Luca stirred the sauce, salted the boiling water in the other pot and dumped the pasta in. He'd decided to make a beef ragu, which he'd been tending to for the last two hours. It was a simple recipe but it was one of Violet's favorite dishes. Luca had wanted to make something especially nice because his fiancée had received yet another promotion this week. It smelled wonderful, taking him back to cooking with his nonna fifteen years ago. He opened the cupboards and selected one of their nicest red wines, putting it on the table which he'd already set.
He heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Violet entered into the kitchen, dressed in a dark cardigan over a long black skirt. Her hair was reddish brown and her eyes cool grey; freckles were splashed around her cheekbones. She'd already risen high at her company since graduating four years ago, and she'd grown into her new role wonderfully. Luca adored her causal confidence and remarked to himself for the hundredth time how lucky he was.
Violet gave him a little smile, hands on hips. "Hard at work, I see?"
"Hardly working," Luca said. "I have that salad you like chilling in the fridge, and the Texas toast's about to go in the oven, even though my nonna's rolling in her grave."
"Hopefully your nonna isn't watching us tonight." Violet walked up behind Luca, planted a kiss on his neck and gave his ass a squeeze. She smelled exquisite, wearing a professional scent tinged with mint. Luca felt himself grow warmer from her closeness and her touch. Violet excused herself go to change, letting him finish getting dinner ready.
They sat at the table between the kitchen and living room. It was long and could seat twelve; they'd wanted to entertain but hadn't had the time since buying the house six months ago. Everything had turned out to Luca's satisfaction. The coalescing smells of basil, wine, and tomatoes never got old. The rigatoni was cooked perfectly, the cucumber salad was crunchy was refreshing, and the Texas toast was admittedly good--even if was far from traditional Italian cuisine. Although Luca was a third-generation American, he'd inherited his Italian grandfather's name and his grandmother's cooking expertise. Initially he'd wanted to become a chef, but a couple of unpleasant kitchen jobs in high school had scared him off that path and he'd settled on physical therapy instead. But then he'd met Violet in college--beautiful, capable, ambitious--and his life trajectory had changed once again. His fiancee worked hard and made enough money that they could afford for Luca to stay home and take care of domestic affairs.
"It's wonderful, Luca," Violet said, spearing a piece of pasta with her fork.
"Only what you deserve, sweetie," Luca said, sipping his wine. He felt warm from the praise.
Violet smiled. She'd switched into a tank top and sweatpants but she still managed to look almost regal as she ate, hair up in a messy tail. If Luca wasn't mistaken, her arms looked a little fuller, an outline of muscle visible. Whatever she was doing with Jen, her personal trainer, was working. Her phone buzzed and she moved to look at it when Luca cleared his throat.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Oh fine, it can wait. So, tell me about your day."
"Well, I worked out, then went to the store," Luca said. "Guess who I saw there? Zach Brandis, from PHIL 101."
"Oh, him?" Violet chuckled. "He was a character. I didn't even know he was still in town! We should catch up with him sometime."
"Apparently he went out of state for law school but came back recently to look after his parents," Luca said.
"And did he ask you what you're doing?" Violet asked.
"Yeah. When I told him he slapped me on the back and told me I was living the dream."
Truthfully, Luca had been a little self-conscious to admit that he stayed home while his fiancee worked--even in their enlightened times there was some stigma attached to that idea--but it had also felt liberating to own it.
"Such a Zach thing to say," Violet said.
"It's true, though," Luca said. "I almost think I'm going to wake up and realize all of this was a dream. And it's all thanks to you."
Violet blushed and smiled. "That's sweet. But it's a two-way street--I wouldn't be where I am at work without you supporting me. Don't cut yourself short, love."
Luca glowed inside at her words. "How about you?"
"Oh, nothing special," Violet said. "I presented to the board today, tried to talk some sense into them."
"Do you ever worry about getting fired being so direct?" Luca asked, smiling.
Violet snorted. "Nah. A couple years ago, maybe. But I'm too valuable to the firm, and they know it. They don't
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