She refused to be destroyed. By a foolish car accident or a supposedly charming rival. “I hope you shall hold your breath,” she offered. Because sparring with him was not a loss of control, it was a gaining of it. It was a duel. A business negotiation. The careful, planned steps of a fencing match.
Luciano sipped his wine, unbothered, leaning back in his chair so that he was perfectly framed by the beautiful lake outside the windows. If someone had taken his picture, it could have been an advertisement for any number of things, and women would sigh over that lazy smile.
Shehatedthat her traitorous insides wanted to do just that. Because if she allowed herself to divorce his personality from the external look of him, she would have someseriousproblems with focus.
Luckily, she knew exactly who he was.
A waiter reappeared with theprimi. He set a dish down in front of both of them, then disappeared again. Luciano made a big production out of discussing the weather, and Serena was well versed in stalling business tactics, so she played along.
Mainly because she didn’t think he expected her to.
When thesecondiwas served, he moved the conversation along to her home. She tried not to stiffen, but it was impossible. She did not want his take on the place that meant so much to her. On the place he never should have been. Part of how she’d gotten by was to develop that inner world, that sanctuary, and keep everyone else out. So that it was safe there.
He’d invaded her safety. Gotten a peek under the curtain, so to speak. She had spent the day telling herself it didn’treallymatter. So he knew she wore glasses and had cats? Maybe it gave him glimpses into private things, but it didn’tchangeanything.
But she could tell he understood that it bothered her far more than she wanted it to.
Still, to show her discomfort was to lose, so she sipped her water carefully as he spoke.
“So…unique,” he said, almost thoughtfully. “And your sitting room. Quite colorful, when you are, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, rarely that.”
“I do not wish to be colorful,” Serena replied, trying to keep the bite out of her tone. “This does not mean I do not enjoy color.”
He made a considering noise. She had no doubt he would draw this out. Make her wait for his answer. So she enjoyed her food. A delicioustortelliandratatuia. She had never had a dessert quite like the one served next, so she savored it, only half listening to Luciano prattle on about his club.
If it was to be like this, she could handle a potential marriage. She could pretend to listen to him chattering on while she enjoyed a meal. She could be photographed on occasion with his hand in hers. All of this, she was sure she could handle.
But him being in her space last night had introduced a new doubt, and Serenahateddoubts. She hated to address them. But the way it had felt to have him in her space, seeing who she was underneath her mask. Having to deal with the unique physical reaction she had to him—one she did not want to parse, but might have to. Because a fake marriage would require, at least on occasion, living together.
Maybe once they’d gotten some of the old clients back, once there were enough stories about them to haveeveryonetaking a meeting with Valli, they could move to a marriage that didn’t need to look…real.
But she had to get there first. Which required this dinner, his agreement and a merger of lives and businesses. It required managing the strange sensations he brought out in her, that tangled with the more familiar and perhaps more welcome irritation.
Valli-Ascione, she reminded herself, unable to stop a frown. The merger was the best thing, she knew, but she hadn’t fully swallowed how much credit she was going to have to give the man across from her.
After all the work she’d done, after all the perfection she’d achieved—first to gain her father’s trust, then to clean up the mess he’d left her—and for the rest of their lives, no doubt, Luciano would get more credit for saving their companies than she would. Because this was still a man’s world, no matter how much better she was at it.
She reminded herself she didn’tneedcredit. Never had. As long assheknew she was the mastermind behind this. As long assheknew she’d saved Valli, like her father couldn’t. As long as she was perfection to all her father’s imperfection.Thatwas what mattered.
When the waiter put acaffein front of her, she smiled up at him in thanks. How many more minutes would this go on? Usually, her patience was endless, but the mere existence of Luciano reminded her that there were variables in this whole plan that she would not be able to control.
Mainly him.
She flicked a glance at Luciano who was watching her with surprisingly shrewd dark eyes, like he could see through her. When no one did.
Her chest felt oddly tight. The idea of being seen settled in her in tangled ways. Because she did not wanthimto see her, but she missed the easy understanding her grandfather had once given her. So it was both uncomfortable and wistful.
She was glad when he leaned carefully forward, made no attempt to hide the shrewdness in his gaze. He did not signal a change in conversation in any other way. But she knew they would now discuss what she’d actually come here for.
“I am still not wholly convinced that you came to this information on your own,” he said, more idly than accusatory.
She sighed, but before she could say anything, he held up a hand.
“However, whether you have a spy, or are as brilliant as you claim, the result is the same. Our companies are failing.”
“Thanks to our fathers.”
“Indeed. And I have no long-lost love for mine, may he rot in hell along with the rest of the Asciones, but I will not let his failure stainmyreputation.”
