Pretending with the Greek Billionaire(69)

Joe nodded. Luca rubbed at his eyes, despair filling him. “Maybe it won’t even matter. Even if she forgives me, she won’t come back and I can’t blame her for that. I can’t make the vultures stop swarming. They’ll always be there, taking pictures, hounding her and the kids. What kind of life would I be asking them to share? No matter what I can give her, how much I love her, it’s not worth it. She and the girls deserve a better man than me. I’m not what they need.”

“I think you sell yourself short, sir.”

Luca snorted and shook his head. “Not something I’m often accused of.”

Joe gave him a sad smile. “An unfortunate shortcoming in your life, sir. You’re a good man. A little misguided, perhaps. Immature at times. Impetuous. Arrogant. A bit spoiled.”

Luca cocked an eyebrow. “Where are you going with this, Joe?”

Joe cocked his head. “Miss Constance and her girls need a good man who loves them. That’s all. Everything else will work itself out. And whatever else you are, sir, you are a good man. Who loves them.”

Luca pulled the jewelry box toward him and opened it. Inside lay a diamond and platinum locket. He popped it open and gazed at the picture of Constance and Elena he’d had placed inside. He rubbed a thumb across their images.

“Will it be enough?” he asked quietly.

“I think those seven special ladies need someone to love them more than anything, sir. If you love them, it will be enough.”

Luca stood, hope flickering in his heart again. Faintly, but it was enough.

“What’s the plan, sir?”

Luca grinned at Joe. “I’m going to show her that I care about the things she cares about, that my life can be about more than photographers and fame. I’m going to do what I can to make my world a safe place for her and the girls, and then I’m going to win her back.”

…

Constance fiddled with the embroidery on her dress while she waited for the Reverend Mother to come in. It had been three months since she’d sat in that office waiting to see if Luca would show up. She flinched away from using his name, even in her head. After all these months, she’d hoped life would return to normal, that she’d forget him, or at the very least that the memories would have faded so the mere mention of him didn’t strike her like a stab to her heart.

But they hadn’t faded. She still dreamed of him almost every night. She still woke in the morning, her heart and body aching from missing him. He’d done what he promised; he hadn’t let her lose her girls. Constance didn’t know how much he’d donated to the organization, but it was enough for them to overlook anything that had occurred and keep her on as a House Mother.

It wasn’t enough to erase those images from the internet. But he’d been right. After a while, other scandals had risen to take their place. They’d never go completely away. Some idiot would post one every now and then. But for the most part, it was as if Luca had never been in her life.

After several shots of her without her engagement ring, they’d finally gotten the hint that she and Luca were no longer together. She’d kept close to home, only venturing out when necessary. Eventually, the press had decided she was boring and no longer relevant and had left her alone.

The odd thing was that Luca had also apparently dropped off the face of the earth. She knew he’d been in London and New York. There’d been shots of him, looking heartbreakingly handsome in a tailored suit, going into his father’s office building. A few of him buying coffee. Walking down the street glowering at the cameras. But no parties. No clubs. No women hanging on his arm.

Constance was grateful for that last one, even if she had no claim on him. Still, in the first few weeks especially, it would have killed something in her to see him move on so quickly. Not that there had been anything to move on from. Their relationship hadn’t been real. They were both free to find other people, or so she kept telling herself.

He’d tried contacting her a few times in those first few weeks. He’d sent her flowers, signed books, even an exquisite diamond and platinum locket with a picture of her holding Elena that day on the beach. That one had been hard to send back. It wasn’t only gorgeous but an incredibly thoughtful gift that had broken another little piece of her heart, but she couldn’t accept it. And he’d stopped trying.

That was a good thing. It needed to happen so they could both go on with their lives. But she’d still cried herself to sleep the night she’d realized she wouldn’t hear from him again.

The office door opened and the Reverend Mother came in. She waved Constance back into her seat when she stood and Constance perched on the edge of her chair, her legs bouncing, her nerves getting the better of her.