Page 20 of Veiled Amor

Now he was replaying every conversation they’d ever had and coming up with more questions. Questions he should have asked a long time ago, instead of being a prick who avoided anything worth a damn.

Under his breath, he cursed and rubbed a hand on his clipped goatee before he strode to the armchair. Plopping his ass down, he spread his legs, resting both forearms on his thighs before cutting his gaze to her.

She looked nervous, chewing on her lower lip, hands agitated on her lap, almost as if selecting her words.

That was Capone’s doing, he realized.

He’d put them into a tight box a long time ago, dictating what asinine shit could be discussed. She’d tried many times to talk about that night, and he’d pushed it aside, telling her it was a mistake not worth talking about.

He was a piece of fucking shit.

Had he delved into her life and not recoiled from asking her personal questions for fear she was involved with a guy who he’d want to shoot between the eyebrows, he would have all the answers now.

No time like the fucking present to change his ways, he thought.

“You said you overheard Nicholas talking to a guy.”

“Yes. I’ve seen him at the house before. He’s from Texas, kind of slimy and rich.”

“And they were discussing you?”

“Yep.” She popped the last letter, making Capone notice the pinkness of her lips. “Dad was offering me up on a platter to sweeten the deal. Now it makes sense why he wanted me to host dinners when the guy came over. He was probably trotting me out like a show pony.” Any other time he would have grinned at the way she scrunched up her pert little nose in disgust. Capone was feeling anything but amused.

He was fucking furious beneath his calm exterior.

Did he need another reason to put Nicholas in a grave? No, but now he had two.

“I can’t go through that again, Gi. He doesn’t listen to what I want; he thinks it’s my duty as his obedient daughter to follow his directions, but making me marry someone again is all for his almighty profit.”

That word again.

He straightened, feeling something stir in his chest.

She would have told him had she been married a second time, wouldn’t she?

Despite sharing a surname and one illicit night, they were virtual strangers. A ten-minute generic call every week didn’t a friendship make, and now he regretted the wasted time.

“You keep sayingagainlike he’s done this shit before. Explain.” He gruffed too harshly, and he saw her wince as if he’d put a hand on her.

Capone could blame his mood on the wedding earlier that day, but it had nothing to do with Rider’s nuptials and everything to do with the woman before him. She unsettled him.

“I thought maybe you’d guessed over the years when you wouldn’t let me talk about it.”

“What do you mean? Did Nicholas exchange you as part of a deal? We talk every week, Lucia. Why haven’t you told me?”

Some of her visible nerves disappeared when he watched her pretty eyes roll as she scoffed a noise. “You hardly would have stayed on the line had I mentioned something not on your approved list, Giancarlo. I knew the rules.”

Goddammit. He sighed, letting his head hang low before looking over. “I’m listening now. How bad has it been at home?”

“I’m not beaten or mistreated, if that’s what you’re asking. Compared to many, I’ve been spoiled.”

“But?”

“It’s not my life, Gi. It’s never been my life.”

“What kind of life has it been?”

“Suffocating.”