She gave him a very sarcastic thumbs-up. “Cool. Next time, get her name tattooed on your bicep. We don’t send emails to the entire company on a whim, Luca. I think you know the minimum you should have done was run it by me, but really, legal should have been pulled in as well.”
His fingers curled into my hip. “In the future, I’ll do that. But what’s done is done. I can’t exactly unspill this news.”
I slid my hand over his, weaving our fingers together. “I would have stopped him if I’d known he was going to do it. But we both know when Luca has an idea—”
“There’s no stopping him,” Clara finished. “Yes. Thirty-one years of Luca Rossi has taught me that.”
Luca cleared his throat. “Well, you’ve met. Now you can go, and we can all get back to work.”
She scoffed. “Do you actually believe that’s the end of it? I have questions, Luca, and you will answer them.” Then she smiled at me, and there was a heavy dose of kindness behind it. “You’re beautiful and elegant and seem to like my brother for some reason. I’ll get your number from Luca—”
He chuffed. “I don’t want the two of you meeting without me.”
“Bypass Luca and email me. It’s my first and last name at Rossi Motors.”
Her brows rose. “You’re a Rossi employee?”
“Only a temp.”
Luca cleared his throat again. “Actually, as of five minutes ago, your new email is Saoirse Rossi at Rossi Motors dot com.”
I bit down on my tongue. Hard. Luca was obviously used to making unilateral decisions, but that wasn’t going to fly. Still, I knew enough to discuss this in private.
Clara pressed her hands together. “You’ll have an email from me with all my contact information very soon.” She jabbed a finger at her brother. “We’ll talk later.”
“Uh, Luca.” Miller held up a finger. “We need to set aside some time to discuss the Grave Business Report. They published an article—”
“Miller.” Clara’s sharp tone and clenched jaw drew everyone’s eyes to her and stopped her husband in his tracks.
What the hell is that about?
Luca filled the thick silence. “Send me the link and your thoughts, please. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have the chance.”
Mollified, Miller nodded and let his wife lead the way out of the office, his hand on the small of her back. As soon as they crossed the threshold, they went their separate ways without a word to each other.
Luca circled his desk, taking his seat behind it. I stood there with my hands on my hips.
He raised his eyes to me. “I can’t do this right now.”
“Are you going to actually come home tonight?”
“I come home every night.”
“Pfft. After I’m asleep, and you leave before I come downstairs. Can you try to be home earlier so we can make a plan?”
He folded his hands on a tidy stack of papers. “I’ll be home by seven. We can have dinner together and talk.” Then he waved me off. “Order takeout. I’m good with whatever you like.”
I blinked at him, not feeling like much of a fan of CEO Luca. “Am I being dismissed?”
“You can stand there for as long as you want to, but I have a lot I need to get through in order to leave the office before your eight o’clock bedtime.”
“I don’t go to bed at eight.” It was more like ten, but still. Couldn’t a girl like her sleep without being judged?
“Close enough. I’ll see you tonight, Saoirse.”
Spinning on my toes, I headed for the door. With my hand on the knob, I looked over my shoulder. Luca’s eyes were on me.
“Your sister seems pretty amazing.”
He lowered his chin, his mouth curving slightly. “Yeah, she is.”
“Your brother-in-law, though…” I rolled my lips over my teeth, and Luca’s shoulders vibrated with silent laughter.
“Yeah, he is.”
I was sifting through Luca’s pile of takeout menus he kept in one of his kitchen drawers. It seemed, like me, he was a fan of holding a menu in his hands rather than scrolling through them on his phone.
I was thinking we’d have burgers for dinner. I had no idea if Luca even liked hamburgers, but he’d left me in charge, so he’d have to live with whatever I decided.
A knock on the front door interrupted my rumination. Before I could even hop up to answer it, I heard the sound of the dead bolt clicking, followed by two voices.
“Luca?” A woman.
“He’s not home yet. I told you that.” A man.
Oh shit. What was I supposed to do? I was in the kitchen, so I had my choice of weapons, but maybe hiding was the best plan. Thieves didn’t typically steal from pantries, did they?
My feet were still glued to the floor in panic when the intruders rounded the corner into the kitchen. The three of us stared at each other for a long, tension-filled moment.
As I took them in, it became crystal clear they weren’t thieves. The woman looked to be a well-kept sixty, with a thick, creamy blonde bob and elegant understated makeup. There was nothing understated about the rock on her finger or the gleam of rubies in her ears.
The man was of a similar age. Dressed in tailored trousers and a starched button-down, he towered over the petite women by his side. His salt-and-pepper hair and the subtle wrinkles on his angular face did nothing to take away from the stark resemblance to his son.
There was no question these were Luca’s parents.
I raised my trembling hand. “Hi. I’m Saoirse. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Rossi.”
His mother covered her mouth with one hand and clutched her husband’s arm with the other. Mr. Rossi’s reaction was more subtle, rocking back on his heels as he took me in.
“We thought Luca was playing a prank on us.” He cleared his throat. “It appears his news is legitimate. You’re married to my son.”
I nodded once. “I am. And believe me when I say I wish you hadn’t found out this way.”
Mrs. Rossi sucked in a breath, and I braced myself.
It was a good thing I did because the next thing she did was rush at me.
Chapter Sixteen
Luca
I made it home by seven thirty. Later than planned, but Saoirse would still be awake, and we could get this hashed out.
The scene I walked in on was not the one I expected.
The first sign something was off was the laughter coming from the kitchen. Then there were the scents of cooking and the pop of oil in a pan.
Kicking off my shoes and dropping my bag, I rounded the corner to be greeted by the sight of my mother and Saoirse standing side by side at the stove while my father leaned against the counter, watching over them.
He was the first to see me. Instead of the frown of admonishment I’d expected, he grinned at me.
It was a punch to the gut. His smiles had been few and far between since his heart attack. He wasn’t adjusting well to all the changes in his life. Yet here he was, standing in my kitchen, looking as happy as I’d seen him in ages.
“Luca’s home,” he announced.
My mother and Saoirse whirled around at the same time. I walked over, pecking my mother’s cheek before moving on to my wife.