‘He preyed on our friends, the parents of my school friends, men he’d known all his life. He was unscrupulous and greedy. When I went to the police, it was in the hopes some of the money could be recovered, but the scheme collapsed and everyone lost everything.’
‘You most of all,’ she said quietly.
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘We were very wealthy, but it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more, always more.’
Olivia couldn’t offer any words to comfort him, so she did the only thing she could, moving around the table and settling herself on his lap, arms hooked behind his neck.
‘That isn’t your fault.’
He met her eyes, and she saw the trauma in them, the regret, the fervent wish that things had been different. How she ached for him!
‘Not your father’s actions, nor your wife’s betrayal. You didn’t deserve any of it.’
He kept his gaze averted from hers, a muscle throbbing low in his squared jaw, so she lifted a finger to it, feeling his pulse, fascinated by the tightness there as he clenched his teeth together.
‘How did you do all this?’ She shifted the subject a little, waving a hand around her to the palatial lounge that opened onto the back garden. ‘You rebuilt an empire from nothing.’
‘Not nothing,’ he corrected with a bitter smile. ‘There was Nonna’s business.’
‘She handed it to you,’ Olivia guessed.
‘Yes.’ His expression was defiant. ‘She trusted me, and I desperately wanted to make her proud, to prove her right. I worked around the clock for two years, growing her small chain of accommodation into a global force of exclusive, boutique hotels, before branching out into transport logistics, and then airlines. It wasn’t easy. None of the major banks in Italy would, initially, lend to me.’ A cynical smile tilted his lips. ‘Including Azzuri—the bank I plan to acquire.’ The rejection had been one of many he’d experienced at the time, but it had cut him deep, representing what he’d thought to be the end of the road. The humiliation he’d felt, at having to go in there to beg, in the first instance, and having his proposal tossed out as though it were worthless junk. He’d never forgotten that humiliation.
‘Even with your grandmother’s wealth?’ Olivia stroked his cheek gently.
‘Even then.’ Luca brought himself back to the present. ‘Giovanardi means mud, remember?’
‘What did you do?’
‘Sold two of her hotels to raise capital.’
She shook her head. ‘You must have been so scared.’
His lips twisted in a mocking smile. ‘Angry, actually.’
She laughed softly. ‘Yes, that too.’
‘I hated the banks, all of them. And particularly Azzuri,’ he was surprised to hear himself admit. ‘It was when I expanded into new tech that things really improved. I was able to pay back my father’s debts—every last one of them—and to create an empire my grandfather would have been proud of.’
She heard his drive and determination, and the dark forces that had compelled him to work so hard for so long, and felt a surge of pity. Would he ever feel that he’d done enough?
‘Pietra must have been impressed.’
His smile was just a hint. ‘Yes.’ He lifted a hand to Olivia’s cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear. ‘She’d lost so much. My grandfather, then the family reputation, the business. I knew that I couldn’t fail her.’
‘You didn’t.’
He dipped his head in acknowledgement. ‘And yet,’ he said quietly, ‘it doesn’t matter how much I am worth, or how much business succeeds, there is always a question hanging over my head. Did I cheat to get here? Am I like my father? Can people trust me? His shadow has dogged me my entire adult life.’
She shook her head a little. ‘And yet, look at my father—a man whose ancient name earned him a seat at any table, who was thought of so highly, and yet, he was—as you said—a total jackass.’ She leaned closer, her gaze intense. ‘What does a name matter, Luca? It’s the man that counts, the man you are, the deeds that you do. That’s what people should care about.’
She ran her finger around his lips, tracing the outline there. ‘And I think you are a good man, who’s done great deeds. In fact, I think you’re very noble.’
‘Because I married you?’ he prompted, his voice lightly teasing.
‘Absolutely,’ she responded in kind, only half joking, then sobered. ‘You saved me. I mean that seriously.’ Tears threatened so she forced a bright smile. Things were getting too serious between them, too intense. Neither of them wanted that. ‘And because you paid back the money your father stole, when you didn’t have to.’
‘Not legally, but morally. Ethically.’