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‘We connected at your wedding.’
‘Connected?’ Luca’s voice was calm, but Alejandro felt the undercurrent of it. ‘Is that all?’
‘With all due respect, by what measure is that any of your business?’ Only it was Luca’s business. Sienna was his sister-in-law, and Luca was the only reason they’d met. More heat flushed through Alejandro now, as he imagined having not met Sienna. What if the wedding party had proceeded and he’d never noticed her? Never spoken to her? Never touched her? Ice overtook heat at a reality he refused to contemplate.
He turned away, his emotions firing, so he reached for the coffeepot and poured two dark, strong cups, handing one across to Luca even when he could barely meet the other man’s eyes.
‘You are aware of what she means to Olivia, and what Olivia means to me. Sienna is therefore very much my business.’
Alejandro’s gut twisted. And now, he felt like an outsider to their family, a wolf who’d abducted a feisty little sheep. ‘But who she spends her time with is not.’
‘You forget, Alex, I know how you spend your time. I know what you do to women. Please tell me you have not added her to the collection.’
Alejandro’s fists pounded. Anger was a beast now, overtaking his body. ‘What do I do to women?’ he asked, the words dripping with contempt.
Luca waved a hand through the air. ‘Nothing they don’t welcome, but nor do you offer a chance for anything more than sex, and Sienna is not that kind of woman. She’s been through too much to cope with you. She’s not your equal in any way.’
The ground tipped beneath Alejandro’s feet. He wanted to deny that, to defend her, but, God help him, Luca was right, and Alejandro had known it all along. Had known it and pursued this because he’d wanted her more than any other woman. Because she’d fascinated him—because of her differences from the women he usually slept with.
‘Sienna’s life is hers to live.’
Luca cursed, the sound filling the room, a loud, furious epithet. ‘You are not denying it.’
‘I’m saying it’s none of your goddamned business.’
‘And I’m saying it is. If you have used her, treated her badly, then you must know our friendship is at an end, Alex. She is Olivia’s sister, which makes her my sister. My family.’
Alejandro drank from his coffee because he needed the rush of adrenaline, but also because he needed to cool his temper. He was firing on all jets, and, despite what Luca had just said, they were close friends, and the friendship deserved to be handled with respect. But it was galling to hear Luca claim ownership over Sienna as though she were an object, instead of a fiercely intelligent woman with her own free will—who’d chosen him, and this.
‘You shouldn’t have come here.’
‘I tried to contact you. When you didn’t answer I thought one of two things: either something was wrong, or that you were avoiding me. Both warranted a personal visit.’
Alejandro made a sneering noise. ‘I don’t need to be mothered.’
‘I’m not. If anything, I’m mothering Sienna.’
‘She doesn’t need it either.’
‘How the hell would you know?’
Because I know her. Because I know that at her core there is strength and determination, because I see her like nobody else in the whole goddamned world does.
‘Because she’s a grown woman, capable of making her own choices.’
‘And you are saying one of those choices was you?’
‘I’m saying you should back the hell away from this.’ Those protective instincts were back, raising Alejandro’s hackles, so he wanted to push Luca out of his front door. ‘Sienna’s fine. I would never do anything to hurt her.’
‘Cristo. It’s true, isn’t it? You screwed her?’
The crude expression jolted through Alejandro. ‘At any point have I ever discussed the intricacies of my personal life with you?’
‘You don’t need to. I’ve seen you in person. Which is why, when this photo came up on my phone, I knew there was more to it.’
‘What the hell are you doing trawling gossip columns anyway? Don’t you have more important things to be doing?’
‘My assistant scans them each morning, looking for any mention of the pregnancy, or PR issues regarding the business.’ He waved a hand through the air, dismissing the line of questioning. ‘She sent the image, knowing my connection to you. How I happened to see it does not particularly matter, anyway.’
