Would she moan his name in the same way? Would her lips part for him the way they do for me? Does he know her body better than I do? It’s clear that he was her first love, but that’s most likely not the onlyfirsthe took. They say a woman never forgets her first love, and I’m starting to worry that it’s true.
“Luca,” she says, her tone gentle. I look up, keeping my face perfectly expressionless. “I told him he was crazy, and we argued. It isn’t something to worry about, but I didn’t want to lie to you about it.”
“Does he know you’re married?”
Her eyes widen a fraction, and she shakes her head. Of course he doesn’t. She’s been adamant that no one could ever find out. Was he one of the reasons why? She might tell me that all she feels for him is resentment, but there’s a thin line between love and hate. The fact that she still feels anything at all when she looks at him worries me.
Our server clears the table, and we’re both quiet as I get the bill. This isn’t how I saw tonight going. My fingers brush against hers as we walk toward the exit, and she pulls away before I can even grab her hand, frustrating me even further. My own fucking wife won’t even hold my hand in public, and it pisses me offendlessly. She might say that she doesn’t have any feelings for Ben, but he affected her enough to make her withdraw from me.
“Luca Windsor?”
Valentina tenses, her body going rigid, and I look back to find Miguel Garcia standing in front of the restaurant, his eyes moving from Valentina to me. He extends his hand, and I shake it hesitantly, confused as to why the CEO of the country's largest insurance firm is looking at my wife with such hostility. Does he not value those eyeballs of his?
“You’re a hard man to track down, Luca,” he tells me, before glancing back at Valentina. He raises a brow and smiles. “I’ve called your office several times and emailed your secretary, but for some reason, I’m always told your schedule is fully packed, no matter how much I offer to invest.”
There’s a hint of panic in Valentina’s eyes as our eyes meet, and then she looks down. It’s not like her to purposely ignore potential clients, especially ones we already have a business relationship with. What’s this all about? She knows he’s in charge of every single Windsor insurance policy. If he were to invest even a portion of his insurance funds in us, that could be a game changer.
The Garcia family is just as influential and vast as the Windsor family. Compared to their entire empire, Miguel and ReInsure are small fries — that’s how powerful the Garcia family is. Miguel isn’t the head of his family, but he’s powerful enough to have been made CEO of one of their most profitable companies. He isn’t someone I can take lightly.
I glance back at Miguel, only to find him staring at my wife. He’s older, but even I can’t deny he’s handsome. First I have to deal with fuckingBen, and now this fucker appears out of nowhere. Maybe I don’t keep my wife busy enough, if she has time to attract all these fucking fruit flies.
“You might not remember,” he tells me, “but I still remember you sitting in my lap when you were much younger. I was friends with your father.”
I grit my teeth. “Indeed, I don’t remember. I’m not a sentimental person, Mr. Garcia, but there’s nothing I hate more than people I don’t know bringing up my parents.”
He looks taken-aback and nods. “Very well, I can understand that.” He reaches for his wallet and hands me a business card. “I gave your secretary a business card when I ran into her a few months ago, but it’s clear you never received it.”
I stare at it and place my hand on Valentina’s lower back. “It indeed looks like there’s been a misunderstanding of some sort,” I tell him, my voice soft despite my anger. “It appears you think Valentina is merely a secretary. You’re mistaken. She is the one person I trust above anyone else, my right hand, my de facto co-CEO. If she didn’t grant you a meeting, it would be for a reason. I don’t need to know why, and quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck. If she says no, it means no. I respect her opinion above all else, and I strongly suggest that you do the same.”
My wife looks at me with such shock and appreciation that my heart wavers. Doesn’t she realize how highly I think of her? Perhaps not. I never told her any of this, after all. Perhaps the words I left unspoken did more harm than I expected.
I lead her out the door, ready to just get my wife the fuck home. This entire night has been a complete fucking clusterfuck. I wanted to spend some time together, yet all it’s done is make me feel further apart from her.
The valet hands me my keys, and I hold the door open for my wife, but she isn’t looking at me. Her eyes are on Miguel.
I’m restless as I start the car and lean back for a moment. “First Ben, and now Miguel,” I murmur, my eyes falling closed for a moment. “What is it that they have and I don’t?”
Valentina turns toward me, her gaze tormented. “Luca,” she says, her voice trembling. “It’s not like that, I swear. Miguel… he is… he is my father.”
I stare at her, wide-eyed. Miguel Garcia, the CEO of the country’s largest insurance firm, is herfather? How could that not have flagged in the countless background checks I ran?
There’s only one way for this to have remained hidden from me.My grandmother.She must have known and chosen not to disclose it, but why?
Chapter Forty-Three
Luca
“What brings you here so early? Why didn’t you bring Valentina?” my grandmother asks as she takes a seat opposite me at her dining table. Her staff serves both of us breakfast, but my appetite is nonexistent.
“She had an early meeting,” I tell her honestly. “Besides, I didn’t want her present for this conversation.”
Grandma’s sweet smile melts away, making way for the ruthlessness she normally reserves for those outside of our family. “I see,” she says, waving her hand as an indication to continue.
“Miguel Garcia.”
Her expression hardens, and she sighs. “CEO of ReInsure, yes?”
“Don’t act ignorant,” I tell her, impatient. I adore my grandmother as much as all of my other siblings do, but our relationship has always been different. We’ve never been quite as close, in part, because unlike my siblings, I don’t feel like she always has our best interests at heart. If she did, she’d never have asked me to get engaged to Natalia. It also doesn’t sit well with me that she didn’t push Ares towards his happiness sooner,when it was clear to all of us that the woman he really loved wasRaven, and not her sister. I don’t trust that she’d put our feelings and happiness above profit. My siblings are blinded by their love for her and gratitude for taking us in when we lost our parents — but I am not.