Luca’s frown deepened. He didn’t like her assessment, but again, she wasn’t wrong.
“You wanted to be seen differently. So you found a fake fiancée and a bunch of children and let the vultures loose, and already the tide’s turned. The party boy has become the responsible family man, someone people would be comfortable with running their company. Like it or not, what you do matters to people. What you do influences their decisions and actions. So how would it be if the party boy turned family man becomes the philanthropist, championing those in need?”
Luca stared at her, not sure how to respond. She was right. Not a fun thought to admit to, but there it was, and it had been something he’d been feeling for a long time—a desire to have more to show for his life. To have something associated with his name that his mother would have been proud of, something worthwhile.
“You have power, Luca. More than perhaps you know. You have the power to lead by your example. What you need to decide is which example do you want people to follow?”
Her eyes searched his with an intensity that made him want to squirm. He stood and brushed the sand off his ass. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with Joe for a minute.”
She looked like she was going to say something but he didn’t give her the chance. He needed to get out of there before he did something really ridiculous like pledge his fortune to charity and vow to become a monk.
Joe fell into line with him the moment he walked by.
“Joe, no more photo ops. Cancel the rest of the sessions we had scheduled.”
“Sir?” Joe asked, his eyes wide.
Luca almost snorted. All the things this man had seen him do and he’d never batted an eye, but this shocked him.
“I’m done. I don’t want the photographers around anymore. They’ve gotten enough pictures. Call them off.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, still frowning. “Will Miss McMurty be leaving then?”
“No,” Luca said, too quickly. A slight twitch of Joe’s eyebrow indicated he’d caught the panic in that word. Shit.
“No,” he said, more calmly. “We’ll keep up the engagement story for now. But we don’t need an audience anymore.”
Joe nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Luca nodded and turned back to look at where Constance sat, gently rocking Elena. His heart jumped again and he turned his gaze out to the sea for a moment before addressing Joe again.
“Make sure Constance and the kids get back safely. I have a few things I need to take care of.”
“But sir…”
“I’ll take security with me.”
“Yes, sir,” Joe said, his brow furrowed.
Luca didn’t bother to explain himself. He had too many thoughts and long-forgotten emotions running through him. He needed a little space to sort them all out. Hopefully when he came back, he’d have everything under control again.
Because God help him if he didn’t.
Chapter Fourteen
Several hours later and Luca still didn’t have his shit pulled together. Coming home only made it worse.
Walking in the door, he tripped over a Barbie doll but kept his swearing to an internal monologue in case any of the children were running around. There were signs of them everywhere. Sweaters and shoes and toys and crayon drawings. He didn’t even know where it all came from, although it seemed Joe always had a new toy in his hand when he’d come back from wherever he disappeared to during his off hours. And yes, Luca may have been guilty of that, too.
Still, he hadn’t thought they’d accumulated so much. Signs of himself in the house had dwindled. The spear from over the mantel had been removed to storage along with the bottles of liquor that Constance had confiscated the first day and anything else that could remotely do any harm to the kids.
Coming home to a house changed by the eight females currently in his life didn’t bother him. But shouldn’t it have? He should have been irritated that his space had been invaded, that they had come in and changed everything. But he wasn’t. If anything, it was comforting to come home and know the house was full and he wasn’t alone.
He tried to shake off whatever was going on with him. He just needed some sleep. He’d wandered the island for hours, riding his motorcycle as fast as the streets and trails would allow. He’d ignored every attempt his so-called friends had made in drawing him back into the party life, with relatively little effort. In fact, it was surprising how little he missed that scene. The slow seduction going on was killing him but the growing closeness with Constance had made him happier than anything else in his life ever had. A realization that terrified him more than he’d like to admit.