Chapter 9 - THE NEW CHINA
Two months later.
The Gold Coast mansion looked different in the morning light. The heavy velvet drapes had been pulled back, letting the sun pour into the grand foyer. The oppressive, suffocating weight of Teresa's influence was gone.
I sat at the mahogany table in the dining room, sipping coffee. I wasn't wearing a housekeeper's uniform. I wore a comfortable cashmere sweater.
My father was in the adjacent sunroom, completing his physical therapy with a top-tier specialist. Luca had paid every medical bill, hired the best doctors in the country, and moved my father into the guest wing of the estate.
Footsteps echoed on the marble floor. Luca walked into the dining room. He looked rested. The dark circles under his eyes had vanished.
He was carrying a small, dark-haired boy on his shoulders. Leo laughed, pulling on Luca's ears. "Uncle Luca, faster!"
"I'm going as fast as I can, monster," Luca chuckled, swinging the boy down and setting him in a chair next to me.
Leo immediately reached for a piece of toast from the breakfast spread.
Luca poured himself a cup of coffee and sat across from me. He looked at me, a warm, genuine smile spreading across his face. It was a smile I had never seen when he was with Vanessa.
"How is your father doing today?" Luca asked.
"He walked across the room without his cane this morning," I said, beaming. "The doctors say he'll make a full recovery by the end of the year."
"Good," Luca nodded. "He's a tough man. I like him."
We sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
Since the night of the engagement dinner, everything had changed. I had become Luca's closest confidante. I helped him manage the legitimate business fronts of the Moretti empire. I helped him navigate the chaotic, wonderful process of raising a toddler. And somewhere along the way, the lines between boss and employee had blurred into something entirely different.
Something deeper.
Luca reached across the table and gently covered my hand with his. His thumb traced the knuckles of my fingers.
"Emma," he said softly.
"Yes, Luca?"
"I have a meeting with the commission tonight. A formal dinner to finalize the new boundaries now that Teresa's faction is dismantled."
"I'll make sure Marcus's replacement has the security detail ready," I said professionally.
Luca shook his head. "That's not what I mean."
He looked directly into my eyes. "I want you to sit next to me at the table. Not as my assistant. Not as my friend. As my partner."
My heart did a familiar, fluttering skip. "Luca, I'm a housekeeper's daughter. The commission expects you to be with someone... connected."
"The commission can go to hell," Luca said firmly. "My mother left me a note telling me to find a woman who isn't embarrassed by where I came from, and who respects the people I love. You saved my life. You saved my nephew. You stood down the Russian syndicate with a gun you didn't know how to shoot."
He smiled, a tender, loving expression. "There is no one else I want sitting beside me."
I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. I turned my hand over and laced my fingers through his. "I'd be honored to sit beside you, Luca."
Leo slammed his cup of orange juice down, breaking the romantic tension. "More juice, please!" the toddler demanded.
We both laughed.
I stood up to grab the pitcher from the sideboard. As I turned back to the table, I noticed the place setting in front of Luca.
It wasn't the gold-rimmed, twelve-thousand-dollar imported china Vanessa had demanded.
It was an old porcelain plate. A thin blue line circled the rim. And one corner was chipped.
Luca caught me looking at it. He reached out and touched the chipped edge.
May you like
"It belongs here," Luca said quietly.
I smiled, setting the juice pitcher down. "Yes," I agreed. "It's the good china."
