She closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose and turned away from him and toward the balcony. She rested her elbows on the rail and took a deep breath of sea air in.
She felt him come behind her and she tensed, for too many reasons, really. But somehow she knew he would touch her. She thought she didn’t want him to. She wanted it to be because she didn’t want to be touched byhim, but she did. And that’s what she didn’t want. This constant proof that she wanted more of his hands on her, and all her denials were just that.Denial.
Then he pushed his thumb against the tight muscle in her neck, and she could be embarrassed later at the happy sigh that escaped her mouth.Godthat felt good.
“Did you not sleep well,cara?” he asked in a soft, sultry murmur.
She was tempted to melt into the touch, into the quiet lull of his voice. His thumb rubbed circles against her neck and it was truly a glorious relaxation. It hit the exact right spot that had tensed and tensed and tensed. She wanted him to do that forever.
Until she remembered she hated him. And the fact his question was just him being a jerk, not actually expressing concern.
“I slept beautifully,” she replied, stepping away from his hands. They were a problem. And while she was planning on giving in to the seduction route, sometimes, a girl had to know when to retreat. “And now, I need to get to work.”
“We, darling,” he said, holding out his elbow like he expected her to loop her arm with his. “We will head into work together this morning.”
* * *
Serena had not fought him as much as he’d anticipated. She’d surveyed him with that regal disdain as he’d explained that they should take turns going into each other’s offices, begin to lay the groundwork for a merger while the lawyers drew up contracts and what not.
And show off her ring. The stories should start weaving their way through their mutual acquaintances, so giving everyone something even more concrete to talk about would be good. He had no doubt that both he and Serena would have all sorts of meetings lined up—customers who had left crawling back and begging for a moment just to get a sniff of gossip.
Then, together, they would offer a new deal that the Americans would not be able to match. Serena’s homegrown connections. Luciano’s ironclad global partnerships. Together, they would offer their customerseverything.
It was such a good plan, he sometimes forgot it was hers.
They walked into the Valli office building, arm in arm yet again. Serena ensured it was her left hand in his, so the diamond was what anyone would come face to face with as they approached.
She greeted anyone they came across by name—something the Vallis were famous for. A personal approach. Family to family. Ironic considering how little of a family man Serena’s father had been, but in the confines of these walls, Mr. Valli had built his own family. And made a lot of money from it.
His own father had considered it beneath him. He’d gone for the glitz, the glamour. A royal kind of viewpoint, handed down from generation to generation. A counterpoint to the allegedly humble Vallis—which of course had only infuriated his father, because they’d amassed as big a fortune as he had.
Honestly, both methods were just smoke and mirrors to hide the fact that both men were ill-equipped to manage the legacies handed down to them.
Ironic that their children should seek to save said legacies. Together.
When they stepped out of the elevator on a higher floor, Luciano realized that this would beherfloor. The woman behind a desk that guarded the hallway of doors immediately jumped to her feet.
“Good morning, Andrea,” Serena greeted, moving in a straight shot toward whatever target she sought. But as she passed the desk of who Luciano assumed was Serena’s assistant, Serena paused and turned to look at this Andrea.
Luciano watched as Serena carefully composed herself, put on that fake smile she was so good at. Meanwhile, the assistant couldn’t seem to stop herself from staring, open-mouthed, at the diamond on Serena’s hand.
“Andrea, I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée, Mr. Luciano Ascione. You will likely be seeing quite a bit of him in the coming months. I hope I can count on you to help him feel welcome and at home here at Valli.”
“O-of course. Welcome, Mr. Ascione.” The woman hesitated, like she wasn’t quite sure how to greet him. A handshake. A curtsy. A spitted oath.
“Thank you, Andrea.” He offered her a warm smile, trying to balance his usual charm with something more…homey. He did not think he succeeded when Andrea’s cheeks turned a faint shade of pink.
“We will be in my office. You can send any phone calls through, but please no visitors.”
“Yes, ma’am. Ms. Valli—”
But before she could say whatever she was going to say, a group of men appeared in the hallway it appeared Serena had been meaning to go down. Luciano didn’t thinktheynoticed the change in Serena’s demeanor. It was very subtle.
But clearly a kind of putting on armor.
“Serena,” one of the men said. He had a thick mustache and heavy middle. Luciano thought he recognized him as one of the Valli high-level managers his father had once tried to woo away from Valli.
“We’ve called an emergency meeting,” the man said firmly. Like a father might tell a child they were grounded.
