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“That’s exactly right,” he murmurs. “She loved parties, and people. Even at seventy-five, she would have been partying long after the rest of us wanted to be home. My mother was a force of nature.”
She was, but not the destructive kind. “She always told me to listen to my gut, follow my dreams, and save some of my allowance so that I’d have money of my own in case of an emergency.”
I didn’t really understand that when I was a girl. My parents were there in case of an emergency, but she meant the kind of emergency that I might not want to share with them.
He shakes his head. “Sounds like her. She loved you. You were her first grandchild—the girl she always wanted.”
“She loved you too,” I say softly. “She was so proud of you—except for that whole betrothal contract thing.”
He clears his throat, and I press my lips together to quell a smile.
“Too soon?”
“It will always be too soon,” he replies with a pointed look.
Lydia was at Daniela and Antonio’s first wedding, but she died before they were remarried. I’ll never forget the day they were killed. My grandfather was on the plane too—my father’s plane.
“Have you forgiven my father for what happened?”
He cocks his head. “I was angry at your father for about ten minutes. Maybe less. It could have happened on my watch, just as easily. Your father doesn’t take security lightly, especially when it involves people he loves.”
“Tell me about it.”
He snickers, and I wonder if he has any idea how burdened with the past my father has become. But I’m not going to tell him. I’ve spilled too many secrets recently.
“Can I ask you a question?”
He raises his brow. “As long as it isn’t about betrothal contracts.”
I smirk and shake my head. “Do you ever worry that the life you lead—that we all lead—is harmful to your relationship with your children?”
He sits back in the chair and studies me. “Every single day.”
“How do you manage it?”
“I make sure they feel my love at least as much as my protection. It also gives me great comfort knowing they have a mother who’s strong enough to stand up to me and push back, when necessary. Daniela, like your mother, isn’t afraid to say enough is enough.”
My mother does that less frequently these days.
“Do you listen to her and the kids when they have concerns?”
“Complaints, you mean?” The corner of his mouth twitches. “I always listen. But I don’t always do as they ask.”
“Even if it causes a great rift?”
“Even then. Although it hasn’t come to that yet. But we might be close.”
I know he’s talking about the situation with Valentina, but I’m not going there.
“Have you ever thought of leaving it all behind? Walking away and doing something else?”
“That’s not an option,” he says without a moment’s pause. “Not for me. Not for your father. And not for Rafael, because that’s who you’re really wondering about.”
A rush of emotion floods me, but I push it away. Rafael’s not someone I need to wonder about anymore. It’s a bitter pill, but I swallow it without grimacing.
“Actually, I’m wondering about my father. I’m going back to London later today, and I’d like things to go more smoothly than the last time I was there. I thought I might get some insight from talking to you.”
Antonio stills, his gaze keen. “Does Rafael know you’re leaving?”
