He crosses his arms and leans back in his seat, his eyes on mine. There’s something captivating about Luca Windsor. He has this habit of making women feel like they have his full attention, and I’m not immune to it either, despite my best attempts to resist him. “Dinner? When do I ever have dinner plans that you aren’t aware of? I don’t date, and you know it. There’s no point, anyway.”
I blink in surprise. Right. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never had a girlfriend. The Windsor marriages are all arranged, so eventually, he’ll have to marry a woman of his grandmother’s choosing. Probably a rich heiress of some sort that can further expand their empire. I can see why someone like Luca wouldn’t bother dating because of it. No doubt he finds it an inefficient waste of his time.
I place my food on his desk and unpack it, secretly excited as I open the butter container my abuela packed for me. Luca looks surprised when I give him a taquito wrapped in foil, and I smile at him politely. What did he think I was about to give him? A handful of butter? “My grandmother made it, and I don’t enjoy eating alone. Indulge me?”
He hesitates for a moment, and then he nods. I suppose it isn’t often that we find ourselves together unexpectedly, without a specific work agenda or social obligation to fulfill.
We eat in silence for a while, and I take a moment to study him. He’s irritatingly handsome, with that strong jaw, that straight nose, and his thick dark hair. His good looks don’t make up for his complete lack of personality, though. I can’t even imagine him acting affectionate. Does he even know how to smile, or have his facial muscles completely atrophied due to lack of use?
I sigh and look away. I suppose he’s also intelligent beyond compare, loyal to a fault, and he loves his family more than anything. His personality is abrasive, and he’s far too blunt for his own good, but he isn’t cruel or unfair.
Even back when he so desperately tried to make me quit my job when I was first hired, everything he did only helped me in the long run — the multiple languages he made me learn, the college night classes he forced me to take, and even the MBA he asked me to do. None of it was to my detriment, even if I did despise him for it at the time. I hate to admit it, but he’s going to make some poor girl very happy someday.
“Do you know who she is? The woman you’ll marry?” The question escapes my lips before I even realize it, and the hint of despair that accompanies it surprises me. I only ever ask Luca personal questions when I need the information to do my job, but I couldn’t help myself.
He freezes for a moment, but then he shakes his head. “No idea, but since Ares’s wedding is coming up soon, I’ll probably be next.”
I lean back in my chair and nod, my thoughts wandering. “Do you think Raven will do it?” I ask, my voice soft. A week ago, Ares’s fiancée called off the wedding, and Raven, one of my closest friends and the bride’s younger sister, was asked to take her place as Ares’s wife. It’s the only way for both families to abide by the terms of their merger. The merged company was meant to fall into the hands of any kids resulting from this marriage, and without a marriage between the Windsors and the Du Ponts, there’ll be no merger.
I know more than anyone just how much Raven loves Ares, but I also know how hard it’d be for her to marry a man that thinks he’s in love with her sister.
“Yes,” Luca says, his voice unwavering. “Raven and Ares are meant to be together. The only ones who can’t see it are them. Ultimately, this’ll work out for the better.”
I stare at him, feeling oddly uneasy. He’s right to say that he’s probably next. Once Ares is married, their grandmother’s attention will fall to Luca. What would it be like if Luca were married? What kind of woman will end up becoming his wife?
I wonder if he’d treat her with the same tenderness and kindness that he reserves for his sister and grandmother. The thought of it… it doesn’t sit well with me, and I can’t quite figure out why.
Chapter Five
Luca
The atmosphere is tense as my brothers and I take our places at the end of the aisle, by Ares’s side. An arranged marriage is hard enough as it is, but not knowing who is going to walk down that aisle today must be nerve-racking. For Ares’s sake, I hope it’s Raven, and not the woman he was supposed to marry. None of us ever liked Hannah anyway.
My eyes roam over the gorgeous vineyard the wedding is being held at, the feeling bittersweet. It’s a beautiful wedding, befitting both the Windsor and Du Pont names, but it feels empty. It’s all a big pretense, a merger with two lives as collateral. This is how it’s always been for my family, but until now, it didn’t feel quite as real.
Ares is the first one of us to get married, but each of us will have to follow in his footsteps. I’ll likely be next. If it were up to me, I’d never get married at all. I have no desire to tie myself down with archaic contracts, and I most certainly don’t want or need anyone invading my personal space until my dying day. I can’t imagine anything worse.
I run a hand through my hair, a sense of inexplicable loss washing over me. My grandmother and each of her siblings were in arranged marriages, and so were my parents. It’s how we keep the Windsor family well-connected and invincible. It’s how it’s always been, and none of us will stray from the paths paved for us, but I can’t help but wonder what it was like for my parents. Thoughts of them no longer torment me, but on days like today, I miss them. If they were here today, what would they have to say to Ares, to all of us?
“It’s for the best,” Lex says, and I nod in agreement.
“She might still change her mind,” Ares replies, and we all shake our heads in unison. I fucking hope Hannah doesn’t change her mind.
“She won’t,” Zane adds. “And someday you’ll thank her for it.”
Dion inhales deeply and turns to face Ares. “Whatever happens today, Ares, remember that you’re a Windsor, and none of us choose our wives. It’s a tradition that’s served us well for generations, so have some faith, okay?”
Ares glares at him. “I’ll be sure to remind you of that when it’s your turn.” Even from here, I can see Faye, Dion’s fiancée, sitting in the back. He’s the only one of us, other than Ares, whose engagement had been decided upon years ago. Despite that, he and his fiancée barely speak. I suppose part of that is because he lives in London, but I wonder if there’s more to it.
Does seeing her remind him of our parents? She lost her mother in the same plane crash that took our parents from us, after all. It’s hard enough to make an arranged marriage work without that kind of baggage. I run a hand through my hair and shake my head. He can’t evade her forever.
“Would it really be so bad to marry Raven?” Lex asks. “How about I take your place?”
Ares is the calmest of us, trained to keep his face completely expressionless as he faces the media on all our behalf’s, but Lexington’s words make him lose his cool. Pure fury distorts his face as he turns toward Lex.
“What?” Lex asks provocatively. “Can’t stand the idea of Raven being with anyone else? I thought you didn’t want her as your wife?”