Her mouth dropped open but before she could slap him as he rightly deserved, he stepped back.
Her eyes shot daggers at him. “I wouldn’t want to damage the paint job. What is with this car, anyway? For someone who acts like he doesn’t want attention, you’re sure going about not getting it the wrong way. You could buy your own island for what you probably spent on this thing. You don’t even really need a car here.”
“It’s pretty. Leave my toys alone,” he said, opening the door for her. “Are you coming?” He pointed to the passenger seat.
She rolled her eyes, but she got in the car, slamming the door rather harder than necessary.
Luca didn’t have to fake the smile on his face as he moved around to the driver’s side. Constance might wear the prim and proper schoolteacher façade like a coat of armor, but beneath it was a hellcat waiting to be unleashed. The little glimpses he’d already seen fired him up like no one he’d ever met before. Then again, the thought of her kids entering the picture put a serious damper on things. His life wasn’t built for kids. Even if it was, he was definitely not father material. Never had been and never would be.
He just hoped it was all worth it, because as appealing as Constance was, having to deal with her kids terrified him to no end.
Chapter Five
“I can’t go ring shopping yet.”
Luca rubbed his temples. “This must be what an aneurysm feels like.”
“Oh, stop being so dramatic. You’re worse than my girls.”
His mouth dropped open but before he could respond to that little barb, she continued. “I have to go meet with my father. He made a trip to the island especially to meet with me. I need to fill him in on all of…this,” she said, waving her hand between them. “He’s already determined to ship me back to the States after seeing the pictures from last night. I’m not looking forward to telling him what’s come of it, but I’d like to tell him what’s going on before he sees more pictures of me in the magazines, only this time sporting some huge shiny ring.”
“We’ve gone from not wanting a ring to want something huge and shiny, huh?”
She shrugged. “Not at all. I just figured that would be the direction you’d be gravitating to.”
He didn’t really want to point out the obvious, but he needed to make sure she was completely on board with the whole plan. “You can’t tell him the truth.”
Her mouth pursed in a thin line. “I’m aware of that, and believe me, as much as I hate lying to my father, the last thing I want to do is tell him the truth about this mess. We might not be all that close these days, but he’s my father. I can’t just get engaged and not tell him.”
He frowned, wondering what the deal was between her and her dad. Before he could say anything she blew out an exasperated breath. “He has a demanding job. I have six kids he didn’t entirely approve of me signing up for. We’re busy people so we don’t talk much. But still…”
He gave her a sharp nod. “Yeah, I understand. All right, then. We’ll go to brunch with your father and then we’ll go shopping.”
“Wait, what? No. You don’t need to come.”
His eyebrow raised. Did he detect a note of panic in her voice? “What’s the matter? You don’t want your dad to meet me? Isn’t it customary for the fiancé to meet the father? In fact, I should probably ask his permission, shouldn’t I?”
She paled and her eyes grew wide. “Please don’t even joke about that.”
Luca frowned. He’d been playing with her a bit, yes. But she seemed genuinely upset by the idea that he meet her dad, and that seemed odd. And a bit insulting. “Why don’t you want me to meet him? Is he really going to be that angry? Are you afraid of him?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Well, then what is it? I’m not going to send you in there alone if he’s going to be upsetting you.”
The surprise on her face softened and she laughed and shook her head. “I’m…flattered you’re concerned for me. But I’ll be fine, really. It’s just not every day a girl has to sit down and explain a bunch of pictures that are splattered all over the internet and then tell her dad that she’s engaged to a rather famous…person…such as yourself…” Her cheeks flamed. As well they should.
He choked back the first few responses that came to mind. He couldn’t really blame her for not wanting to tell her dad about him. He didn’t have the best reputation. And he was blackmailing her, after all.