Chapter 196
HARLOTTE-
Francesca was already offering food when a knock on the door came.
She lit up like the house had been waiting for that interruption. It was clearly someone she was excited to see join us.
Plates paused. Rico shut his mouth. She left the room at a pace that was almost a run and came back with a girl on her arm.
I had never seen her here before.
She looked about twenty-one and drop-dead gorgeous. One of the prettiest girls I had ever seen, and I’d seen a lot of beautiful girls before. She had long hair. A dress that belonged in a magazine with a figure to match it. She blushed the second her eyes found Luca.
Luca immediately looked irritated.
Not shy. Not interested. Irritated, like a corner he had already decided not to take.
Well, that was the first time I’d ever seen him look irritated around a beautiful girl like that. It only meant one thing.
“Luca,” Francesca said, warm and practically glowing. “You remember Valentina Moretti.”
Remember? Had he met her before?
Valentina smiled at the floor, then at him. “Hi. Congratulations. Monaco was-everyone at home was watching. You were amazing. My entire family was so proud. You made us all proud. Especially me.”
“Thanks.”
That was all he gave her. A very dry response. I couldn’t help but feel a little happy about it that. I was glad he wasn’t giving in.
Massimo nodded from the side as if he approved.
Giulia’s eyebrows went up and then carefully down. Alessia glanced at me, then at Valentina, then back at
Did she somehow have an idea that I liked her brother?
“Valentina’s family have the olive groves toward Castelvetro,” Francesca went on. “She’s been in Florence, She came especially to spend time with you. I told her you would be home for Alessia. She has been dying to meet you again.”
Again? So they have met before. Luca didn’t seem to be impressed by any of this at all. I was actually shocked by his reaction.
“Good to know,” Luca said. Then resumed eating like he didn’t want to have a conversation with her.
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The Mockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
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Francesca laughed, light and a little nervous. “Sit. Eat. Charlotte, you too. Not that you need any more food.”
I stared at her in surprise. Luca dropped his fork and looked pissed. I held his hand to stop him from saying anything.
So I wasn’t the usual, skinny model type figure. What was wrong with that exactly?
I sat despite how annoyed I was.
The other siblings looked away, like they couldn’t believe their mother would say something like that. They looked embarrassed for me.
How wonderful. Valentina looked like she couldn’t hold in her laugh.
She then sat where Francesca pointed, which was beside Luca.
She asked about the last lap and how he was able to perform such magic on the track.
He answered in pieces, barely giving her much.
She blushed again when their hands brushed and he moved his arm away like she had burned him.
I’d never seen Luca behave this way next to any girl before. He was usually all over them.
“Do you stay through the week?” Valentina asked.
“Your mother offered to let me take the room next to yours.”
The room next to his? So there was a room available next to Luca’s but she placed me down the hall? Interesting.
“I’m only staying for my sister.” He said quickly.
“Of course. I just thought-if you wanted to see the groves. Or the city. I know you don’t get time-”
Francesca poured wine. “He has time now. He’s been living like a bachelor in hotels. It’s good to be among people who understand family. He needs a woman like you in his life.”
I felt her words all the way to my stomach.
A woman like her in his life? They were definitely trying hard to set her up with their son. It was unmistakable now.
I looked at Luca. He was staring at his plate. I looked at Francesca. She was watching me watch him.
Oh.
They were definitely setting him up.
Not a neighbour dropping by. Not a family friend with a casserole. A beautiful twenty one year old placed in the empty chair next to his and even given the room next to his.
I felt sick.
12:26 Fri, Sep 25 TF.
The Hockey Captam’s Unwanted Wife
The pasta on the table stopped smelling like food.
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he room was too warm. Valentina laughed softly at something Rico said and Luca did not.
Francesca’s hand rested on the back of Valentina’s chair, waiting for the right opportunity to say something again.
“I’m going to take a stroll,” I said. It came out almost normal. “Outside. I need air. Excuse me.”
Luca’s head lifted. “Char-”
“I’m fine. Eat. I’ll be back.”
“Exactly, she is fine.” His mother cut in. “I don’t get to see you often. Eat the food I made with love.”
I did not look at Valentina long enough to be rude. I did not look at Francesca long enough to start a warin her dining room.
I walked out before I did or said something to cause a scene. The woman already didn’t like me, not even little.
I breathed in the fresh air.
“Lovely.” I whispered.
Much more peaceful than inside that house as Luca’s parents tried to control his love life.
A tractor moved in a field. Birds I could not name went in and out of the trees. I closed my eyes and felt the wind on my face.
It was beautiful. That was the unfair part. Italy did not care that my chest hurt. It kept being green and quiet, a painting I would have loved if I had come here for any reason except watching Francesca Vescari try to force a girl onto her son.
I kept walking until the mansion looked small behind me.
Of course.
He was a Vescari. His mother wanted a girl who understood family, which meant a girl who was not the one who packed his stuff up and helped him leave everything behind to start a career the family hated for him.
I stopped at a low wall where the vines began and put my hands on the warm stone.
Behind me, everything would go on. Valentina would blush. Luca would stare at his plate.
I stayed on the path until my hands stopped shaking, and even then the hills were still too pretty for how I felt.
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12:20 Fri, Sep 25 201
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.