Page 3 of Unveiled

Cunningly closing my laptop, I rested my elbow on the arm of the chair and stroked my neatly trimmed beard.

“Yes, he’s perfect.” Tanya playfully held him up, examining his outfit. She glanced at me, smiling. “She’s going to make an exceptional mother.”

Isabelle nervously giggled.

I sighed, shaking my head.

“Oh, come on!” Tanya darted her eyes back and forth between us. “My son needs a best friend or a soulmate.”

“So, this is what it’s all about?” I lifted my brows. “You’re trying to play cupid with an infant and a child who has not even been conceived yet.”

She snorted before she turned her attention to Isabelle. They laughed and chatted, I used it as an opportunity to open my laptop once again and look at Isabelle’s birthday present a bit more. I tuned them out, viewing various islands for sale in Tonga, South Pacific. I wanted us to have a place off the grid to escape to whenever needed. Worst-case scenario, a place to send the women off to when our enemies resurfaced. They would unquestionably come back. My friends and I had started setting traps and were ready.

The sound of William yanked me from my trance as he came through the office door and closed it behind him. He pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb, shaking his head. “He tried to question me.”

Taking a deep breath, I flickered my gaze. “Noa—”

“He’s just doing his job.” Isabelle shot me a glance.

“Well, I’m not sure I like him yet.” William lifted the corner of his lip in disgust.

A low chuckled reverberated in my throat.

Isabelle snapped her head toward me once again. “You guys need to stop, for real… please.”

William stepped behind Tanya, snaking his hands around her waist. She turned to him, pressing her lips to his.

“Babe, I need to talk to Valentino.” He glanced back and forth between the girls. “Can you girls go to another room for a bit?”

“We were actually just about to go get lunch.” I interjected, pushing back from my desk and standing.

William took Aston from Tanya. “Fine, but we need to talk later tonight.”

I nodded. “Do you guys want to join us for lunch?”

“We would, but we just ate,” Tanya smiled, “and we have to go meet with the realtor.”

“You guys found a house?!” Isabelle’s eyes widened.

“We hope this one isit,” William chuckled, “but I refuse to deal with bullshit neighbors.”

Our chauffeur, Morrison, navigated the limo through bumper-to-bumper traffic on our way to the restaurant for lunch. Leaning my elbow on the armrest, I peered out the window. Valentino’s hand rested on my thigh as he carried on a business-related conversation with Joseph and Noah.

Paying them no mind, I allowed my thoughts to get carried away as we passed my old apartment building. Memories came flooding back, and I smiled thinking aboutV vs. Valentino.How could I have been so stupid? I almost erupted in laughter, but my brain took a gloomier turn when I found myself consumed in reminiscences about that awful night in London.

Witnessing my uncle Felipe kill my father and forcing me to kiss his dead body was the most disturbing event to ever happen to me as a child. Watching that same man drag my best friend away by her hair was the most traumatic event to witness as an adult. It broke my heart. Tanya deserved none of that. None of us deserved what happened that evening.

Suddenly, I was torn from the abyss at the sensation of a masculine hand softly squeezing my thigh several times. I whipped my head around to Valentino, who twisted the corner of his mouth into a faint devilish smirk. Instantly, the rush of anxiety was stripped from me as I focused on his piercing blue eyes.

“Are you okay, bella?” He fidgeted with my engagement ring.

I nodded. “Just sleepy, I think.”

Valentino was no idiot. He knew exactly why I was quiet and staring out the window. So did Joseph. I did not know why I lied, but I did.

Valentino offered a single nod as he hooked a long strand of my hair behind my ear. “How about we head home after lunch.”

“I’m okay with that.” I grinned self-consciously, rubbing the back of my neck where his fingers had grazed my sensitive skin.

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