Page 34 of The Sicilian’s Deal For 'I Do'

She tried again. ‘People aren’t just good, or just bad. Good people can make bad decisions, and vice versa, but when you love someone, you have to accept them, all parts of them, and I do. I see them as they are: imperfect, well-meaning people. My parents.’ She shrugged again. ‘I love them.’

‘And if your father has made very bad decisions?’

She narrowed her gaze. ‘Has it ever occurred to you that you’re wrong about them? That you made a mistake?’

His nostrils flared.

‘You’ve already admitted that you were wrong about me,’ she pointed out, gesturing to the bed, laden with gifts. ‘So what if you were wrong about them, too?’

So much hung on his acceptance of that.

‘I wasn’t.’

She shook her head. ‘I gather you think Dad lied to you about the company’s worth. You’ve accused him of attempting to scam you. But how can that be? An independent auditor verified the value prior to agreeing to sell it to you. I know my father was very stressed about ensuring all of the financial reports were done accurately.’

‘Or perhaps he was stressed for reasons beyond your comprehension?’

She shook her head slowly, wanting to immediately dismiss Luca’s insinuation even when she had to acknowledge there was a small possibility she’d misunderstood the behind-the-scenes dealings of her father. After all, Gianni had made a point of keeping Mia away from the financial operations of the business. She was not a signatory on any of the corporate accounts, her role was confined to business development.

‘Tell me what you believe he did,’ she said quietly, her finger lifting to the largest diamond and pressing to it, remembering the strength and simplicity of gemstones such as this, trying to build that inside her.

He looked torn, as though he wanted to tell her but also didn’t. She lifted her hand to his arm, squeezed. ‘I’m stronger than you think. I can handle it.’

‘I believe you’re strong. I just don’t know if it’s your burden to carry.’

‘You don’t get to make that determination.’

‘With respect, I do.’ He took a step backwards, dislodging her hand. ‘I know what it’s like to lose a parent—I don’t mean to death, but to lose respect for them. Your relationship with your father is your own to navigate—and you seem to be doing a good job. You are far better at accepting nuance and imperfection than I am, Mia.’

‘But you’re keeping something from me that has to do with the company. The value of the company and the sale he’s about to make to Lorenzo. Something that will affect my marriage to him?’

A muscle jerked in Luca’s jaw. ‘It’s not my place to get involved,cara. Please, leave it at that.’

God, but how he wanted to. He knew he’d done the right thing, to let Mia work it out for herself, to ask questions not of Luca but rather of her father and get the answers that would help her understand why Luca had walked away. And if the old man didn’t speak the truth? If he continued to lie to Mia, for the sake of the business deal and the marriage? Desperate people did desperate things and the company’s financial status was dire. It was a miracle they’d managed to hobble along throughout this year.

But that didn’t mean Luca could be the one to tear it all down for Mia.

How would she feel to realise everything was built on a house of cards? That her father’s prosperity was an illusion, that her marriage was destined to fail—at least, that was likely, if Lorenzo was currently blind to the truth of things.

So the alternative was not to tell her. To let her marry a man who might come to resent and hate her, as he would her parents, once he realised that Marini Enterprises was accumulating losses faster than children did sweets.

With a groan, he flicked off the shower, stared at the wall, his body tensed, his mind running three steps ahead. He wanted Mia to be happy. She deserved that. Would Lorenzo be the answer? She seemed to think so. So why did that bother Luca?

He reached for his towel, frustration making his movements brusque.

None of this was his problem.

He was a man who’d sworn off emotional involvement, who was a lone wolf and always would be. What Mia did with her life after this, quite simply, wasn’t his concern.

Mia couldn’t believe how adept she was becoming at compartmentalising her feelings into different boxes. On the most superficial of levels, the easiest to understand was how Luca made her feel physically. That was a no-brainer. When they were together, they sparked, they buzzed, electricity arced in the air between them and they acted on instinct alone. It was sublime and irresistible.

But when they were apart, for even the smallest amount of time, Mia’s thoughts began to spin and twist and turn, and doubts grew, heavy and insistent, so a sense of foreboding was her companion, every minute of those moments, until Luca reappeared and rational, logical thinking was well out of her reach.

‘This place is like heaven on earth,’ she murmured, on the edge of the pool, staring out at the ocean.

It really was.

But in the back of her mind, there was the beating of a drum, because they’d been here six nights. Tomorrow, they’d leave this paradise, this exemption from reality, and return to Palermo, where her life, her parents, her impending wedding, would all be waiting for her.

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