The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story (The Windsors)

Grandma hesitates, and then she grabs a photo from her purse. She hands it to me, and Valentina and I stare at it in surprise. “That’s the two of you, days after Valentina was born,” she explains as we take in the photo of me at age five with a
baby in my arms. I look terrified but enamored, and Valentina looks tiny. “Luca, your mom and dad had gone to visit Val’s parents, and they’d taken you with them. You were positively smitten with her, and they’d joked then that they should arrange a marriage between the two of you. After all, Val is technically a Garcia, and your fathers were friends

Mateo walks up to my desk, his gaze filled with the same remorse that’s in his uncle’s eyes. “I never knew about you,” he says, his voice soft. “If I’d known I had an older sister, I never would’ve stood by and let things be. You wouldn’t know this, but I’ve quietly admired you for years. You were an inspiration to me long before I found out that we’re related, and if you’d give me a chance, I’d really like to get to know you. I will respect whatever choice you make, but I want you to know that these aren’t just
empty words. Both my uncle and I would like to make up for what happened.”

He hands me a stack of documents, a shaky smile on his face. Luca’s hand wraps around my shoulder as I stare at the papers, my eyes widening. “You’re giving me shares to Garcia Ltd and ReInsure?”

stare at the documents and look up at him. “Clever,” I murmur. “The Garcia shares are a true gift, I’ll admit that much, but ReInsure? Giving me that means I’ll have to salvage and rebuild it, or it’ll be my loss.”

Hugo grins at me. “Truthfully, I’m not to blame for that. Your husband told me the only way I’m allowed to so much as speak to you is if I give you everything your father gained by walking away from you, right down to the land that ReInsure’s headquarters were built on. Of course I hope you’ll rebuild it, but it truly is up to you. The Garcia family isn’t so weak that we can’t sustain the loss of one single company amongst everything we own. If you want to blow the whole thing up, I’ll make that happen for you. Since you’re a Garcia, I have no doubt you’re every bit as temperamental as your little brother is. Perhaps that would appease you a little.”

I lean back in my seat and shake my head. “If I damage the company any further, it’ll affect the employees, and they’ve never wronged me.” I look up at my uncle and smile coldly. “I’ll turn it into Windsor Insurance.”

I expected him to be offended, but he merely smiles at me and nods. “Whatever you want, Valentina. It’s yours.”

Ben runs a hand through his hair, his expression crestfallen. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would I? Just who do you think you are to demand an explanation from me?”

Luca hums in agreement, clearly pleased by my words. It’s odd how petty he can be sometimes, but it’s awfully cute at the same time

Val.”

I look up to find Grandma Anne, Sierra, Raven, Ares, Dion, Zane, and Lexington standing in front of me, their gazes filled with grief.

“What are you all doing here?” I murmur. I figured a few of them would drop by, but I didn’t think Dion would fly in for my abuela’s funeral.

Zane gently brushes my hair out of my face and sighs. “We’re your family,” he tells me. Sierra wraps an arm around me, and Raven presses a sweet kiss to my forehead. That’s all

He pulls up on the curb and opens his arms for me. “Come here,” he says, his voice soft. Dion pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly, and just like that, I fall apart. “For the last nine years, you’ve been my baby sister, Val,” he says, his grip tight. “Just like Sierra is, and just like Raven. Nothing will ever change that, okay? You don’t need to try so hard to be loved. You’re worthy of it just as you are, and we do, we all love you. I can see you battling demons you’ll never tell me about, so this is as much as I can do for you, sweetheart. Know that you have four big brothers and two crazy sisters who will always support you, no matter what. We’re all here for you, so stop acting like it’s you against the world, all right? Stop pushing us all away, and stop being so scared you’ll lose us. It won’t happen. I promise

I peek around the corner to find him standing in front of the stove, his earbuds in. He’s dressed in gray sweatpants that give him an entirely unfair advantage, and the black t-shirt he’s wearing strains around his muscles in a way that makes it impossible to look away

Luca looks at me, his expression portraying utter defeat. I’ve never seen him look quite so disappointed before. He reaches for me, his touch gentle as he brushes his knuckles over my cheek. “I told you I’d earn your forgiveness, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I wanted to do something for you and remembered the food you brought to the office a few months ago, the taquitos your grandmother made you. They seemed to make you happy, so I searched through all of your favorite YouTube food
channels to find a recipe.” He glances at the mess, his expression tormented. “It looked a lot easier than it was

Luca laughs, and I glance at him, my heart skipping a beat. He looks so ridiculously sexy, lying in bed like that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so relaxed, so disarmed. “Hey, Perdita,” he murmurs.

I raise my brows, surprised he knows the names of any of the 101 Dalmatians

His wife. Hearing him say that shouldn’t hurt as much as it does.