Free LUCA (You Will Be Mine) (The Sicilian Mafia Series Book 1) by Jaimie Roberts

men and leaving. Then, I could get back to business.”
    “You know all this could have been avoided if you had just paid me what I’m owed.”
    I rose again from the bed in anger. “What you’re owed? What you’re owed?”
    Luca looked me up and down. My God, it was sexy. “Yes—and you don’t have to say it twice.”
    “You bastard! I don’t owe you a goddamned thing.”
    Luca shook his head. “Maybe you don’t, but the business does.”
    I frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “Oh, come on, Clara. You’re an intelligent lady. Do you really think Trudy financed this all by herself?
    My heart started beating wildly again. “She owns seventy percent of the business,” I said, blinking.
    “Of which, seventy percent of that is now owned by… Guess who?”
    I blinked rapidly, but then what he said just started to sink in. “You.”
    “Yes.”
    Trudy never said a thing to me. “Why didn’t she tell me?”
    “Your aunt took a gamble on some shares which tumbled. She was hoping to raise more collateral for the business, but ended up losing it all instead. She didn’t want to let you down.”
    “So, you came to save the day.”
    Luca sat down on the chair and motioned for me to sit with him. “Your aunt speaks very highly of you. I think I was kind of smitten by you from the start. Meeting you was my next priority after the deal was signed.”
    I sighed and took a sip of my wine. “So why are you going to all of this trouble? You’re getting money, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, but I wanted to know more about you. See how much your cage could be rattled. I was pleasantly surprised.”
    “So, you deliberately sent your hooligans out to demand money from me hoping I would tell them to take a hike?”
    “Exactly.” He smiled triumphantly and sucked up a piece of spaghetti.
    As the burn rose between my legs, I found myself clearing my throat. “You’re weird.”
    Luca smirked. “Maybe I am, but if you think about it, it makes logical sense. I wanted to make sure you were as good as I was told you were. I can’t have people running my businesses without making sure they’re perfectly capable.”
    I stared him down. “This is my business, Luca.”
    “It may be yours in the physical sense. You run the place. But not in the financial sense. I put a lot of money into your little venture. I even recently bought another ten percent.”
    “If it’s doing so well, then why is Trudy selling you shares of the place?”
    Luca looked a little worried for a moment. “I think she may be in over her head. She needed the money to help pay off some bad debt.”
    I frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Luca sighed. “I have gone too far. You need to speak with your aunt about this.”
    I started panicking even more. What had my aunt gotten herself into? “I’m asking you.”
    Luca shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. I am here, and we have to get along. Normally, I don’t like to get so involved in a business venture. I wouldn’t unless something went wrong and I had to step in. When I saw you yesterday, though, this castle became a lot more appealing to me. That and who lives under its roof.” Luca motioned for me to eat, so I sighed and got tucking in. My God, it was good. “Do you like it?”
    I nodded. “It’s lovely, thank you.” His beautiful smile lit up his face, causing me to momentarily forget why I was here. “This doesn’t change things though. I don’t want someone coming in and ruining my business.”
    He looked serious. “That is not my intention.”
    “I have never once had The Castle empty of clients. Ever. This will cripple me.”
    Luca looked stern. “I’ll make sure that never happens.”
    I regarded him for a moment. “How can you say that?”
    “Truth be told, I wanted to get to know you more. I knew that would never happen with you running the place. I bet you’ve never taken a day off in your life, have you?”
    I