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“Luca?” Alec says, surprised. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”
We shake hands, and Alec’s wife, Elena, hugs me tightly, much to her husband’s chagrin. He pulls her into him and wraps his hand around her waist possessively, making me chuckle. I always thought that he was overly obsessed with his wife, but I finally get it.
“Alec, Elena, you must have already met my wi—” I pause and catch myself in time. “My… wildly intelligent ExecutiveSecretary,” I end up saying, my expression stony. What the fuck did I just say?
Valentina looks at me, her expression flustered but surprisingly, not angry. Just a few weeks ago, she’d have been furious over a near slip-up like that. Maybe she really is warming to the idea of truly being my wife.
I stand back as she charms Alec with her knowledge and professionalism. When she’s like that, I can’t take my eyes off her. I love every version of her, but this one is my favorite. Valentina on a mission, filled with passion and confidence, is a sight to behold. It took her weeks to put together a proposal for Alec, and I have no doubt he won’t be able to deny her. When my wife wants something, she never fails. Truthfully, she didn’t need to try so hard. I’m not at liberty to disclose it to her, but I know which client Ben brought in. Even if Alec says no, Valentina still won’t struggle to beat Ben. Anyone she would bring in will be better than what that jackass can accomplish.
“You’re in love with her,” Elena says as she moves to stand by my side, a few steps away from Alec and Valentina.
I turn toward her, surprised. “I… I’m sorry, what?”
She chuckles and turns back toward Valentina. “You nearly called her your wife, didn’t you?”
Damn. I was hoping she missed that.
“You look at her the way my husband looks at me,” she says, a smile on her face. “Let me tell you a secret, Luca. When Alec and I first got married, it was a marriage of convenience that no one knew about. It was meant to be a simple deal, and love was never part of the plan.”
I turn toward her, wide-eyed. “What?”
She chuckles at my obvious disbelief. “You two are probably fooling everyone, but you can’t fool Alec and me. Not when we’ve been in your exact situation.”
Alec and Elena are so insanely in love with each other that it seems impossible for their marriage to have been one of convenience.
“I’ll tell you another secret.” I glance at her, wary. I dislike how quickly she figured us out. “Alec and I nearly got divorced because he refused to admit that he loved me. Don’t let that happen to you. If you love her, you need to let her know, and you need to treat her right. Alec ended up suffering and groveling for months in an effort to save our marriage. Don’t let it get that far, Luca.”
I turn back toward my wife and sigh. “It isn’t me,” I tell her. “I’m not the problem. It’s her. She doesn’t love me, and she has no interest in turning this into anything more than it is. You have no idea how many tricks I had to play to even get her to marry me.”
Elena looks into my eyes, her gaze searching. “Have you ever told her that you love her, and that your marriage is no longer the deal it started off as? How do you know that she isn’t just adhering to the boundaries you mutually agreed on because she doesn’t know you want her to overstep?”
I stare at her wide-eyed, but she merely smiles at me knowingly before turning away and walking toward Valentina. “We’ll invest,” she says, her arm wrapping around my wife. “Windsor Finance has been on our radar for a while now, and I’ve heard enough to be convinced.”
Valentina looks at me with such joy in her eyes that I can’t help but chuckle. Aw, fuck. I’m fucking done for. Elena Kennedy is right. I’m head over heels for my wife.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Valentina
I sit in bed with my laptop and scroll through the news articles covering the rapid demise of my father’s company. Luca’s actions seem to have prompted a deluge of investigations. He’s being ripped apart from all angles. Even the IRS got involved. It looks like my husband is leaving no stone unturned, and it’s oddly heartwarming. No one has ever stood up for me in that way. I’ve never truly had someone on my side, not until Luca.
“What is it that put that expression on your face?”
I gasp and click away my browser as Luca walks out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of boxers. His gaze roams over my face curiously, and I shake my head. “Oh, it’s nothing.” I bite down on my lip as I randomly click open a document. “I was just looking at our next strategic acquisitions. We’re not far removed from making your father’s vision come true, you know? We’ve accomplished so much already.”
“Is that really what you were looking at?” he murmurs as he gets into bed next to me. “So you weren’t following the news about ReInsure?”
I narrow my eyes at him, and he chuckles. “It’s annoying how well you know me, Luca.”
“Is it?” he asks as he lies down on his side, his head propped up on his elbow. “I love being the person that knows you best, baby. I love figuring out what every single one of your expressions means.”
My heart skips a beat, and I can’t help but look away. Sometimes I wonder if he does it on purpose. It’s almost like he loves watching me get all flustered. “Is it fun, making me blush?”
“Yeah,” he whispers. “It’s my favorite hobby.”
I bite down on my lip and shake my head, my heart racing. I love being the person who knows him best, too. I never thought this was what marriage would be like. It’s nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. Time flies when we’re together, to the point that he makes me wish we hadn’t set an end date at all. He makes me wish this was all real.
“Which companies were you considering, my darling workaholic wife?”
