sign her over." He softly replied, so Emily wouldn't hear.

"Really?"

He nodded and helped me carry the bags into his place. I couldn't believe a mom would sign over her child. She didn't seem like a particularly loving or doting mom, but this was something else entirely. Maybe she'd change her mind once she got sober. Who knew.

We settled the items in and Emily tugged on my hand, wanting me to play dress up. Luca smiled widely, his dimples popping and the deep tan of his skin offsetting his eyes. How this man was mine I'd never know.

"We'll be right back." I laughed.

💋💋

Emily lay spread out on Luca's bed.

Smack dab in the middle.

"How does someone so tiny take up so much space?" Luca asked, clearly baffled.

"She's a kid, that's what they do. ."

He wrapped his arms around me after he closed his door, leaving a good sized space for us to still peek on her.

"Thank you for coming over. For helping me." He said. "I'm doing this for Grey, not for Leer."

"I know babe. I want to be here. I got jealous at first, of Leer, but now I don't feel the same way."

He tugged me back to the living room, and pulled me onto his lap.

"You were jealous of her? When?"

"For such a smart man. . you've missed the signs!" I laughed.

"That day on the beach when she first showed up, you never saw how she looked at me? Or at you?"

He ran a hand through his hair, obviously thinking hard.

"She's always had resting bitch face. Even back when Grey first saw her in the unit. But other than that, no."

"You really never noticed how she'd flirt with you? She clearly wants to be with you!"

"Some women are extra flirty, and that's their personality."

I pushed back from him, struggling to escape his lap, but he held me in place. Darn him.

"Luca, come on."

"Ok. Yes. I know she's wanted to date me. She used to flirt with me in front of Grey. He loved her though, the dumb fool. I'd never cross that line. Plus she's not attractive to me. She's not my type. Not even by a long shot."

His hand grazed the top of my ass as the other lazily snaked over my breasts, through my tee. Desire flamed in his eyes.

"You are who I want. Not anyone else. Only you."

I bit my bottom lip as I processed his words. Hazel eyes met mine then traveled down to my lips. He groaned softly.

"Be careful doing that." He said. "We can't mess around too much with Emily in the other room."

"Agreed. We could lock ourselves in the bathroom though." I offered.

I felt him grow underneath me at the mention of fooling around. God lord was he sexy. But we still had things to talk about.

"When you move, you still want me to come too?" I asked.

He adjusted his hard on and nestled his face in the crook of my neck.

"Yes. If you want to. I don't want to think of being without you."

"I want to." I said. "But how does that work? If we aren't married? Will you be able to live off base with me?"

"Oh yeah. Of course! I'm senior ranking for enlisted. They won't make me live on base." He assured me. "I've already found a few nice houses we can rent."

"You have huh?"

I pulled his face to mine and captured his lips. He groaned again and lay me down, positioning himself over me. We kissed and kissed, utterly lost in each other.

Regardless of how long he'd have Emily, I was all in.

All in.

💋💋

Smoke.

I woke to the smell of it. My eyes burned and acrid smell filled the apartment. What the hell was happening? We'd fallen asleep hours before, me half on top of Luca with a fuzzy blanket draped over both of us. I pushed myself up and Luca woke.

"Get Emily! We need to get out of here!" He shouted.

Scrambling to get Emily, Luca wet towels from the bathroom and had us hold them over our mouths. The thought kept running in my head, why weren't the smoke detectors going off?

"Shit! The door is jammed!"

Luca tried throwing all his weight into the center, but it wouldn't budge. I began to panic. Flames licked the outside windows. The fire was on the outside. Shit! His place was ground floor though so we could still get out.

"The bathroom, come on!"

Luca led us to the bathroom and opened the window, breaking the glass slats so we could step out safely. I held Emily tightly, making sure she didn't get cut. A sharp pain hit the back of my calf as we stumbled out into the foliage and grass. I probably got snagged. We ran towards the front right as a few fire trucks rumbled up.

Firefighters scrambled out and began hooking up to a hydrant, their actions appearing in slow motion. I'd never been in a situation like this before. Luca had thought, in his deployments. He was oddly calm and in control. Another reason why I felt safe with him. He would take care of us. Emily laid her head on my shoulder. She was sleepy still, even amidst the unfolding scene. I held her close.

"It looks like the fire started outside my door, look at that bar."

We both watched as water blasted over the front of the building. There was a metal bar shoved under the door handle to Luca's apartment. The door was dark black, as if it burned first. Who would do such a heinous thing?

The other occupants of the building had spilled out into the parking lot. Luca asked if anyone was left inside still. Everyone was accounted for, even pets. Luckily, the fire hadn't spread as fast as you'd think, and his unit appeared to be the only one damaged. I felt lucky. Lucky that I woke when I did, and that we got out.

"Ma'am, sir, we need you to be checked out by the ambulance crew. . over there."

A firefighter directed us to paramedics to get assessed. We'd taken in some smoke and I hadn't even realized I was coughing.

"What is your daughters name?" The lead paramedic asked me.

"Emily, her names Emily."

I didn't even skip a beat, though she wasn't my daughter. We each were checked and given some oxygen. Plus the option to go to the hospital if we needed it. Luca wanted Emily to go to be checked out further, but we both felt ok. As we got ready to load in the back of the ambulance, I saw a disheveled blonde among the growing crowd outside.

"Luca, look, it's her." I said.

"Who?"

He scanned the scene..

"It's Leer."

**This story is only found on Wattpad. If found on another site, it was stolen. Thank you for reading.💋**