I swallowed.Five years. “What happened?”
“When she graduated from law school, the family wanted her on retainer as a defense attorney, and she declined,” Rosa said plainly.
“So, they broke up? That seems a bit drastic.”
Rosa smiled. “Fern wanted to be a public defender, which is a noble career choice, and we admired her for it, but when she wanted Luca to distance himself from the family, we had a problem.”
“Oh.”
“Luca planned to work at the restaurant and didn’t see any reason to further remove himself from the family, but Fern didn’t agree with his choice to stay tied to—” Rosa squinted her eyes, “I think she called us thugs.” She laughed and shook her head. “I guess she wasn’t wrong, but a man like Luca will always choose family.”
Except when it came to me. Warmth spread through me, easing some of the worries the conversation had caused.
Adriana leaned back in her seat, more comfortable now that we weren’t discussing her marriage. “He tried working at another restaurant to make her happy, but it wasn’t long until he was looking to take over the Moretti kitchen. Needless to say, she wasn’t pleased.”
“It all came to nothing anyway. Dante died before he could take over, and Luca had to step up.”
“She left him?”
Both women nodded.
“Poor Luca.” My chest ached for him. The reluctant king lost his partner for the love of his family.
“She wasn’t his one. You are.” Rosa confidently said, standing and collecting my mug. “More coffee?”
“Yes, please.” She went to the counter, and I turned to Adriana. “So, he hasn’t dated since?”
“Besides Zoe? Nope.”
Zoe. The missing woman my fiancé had fucked while we were separated. A woman who was causing problems between Marco and Luca.
“And that whole Zoe thing was ridiculous. Power posturing with his father,” Rosa said, the disdain clear in her voice.
“It looked pretty real to me,” I mumbled, believing and not believing my words.
“You need to work on that,” Rosa said, setting down my fresh cup of coffee.
“What?”
“Your confidence in you and Luca. You’ve got the ring, you’ve got the man. No one can take that from you.”
“You’re right.” She was, but hell if I could make myself believe it.
“Enough man talk. I want to hear what you have planned for my bedroom.” Rosa grinned, and the three of us moved on to the renovation I’d taken on as a personal project—a way to make amends without her ever knowing.
“I’ll get my tablet and be right back.”
I hustled to Luca’s room and back, passing the locked, silent study.
“I can’t believe you thought that.” Adriana laughed.
Chairs scooted across the floor. “What was I supposed to think when my husband left with another woman? As much as I adore Sasha, I did have a moment of doubt and wondered if she tried to get back at Luca through Dante.”
Both women laughed, and Adriana said, “I think they were more likely to kill each other than anything else.” I stopped in the hallway, leaning one hand against the wall to absorb the blow. There was no way they knew how close they were to the truth.
“You’re right.” Rosa sighed. “I think he was trying to fix things and undo Luca’s agreement with Zoe. If anyone could’ve broken them up, it was Sasha. Case and point—the ring on her finger.”
The shiny rock sparkled at me as my hand slid down the tasteful wallpaper until my shoulder held me up. My chest tightened, and I took slow, deliberate breaths. The edges of my vision became blurry, and I fought the blackness threatening to take me under.