“Girls, why don’t you take a break for a minute? Go make sure your belongings are put away neatly in your rooms.”
She waited until they’d scurried off before turning back to him. “Look, I know you’re angry,” Constance said, pulling him out of his daydream and back to the nightmare of reality, “but you told me I could get rid of the dangerous stuff. I was doing what you said.”
“Oh, don’t give me that innocent act. That would be like me telling you to kill a spider and you burning my house down around my ears.”
“It’s not that bad,” she said with a little pout.
“Not that bad? Not that bad? Are you serious? I meant you could put away the matches, maybe even lock the liquor up in the cabinet. I did not give you permission to clear out my house.”
“I’m sorry, Luca, but I cannot allow the children around these things. You had an antique fishing spear above your mantel for heaven’s sake!”
“The children should be well enough behaved to stay out of other people’s belongings.”
“They are well behaved, usually.”
“Then there shouldn’t be an issue with a spear on the wall as a decoration, or a few R-rated movies on my shelves. Or liquor in the liquor cabinet where it belongs.”
Constance stared him down. There was quite a bit more he’d like to say to her but he’d wait to see if she’d crack first.
“All right, I’ll put some of it back.”
He opened his mouth to argue but she cut him off.
“I’ll concede most of it, as long as you put the movies on a high shelf or something and keep the liquor locked up, and promise not to drink around the children.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. I’m responsible for these children. I won’t have them subjected to a drunken…” She gestured at him, unable or unwilling to finish her sentence.
“A drunken what?” he asked, his anger fading into amusement. The woman had balls, he’d give her that.
She huffed. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I’m afraid I do. Not a very flattering image you have of me.”
“I don’t mean any offense by it,” she said.
“Too bad. Offense taken.” No way was he letting her out of this that easy.
But she surprised him again.
“Fine, be offended, as long as you abide by my wishes.” She folded her arms across her chest, putting her metaphorical foot down.
Two could play at that game. “This is my house. You’ll abide by my wishes.”
“You’re the one who wanted the children as part of the arrangement.”
“That’s not true. I just wanted you.”
She blinked up at him, her lovely mouth open with an inaudible gasp.
“The kids were Joe’s idea,” he added.
They both turned to look at him.
“It’s going lovely, too, if I do say so,” Joseph said with a pleased smile. “Nothing but good press today.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. The man was diabolical. Brilliant. Indispensable. But diabolical.
“As I was saying,” Constance continued. “If you want the children to be part of this, you’ve got to be willing to make some concessions.”
“Your concessions are turning my life upside down.”
Her lips twitched upward. “Yes, children have a way of doing that.”
Reminding him yet again why he never wanted any. They’d been in his life only a few hours and he didn’t even recognize his own home anymore. Granted, if he had his own children they’d hopefully arrive one at a time. Maybe they were easier to handle if you started out slow. Then again, the sight of the box Constance had going, full of his favorite things that were apparently not kid-friendly, was a nice visual of what he’d have to give up for the privilege of signing away his life.
“You’re enjoying this,” he said. “In fact, I think you’re just doing it to torture me.”
“That wasn’t my intention, but I’ll admit, it’s a nice fringe benefit.”
He tried to glare at her but he couldn’t maintain the expression while she gazed up at him with that flirty, mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
She stepped closer and put her hand on his arm.
He looked down at her in surprise.
“I’m not asking for much here, Luca. Don’t drink or smoke around the children. Keep the dangerous substances under lock and key just in case. And the coffee table stays gone. That thing is a million stitches just waiting to happen.”
“All right. I’ll concede. But…” he said, stopping her before she could let her triumph show too much. “You’ll have to concede something as well.”