Chapter 2 - THE BRIDE WHO SAID NO
Luna had imagined Luca noticing her a thousand times.
In none of those fantasies had two hundred strangers turned to stare while she held a tray of shrimp.
Vincent Torino spoke first.
“This is an insult.”
Luca didn't look at him.
“Luna.”
She couldn't move.
He approached, stopping a respectful distance away.
“Will you come with me?”
Every eye followed them.
Luna put the tray on a nearby table.
“No.”
The word escaped before she could reconsider it.
Luca blinked.
Behind him, somebody gasped.
Luna lifted her chin.
“You can't announce that I'm going to marry you as though you're ordering dinner.”
A murmur swept through the ballroom.
For a moment, Luca looked stunned.
Then he lowered his head.
“You're right.”
Vincent laughed sharply.
“Enough of this ridiculous performance.”
Luca turned.
“Be quiet, Vincent.”
The command was soft.
Vincent stopped laughing.
Luca faced Luna again.
“I owe you an apology.”
She swallowed.
“You do.”
“May I speak with you privately?”
Luna glanced toward Maria.
The older woman gave the smallest nod.
“Five minutes,” Luna said.
They entered the conservatory.
Beyond the glass walls, snow drifted across the dark gardens.
Luca stood near a white grand piano.
“I've loved you for almost two years,” he said.
Luna stared.
“That isn't funny.”
“I'm not joking.”
“You've never told me.”
“I was afraid.”
She gave a disbelieving laugh.
“You? Afraid?”
“Of wanting something I couldn't control.”
Luna folded her arms.
“I'm not something you can control.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you do that?”
He looked ashamed.
“Because my father told me I had to choose tonight. And when I saw you standing there, I couldn't bear the thought of pretending I wanted anyone else.”
Luna's anger softened for a moment.
Then she remembered the room outside.
“You made me a target.”
His expression changed.
She continued.
“Those women have powerful families. I have a mother in Mexico and a younger brother trying to finish school.”
“I'll protect them.”
“That isn't the point.”
Luca fell silent.
Luna stepped closer.
“If you love me, then understand this. I won't marry you because you announced it. I won't become a trophy that proves you're different from your father.”
“What do you want?”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“A choice.”
Luca nodded slowly.
“Then you have one.”
She took a breath.
“I want to leave this job.”
His face tightened.
“Because of me?”
“Because I need to know who I am when I'm not your employee.”
Luca looked at her for a long moment.
Then said, “I'll make sure your final wages and references are handled properly. No conditions.”
Luna nodded.
“Thank you.”
As she reached the door, he spoke again.
“Would you consider having coffee with me?”
She turned.
“Not tonight.”
“When?”
“When you learn how to ask without an audience.”
For the first time that evening, Luca smiled.
“A fair answer.”
But outside the conservatory, Vincent Torino had already made a telephone call.
May you like
And the man on the other end had given him one instruction.
“Make the girl disappear before morning.”
