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“Not Canada, that’s for sure,” Zane chimes in.
I glance at my wife, and she nods. That’s all it takes for me to lead her to our usual seats, despite the way my thoughts are reeling. If this is where she wants to be, then this is where we’ll stay.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Luca
“Are you okay?” Valentina asks, her voice soft. I turn to face her, my gaze roaming over our large hotel suite. We ended up landing in Hawaii, but I’m not sure how to feel about this impromptu family trip.
“I’m not sure,” I tell her honestly. “Are you?”
She nods. “The photo surprised me, but it makes sense that our fathers knew each other. Knowing that he’s at least partially responsible for me getting my job hurts, but I also know that I did everything in my power to prove to both myself and everyone else that I deserve my job. It doesn’t sit well with me, but it’s okay. All that really matters is that Grandma Anne gave me a chance — the reason why is irrelevant at this point.”
“I knew,” I tell her, my voice soft. “When we ran into him, I confronted my grandmother, and she admitted that our fathers were friends. I was worried about you, baby. I didn’t want you to cast a shadow on your hard work, so I kept it from you.”
She grins at me and tilts her head a little. “I figured as much. You did it because it was in my best interests, right?”
Valentina walks up to me and wraps her arms around my neck, her eyes on mine. “Similarly, Grandma Anne meant welltoo,” she murmurs. “If we think about it objectively, did we ultimately benefit from her actions? Take the emotion out of it, Luca. If you stop focusing on the fact that we were manipulated and instead focus on what she aimed to accomplish, would you say that her meddling was in our best interest?”
I pull her closer, and she rises to her tiptoes. “I hate it when you’re so rational,” I whisper against her lips. “Can’t you just let me be mad?”
She buries her hand through my hair and shakes her head. “How can I, when I know that her heart is in the right place? I just keep thinking about what I would do if it had been Abuela. Could I have stayed mad? Would I come to regret the time I spent arguing with her? If she hadn’t done what she did, would we have ended up together at all? Would we be standing here, on equal footing? Luca, tell me honestly. Would our marriage be as strong as it is without her?”
I sigh and lift her into my arms, unwilling to admit that she’s right. I don’t want reason right now, not when I’m still so fucking mad. How can she not blame my grandmother for all the stress she caused? I could forgive her if she hadn’t touched Valentina, but for a few weeks, she made my wife believe that she’d lost it all. Not only was she barely coping with the loss of her grandmother, she also had to suddenly cope with losing the job she fought so hard for. How can she just forgive Grandma for that so easily?
Valentina wraps her legs around my waist and smiles at me. “You know I’m right. If you hadn’t been evicted, I may not have snapped out of the spiral I was in. The only reason I was able to pull myself out of that was because I felt like you needed me. If that hadn’t happened, I’d have continued to convince myself that you were better off without me.”
I hum noncommittally as I carry her to our bed. “Maybe.”
She chuckles and shakes her head as I lay her down. Her hair spreads across our pillows beautifully, and I just stand there and stare for a moment. “I am so fucking in love with you,” I murmur, mesmerized. Today, she’s in a simple pair of leggings and a loose t-shirt, yet I can’t tear my eyes off her. She’s so gorgeous. “I hate the thought of anyone hurting you. Knowing that it’s my family that added to your worries when you were already going through so much is unforgivable.”
“Yet I don’t blame them at all, babe,” she says. “I don’t think you should, either. I know how much you missed your family, and you know how much they love you. They’re all a little crazy, but their hearts are in the right place.”
I lie down next to her and turn to face her. “No matter what you decide, I’ll be on your side,” she tells me, and I just stare at her in disbelief. How could she dismiss my grandmother’s actions so easily? I pull her closer and hug her tightly, my thoughts turning to Abuela. Truth be told, had it been Abuela who did this to us, I’d instantly forgive her too. I get where she’s coming from, and she’s right to say that everything turned out fine, but what if it hadn’t?
Valentina pushes me onto my back and climbs on top of me, her hands running over my body. She smiles as she lifts herself off me just enough to pull her dress off. “Tell me you can feel this too,” she murmurs, her hands roaming over my body. I smile as she pulls off my t-shirt, her gaze filled with the same love I feel. “This intimacy between us, it wasn’t there just a few weeks ago. It feels different, right?”
I hum noncommittally. She’s right, of course, but I don’t feel like admitting that. My eyes trail over her body, and I sigh happily as she undoes her bra and smirks before letting it fall.
I start to reach for her, but she shakes her head. “Hands off,” she murmurs. “Just lie back and enjoy this, babe. I havesomething to say, and you’re going to listen to me. If you do, I’ll let you fuck me however you please.”
I grunt in dissatisfaction and put my hands behind my head reluctantly. Her hands slide over my fly, and she looks at me as she undoes my jeans. “Do you remember when I told you I thought I hated you?” she asks as she grabs my cock.
I groan, annoyed at the memory but at her fucking mercy when she touches me like that. “Of course I fucking remember.”
She smiles as she takes off her panties and sits down on top of me, naked. Valentina bites down on her lip and slides her wet pussy over my cock, teasing me. “I stopped hating you long ago, but I’m not sure all of my resentment would’ve disappeared if I’d never been given a chance to truly choose you, with nothing hanging over my head.”
I groan when the tip of my cock slips into her, only for her to move back a little. She keeps doing that, driving both of us insane. The way she pants every time my cock rubs against her clit is fucking beautiful, and I’m not sure how much more I can take.
“If your grandma hadn’t done what she did, I’d never have had an opportunity to find out what you’d do if you were ever put in my father’s position. For the rest of our lives, I’d live with irrational fears.”
“Baby,” I groan. “Please. How am I supposed to focus on anything you’re saying when your pussy is dripping all over my cock? How much longer are you going to tease me like that?”
She chuckles and lets the tip of my cock slip into her. “You know you weren’t going to listen to me unless I cornered you somehow.”
“Fucking tease,” I murmur. “I’ll make you pay for this.”
She chuckles and lets me have another inch of her pussy. It’s probably meant to be consolation, but it just drives me even more wild. “Luca,” she moans, and I chuckle when I realize she’shaving just as hard of a time focusing as she gyrates her hips, letting part of my cock slip in and out of her.
