Page 60 of Veiled Amor

Capone let her set the pace; she stayed silent for a minute more. When she sighed, she lifted her eyes. “He only wants me to go home because I’m an asset. Though, god only knows why. It’s not like I have anything to offer. I’d be surprised if dad loves anyone. There have always been women around; he doesn’t date the same one for long. One of his women joked to dad when I was sixteen how pretty I was and how men would pay a lot to date me. She was never seen again.” Lucia paused and then went on. “A business associate offered dad a million dollars for me in front of everyone. He shot the guy in the head and instructed for the mess to be cleaned up, then they went back to their meeting like nothing happened, you’d assume those actions meant he loved me.”

Capone cursed low and nasty under his breath.

He’d made so many mistakes. He’d have to live with it for not taking Lucia away from Miami with him.

“When—after Santiago, dad made me go back to the main house. It was maybe a month later, he told me to pack a bag because I was going with one of his business friends to help him out.”

Capone’s head shot up, and he felt the pulse of pain in his temple. “Help him out… how?”

“It wasn’t as shady as I first thought, but I had a moment of panic when I was driven to his house. The guy needed a live-in nanny. I didn’t know at the time it was going to be for six months.”

A server came by the table to collect the dishes, and their conversation stalled. When she left, Lucia asked.

“Do you remember Tego Mendes?”

The fuck did he. The guy was bad news in Miami. He was one step down from Nicholas for being despicable. The talk was that his wife died under mysterious circumstances.

“It was his children I was taking care of.”

Goddamn. Capone felt the chill go through him. Her father had thrown her to the wolves. He was only grateful she was sitting here, able to tell him the story. “Were you treated well?”

“Oh, yes.” She smiled. “It was freeing to be away from home. I enjoyed looking after the kids, and Tego was good to me.”

The way she said the other man’s name put bile into Capone’s throat. When he stared at her, she looked up and blushed. He didn’t need confirmation to know there had been something between them.

The rage of jealousy roared through his ears.

He was such a fucking hypocrite, expecting Lucia not to have relationships. He’d always wanted her to be happy, but he knew it would kill him slowly to see another man was giving her that happiness.

Even now, as she told him about those six months watching Mendes’ kids, he had the urge to rip the other man’s name from her tongue.

His veins burned, but he had to ask. “Was there something between you?”

She blushed hard again. Capone fucking hated it, and he had no right to feel jealousy burning his skin off. She didn’t belong to him.

Tell that to his thumping heart.

“Not really.”

The burn hurt. And Capone’s voice didn’t sound like his when he prompted her. “Not really?”

“I liked him; he was sweet to me. I think more than anything, it was nice having someone treat me decently. But no, there was nothing physical between us. He made some suggestions about how he’d like that. Then I heard him on a call with my father, offering him two million for me. The next day, dad had me picked up from Tego’s house. Tego came by a few times to get me back. But when a man offers to buy you, it’s not a good feeling.”

Capone swore under his breath. His fist bunching on the table. “The asshole tried to buy you?”

“He said it was to get me away from dad.”

A tick worked his jaw, and he felt his eyes burning out of his fucking head as he looked across at her sweet face. In his mind, he shifted Santiago out of the way, and he put her together with Tego Mendes and all his organs boiled acid.

Hated it.

Fucking hated it.

Did she want to be with that guy?

Capone was a progressive man. Or so he thought. He opened doors and pulled out chairs for women; he protected them, was never abusive. But he hadn’t risen to the paragon heights of being the fucking man to accept his woman talking about being with someone else.

His woman.