“I have some news, and as it will likely be made public soon, I wanted to tell you first,” Serena said, being careful to keep her voice neutral. “It won’t require any conversation at all. I am engaged. To be married.” She stared at the beautiful ring on her finger. If nothing else, her mother would certainly be impressed with that.
Her mother laughed, and Serena winced in spite of herself. The caustic sound reminded her too much of how uncomfortable she’d been in her mother’s care. Neither of her parents had quite known what to do with her, and as much as her father had not been a loving or devoted man, he’d mostly ignored her.
Angelica preferred topoke. It had been there before the divorce but had only gotten worse after.
You’ll always be as dull and uninspiring as your father. Nothing I could do could change it.
Yes, Angelica had always made it clear there was nothing to be done, so Serena had leaned into thedull—which was where she felt most comfortable. And in the dull, in theas your father, she had found her mark.
She had made herself into a businesswoman torivalher father. So perfect, so smart, so cunning that even he who had no interest in her at all had been forced to admit she was an asset to Valli.
“Well, thatisinteresting,” Angelica said after a while. “I hope you’ll be smart enough to protect your own assets, while getting access to as many of his as possible. Don’t let romantic notions fool you.”
“Of course not.”
No congratulations. Not even excitement over the prospect of a wedding. Just:make sure to protect your assets.
Which was fine, because this was entirely about her assets, even if her mother didn’t know that.
“Is that all?” Mother asked. No questions about a wedding, or even about the man in question. Justis that all.Serena did not understand why she thought there might be more, except her mother had always told her to focus on tricking a man into marrying her, rather than do something so boring as go into the Vallibusiness.
And here she was, doing both. And Mother didn’t care.
Why did you think she would?
Serena had to clear her throat to speak. To finish the conversation with all the pertinent information, no matter how much she preferred to just hang up. “I believe you know of my fiancée.” As if mentioning him conjured him, Luciano stepped out onto the balcony wearing black trousers and a button-down shirt.
Unbuttoned. With sleep-tousled hair. And still too unfairly beautiful in spite of it. He looked like an ad for cologne or expensive watches.
“I cannot imagine I’d know anyone who would find themselves engaged to you, darling. We move inmuchdifferent circles socially.”
Socially, maybe, but the men she did business with tended to be in the monetary echelon that her mother preferred to socialize with. She did not know if Mother and Luciano had ever been properly introduced, but no doubt Mother had been to his club. No doubt Mother knew just who he was and what his financial portfolio looked like.
Something about that made her hesitate, but any hesitation about giving her mother this information and dreading what she’d do about it had to be moved past. This needed to be done. “Luciano Ascione.”
He did a little mock bow, as if she’d introduced him to a crowd of people who were thrilled and applauding. It had a foreign feeling settling in her chest. Almost like amusement, when a conversation with her mother never had any of that.
There was a beat of silence, and Serena would blame Luciano distracting her on the fact that she was not prepared and braced for her mother’s reaction.
“Serena. You cannot be this stupid.”
Serena blinked, stiffened even though she’d taught herself long ago not to let her mother’s barbs land. “I beg your pardon?”
“What would a man like Luciano Ascione want withyou?”
The question was an honest one, even if it twisted in Serena like old insecurities she’d forced herself to leave behind. Mother didn’tmeananything by it. She simply and honestly did not understand.
And Serena knew she’d never be able to convince her mother, but she supposed she had to at least pretend to try. “I’m sure it does not seem like it on paper, but Luciano and I actually have quite a bit in common.”
Luciano raised an eyebrow, and the strangest sensation of wanting to laugh overtook the dull ache of dealing with her mother. Perhaps she should always have him around when handling this kind of undertaking.
Luciano held out his hand, a kind of sign that he wanted the phone.
She nearly did laugh out loud then. She shook her head, tried to remember what she’d been about to tell her mother. They had things in common and…
He made the gesture again. Serena turned away from him so he couldn’t distract her anymore. “Mother—”
The phone was plucked from her fingers and she whirled around to try to retrieve it, but Luciano held her phone to his ear and his arm out like he was warding her off.
