Scandals Of The Royals. Lynn Raye Harris

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       CHAPTER THREE

      “MY JEWELER will be arriving later.”

      Carlotta looked up from the drawing Luca had just handed her and nearly choked as she watched Rodriguez walk into the playroom. The staff had spent the afternoon furnishing and arranging everything. Now Luca was fully equipped with a new bed for his room, a small table and chairs, where he was currently sitting, coloring, and a matching, hand-carved toy box for his most prized possessions. Although his favorite stuffed owls held pride of place on a shelf by his bed.

      “What jeweler? What for?” she asked, the answer landing about the time the words left her mouth.

      “For your ring.”

      She looked back down at the paper. “Right.”

      Luca turned in his chair. “Hi.”

      Rodriguez attempted a smile, his jaw tightening. “Hi, Luca.”

      “Why do I need to see the jeweler?”

      He lifted one dark brow, his focus shifting back to her. “So you can choose the ring.”

      “Well, I don’t see why I really need to choose it.”

      “Do you have a crown?” Luca asked, his green eyes still fixed on Rodriguez.

      Rodriguez looked back at Luca, a flash of discomfort crossing his handsome face. “There is a crown. One that has been in the Anguiano family for a long time. But I don’t wear it.”

      “I would,” Luca said, turning back to his drawing.

      Rodriguez’s brows locked together. “What were you saying?” he asked, his dark eyes not leaving Luca.

      “I don’t see why I need to choose the ring.” Carlotta bent and set the picture down on the table, then straightened. “I mean, it’s a ring.”

      “Your engagement and wedding ring.”

      “Yes, but it isn’t as though …” She looked down at Luca and frowned. “Luca, I’m going to go talk to Rodriguez for a moment.”

      Luca looked up. “But I’m going to color.”

      “That’s fine, just stay at the table. Color on the paper only. Out here.” She stepped out into the corridor and Rodriguez followed, pulling the door mostly closed behind him.

      “You don’t seem to be distracted by Luca’s interjections,” he said.

      “He’s a kid. He does that.”

      “I would not have been permitted to do that.”

      She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “And you don’t think he should be allowed to?”

      “There is very little from my childhood I would use as a model when raising a son. I don’t mind his comments. I’m just not used to it.”

      “Oh.” She relaxed her stance. “I was saying it’s not like our marriage has a whole lot of significance. You intend to do as you please. It isn’t as though the ring will have any real value to me.”

      “You’ll want it to match your style, sì?” he asked.

      “I suppose but …”

      He frowned, his forehead creasing. “Why aren’t you pleased?”

      “Pleased?”

      “You get to look at diamonds and pick your favorite. Women like that.”

      She shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of diamonds.” Jewelry didn’t mean anything. It was money, money could buy a lot of things. Jewels sent to her at birthdays and holidays while her family stayed hundreds of miles away, that didn’t do a lot to offer comfort.

      “And you do not want … more?”

      “Does it bother you?” she asked.

      “I thought this would please you,” he said, his tone exasperated.

      “I didn’t say I was displeased, Rodriguez. I just … I didn’t know you were going to the trouble of having a jeweler come with a display for me to peruse. I wasn’t expecting it. Neither do I require it.”

      “Let me give you something,” he said. The tone in his voice changed, there was something different there, something dark. She didn’t truly understand it, but in some ways, she doubted if he did either.

      “I’ll choose a ring. But you are already giving me something. You’re giving Luca your name. It … it means a lot to me. The Santina name has been nothing more than a curse to him in so many ways. Because him bearing my last name marks him. No matter how much I wish it didn’t,” she whispered the last words, the pain strangling her. Whenever she thought of what she’d done to her son, to his life, with her bad decisions, it made her feel like she was bathing in the shame of it all over again. In the agony.

      He deserved a mother who made better choices. Her mother and father deserved a daughter who made better choices. At least in this marriage to Rodriguez, she had a small shot at redemption.

      Not just for herself. For Luca. For him, bearing the Anguiano name would erase so much stigma from his life. In time, people might forget. He might stop being punished for her sins.

      That alone made the marriage worth it.