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I huffed. “Do you?”
“I do, or I wouldn’t have put my full support behind you.” He gestured to Saoirse. “I trusted you implicitly, even when you were in the throes of rebelling. I always knew you would rise to the role when it was time. And look at you, taking the reins of Rossi without faltering even though it came a lot sooner than either of us expected. You married a beautiful woman, and you’re making a home with her. I knew you had this in you, Luca.”
“I’ll never be you.”
Mom spoke up. “No one wants you to be your father.Hecertainly doesn’t.”
Dad nodded sharply. “I have Clara as my clone. I don’t need two.”
My mother reached across the table, palm up. Slowly, Dad unfolded his arms to meet her in the middle, enfolding her hand in his.
“Rossi needed a breath of fresh air,” Mom said. “And your father needed a reason to step down. He won’t admit either, but he knows I’m right.”
Dad grunted again, his mouth pulling into a frown, but the way he looked at her was soft as always, and he held her hand tight, not denying her opinion.
Bless that fucking cat. Clementine chose that moment to walk right up to a small succulent in a clay pot sitting on the edge of a shelf and bat it with her paw. It plummeted to the floor while she watched, shattering into a million pieces. Then she sat on her princess ass and started grooming herself as if she hadn’t just committed mayhem for no good reason.
After my parents left, Saoirse and I ended up in the den, with Clem passed out on the couch between us.
“I think you needed to have that conversation with your dad,” she said.
I grunted, which made her laugh. My eyes narrowed. “What?”
“You sounded exactly like him.”
“I’m nothing like him.”
“Okay.” She absently stroked Clementine’s back. “Your parents are really in love. It’s nice to see. I think my parents were like that when I was young, but life…”
“I once heard my mother tell Clara the key to her long and happy marriage is choosing each other. The choice didn’t happen only once at the altar. They have continued to choose each other throughout their lives together.”
Saoirse nodded slowly. “My parents chose each other once, then let the chips fall where they may after.” She slung her foot over mine, where it rested on the ottoman. “When you get married for real, you’ll have to remember that. Choose her and keep choosing her.”
My mother had been right. I’d gotten a lot better at dealing with my emotions over the years. They didn’t burst out of me anymore. They were there, contained but just as powerful.
And what my wife just said to me? I felt thatdeep.
Chapter Thirty-three
Luca
“Bendover.Handsaroundyour ankles.”
Saoirse arched a brow at me. “No hello? How are you?”
Her ass was asking for my hand, so I gave her what she wanted, smacking her bare flesh. “I’m not really in the mood for jokes.”
Not with her standing in front of me naked, her clothes puddled on the carpet. Not when it had been over a week since I’d been inside her.
Saoirse finished her tenure at Rossi three weeks ago. Miles had timed his departure from Andes to coincide with hers. Since then, they’d thrown themselves into their business, which they’d dubbed Peak Strategies.
I respected that they didn’t want to cash in on their family names, but a feral part of me wished Saoirse had used Rossi. Not for me to claim her business, but so anyone who met with her would knowshewas claimed. The big rock she wore on her finger wasn’t enough for me.
Neither was the time we were able to spend together.
Not working in the same building meant our lunch meetings were more difficult to arrange. Saoirse and Miles used the condo as their office, and I was strapped to my desk at Rossi, in the midst of an internal audit on top of my regular duties.
Breaking away during the day had become mostly impossible.
