‘I knew I had my parents’ talent but I resisted it for a long time.’
‘I’ve seen the footage of the contest. You’re not a natural in front of the camera.’
One brow rose. ‘Gee, thanks.’
‘What I mean is, you can easily prove to your parents that they’re wasting their time trying to recruit you.’
‘It won’t stop them from trying.’
He shrugged. ‘Then tell them you have a demanding new business partner.’
She shook her head. ‘I’d rather not.’
‘You want to keep me your dirty little secret, tesoro?’
She smiled but the light in her eyes remained dim. ‘Something like that. What about you? Have you always known you wanted to be a warlock?’
He laughed, experiencing a new lightness inside. When her lips curved in response, he forcibly clenched his hands to stop from reaching for her. ‘Ever since I made my first million at eighteen.’
‘Wow, that must have brought the girls running.’
He shrugged, suddenly reluctant to dwell on past conquests. ‘It gave me the ammunition I needed...’
She frowned slightly. ‘Ammunition. To fight your father?’
‘To fight Giacomo, yes.’
‘Why do you call him Giacomo?’
He exhaled. ‘Because he was never a father to me.’
She paused and that soft look entered her eyes. The realisation that he didn’t mind talking to her about his past shocked him. He tried to tell himself it meant nothing, but he knew he was deluding himself.
‘What about your mother? Is she alive?’
Sharp pain pierced his chest. ‘My poor mama is what started this whole nasty business.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She died giving birth to me. I was so determined to make a quick entrance into the world, I caused her to bleed almost to death by the roadside before an ambulance could arrive.’
Her gasp echoed around the sun-dappled deck. ‘Surely, you don’t think that’s your fault?’
‘Giacomo certainly seems to think so.’
It occurred to him that Ruby was the first woman he’d actively conversed with. Normally, any conversation was limited to the bedroom. But with sex off the table it seemed talking was the next best thing.
‘That’s why there’s so much animosity between you two. He blames you for your mother’s death?’
‘It may have started out that way, but our relationship has evolved...mutated.’
‘Into what?’
He started to answer then stopped. ‘Into something that’s no longer clear-cut.’ Shock rolled through him as he accepted the truth. He’d started out wanting to destroy his father. Along the way, and especially lately, the urge to deliver the kill blow had waned. Even toying with his father now no longer held any interest for him.