Page 16 of The Hidden Heir

I listen to his ragged breath for a while, my head resting on his chest.

"You're a constant surprise," Luca whispers in my ear.

"This was wrong…"

My senses are returning. My reason tells me I shouldn't be doing this, but when he withdraws his fingers, I feel empty on the inside. Longing for so much more. He retrieves the towel and gently wraps me in it. His thumb brushes over my nipple, briefly before he covers it, then plants one last kiss on my forehead.

The devastating gesture designed to end me. To fill me with something I never wanted to experience. Safety in the arms of the man who upended my life.

"Pick a dress by tonight, Valentina, or I'll pick one for you," Luca says.

A moment later, I watch him walk out of my room with the confidence of a king. Anger and shame drown me as he closes the door behind him. Tears prick my eyes, but I don't let them flow. I blink them back, struggling to recover my breath, to return to my senses as I untangle everything that just happened.

All he had to do was touch me…

And I was done for.

5

LUCA

In another lifetime, perhaps I would've allowed my heart to settle in Caroline's hands. By every possible marker in Italian-American culture, she's the kind of woman who would make a fine wife for a man like me, despite the tragedy that stripped her of the ability to have children of her own.

She sits in my office, dressed impeccably in white and beige silk. Her light brown hair combed into a wavy waterfall that pours over her shoulder. Her caramel brown eyes scan her surroundings, while the elegant gold bangles on her wrists jingle with every movement of her hands.

"Caroline, thank you for seeing me on such short notice," I say as I take a seat behind my desk—a massive construction made of ancestral ebony, the surface crowded with a computer and files but never cluttered. "How've you been?"

"I've been good, Luca, thank you for asking," she replies with a pleasant smile. "Though the rumor mill has been churning rather loudly as of late."

"The rumor mill."

"Oh, you know our Little Italy community. Word travels fast."

Caroline doesn't take her eyes off me, and I notice the edge in her tone. It shouldn't come as a surprise. People talk. Secrets slip. I instructed all of my staff to keep quiet, but human nature is still human nature. And the treasure I've been hiding is far too precious not to arouse Little Italy's interest.

"You've already spoken to her," I say. "On my house line. We'll discuss how you got that number."

"I needed to hear my sister's voice, Luca. Can you blame me?"

I watch her, wondering how much more she knows. Everything she says may be a probe, gauging my cooperation on the matter, which is delicate, regardless of how I approach it.

Raquel, my PA, comes in with a couple of coffees for us.

"I added sugar and frothy milk in yours, Miss Mancuso." She sets it down on the edge of my desk, leaving it within Caroline's reach.

"Just the way I like it. Thank you, Raquel."

"Is there anything else I can get you, Mr. Petrucci?"

She gives me a hopeful look, waiting for a hint of my forgiveness. But as the saying goes, loose lips sink ships. Raquel is now on notice. I respond with a shake of the head and watch her leave. As soon as the door closes behind her, I expect the air to thin, even slightly.

Caroline keeps the pressure on, however. "You know, Luca. You don't have to punish her for telling me about Valentina's return. Raquel understood that I'm simply worried about my sister's well-being."

"Valentina chose to stay hidden for a reason. And given her family history, I can't say that I blame her."

"Ours is a complicated situation, I won't deny it."

"Come on, Caroline. I know the stories. Valentina was just a little girl when your father married her mother. And the circumstances of Anna's death are still suspicious."