Chapter 3

Nora's POV

"Two hundred thousand dollars a year," Luca said twenty minutes later.

We stood in his private study on the first floor. The room smelled of dark tobacco, old leather, and rich scotch. He stood behind a massive oak desk, watching me with an intensity that made the air feel heavy.

I blinked, taking a quick step back. "Mr. Castellano, that is... far beyond the standard rate for a private tutor."

"You made him smile," Luca said smoothly, his dark grey eyes holding mine. "No tutor or specialist has managed that in over a year. But the salary is only part of the arrangement."

He slid a heavy document across the dark mahogany desk toward me.

I picked it up, my eyes scanning the bold header at the top of the first page. "A legal marriage contract?"

"A union of convenience," Luca clarified, leaning back in his leather chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Leo needs to be enrolled in the St. Cloud Academy by next month. It is the only school in the state with a specialized program for his developmental needs. The board of trustees is traditional, conservative, and strict. They do not accept children from single-parent households without a complete, verified family structure on file. They require a mother on paper."

I held the papers tightly, my thumb pressing against the crisp edge. "And your terms?"

"We live separate lives," Luca said, his voice entirely businesslike. "You will have the entire second floor for yourself and Leo. I occupy the third floor. There will be no emotional expectations, no romantic obligations, and certainly no physical intimacy. You stay out of my family's business, and I will ensure your mother's medical bills are settled directly by my accounts."

My heart pounded against my ribs. I knew the reality of the wealthy world when it came to marriage; it was a transaction of convenience and social standing.

My mind drifted back to Sebastian.

We hadn't been married; we had just been dating for three years. But the moment his career stalled, he abandoned me without a second thought. He targeted Cassandra, a wealthy heiress whose father owned one of the most powerful financial firms in the state. Sebastian chose her not for love, but because her family's social status and money could launch his career to heights I could never offer him. He had left me in the dust to climb the social ladder.

I didn't want romance. I didn't want another man making promises he would break the moment a better offer came along. I couldn't afford to fall for someone like Luca Castellano, his status, his power, and his violent world were completely out of my league. My sole motivation was simple: keep my head down, take care of Leo, and save my mother's life.

"I understand," I said softly, looking up into his grey eyes. "It's a business agreement."

"Just an agreement," Luca agreed smoothly.

Three days later, there was no grand ceremony, no white dress, and no church bells. We signed the papers in a quiet, private office downtown, and I remember thinking how strange it was to bind my entire future to a stranger's name in less time than it took to order lunch. Three years with Sebastian, and I never once signed anything that mattered. Three days with Luca Castellano, and I'd signed away my last name.

When we returned to the mansion that evening, the dining room table was set for two. It was a simple quiet evening, but right before the dessert was served, Luca reached into his jacket pocket. He slid a velvet box across the dark wood toward me.

I opened it. Inside sat a simple, stunning platinum ring set with a clear, emerald-cut diamond.

"Mr. Castellano... Luca," I stammered, staring at the glittering jewel. "This isn't necessary for a contract."

"A Castellano woman wears a ring." He rose from his chair and rounded the table before I could argue further, close enough that I caught the scotch and cedar clinging to his collar. "If people see you without it, they will ask questions."

He lifted the ring from its cushion, and when he reached for my hand, I let him, telling myself it meant nothing. His fingers closed around mine, warm and certain, guiding the platinum band slow over my knuckle. The touch lingered a half second longer than it needed to, his thumb grazing the inside of my wrist before he let go, and something low in my stomach tightened despite every warning I'd given myself walking into that study.

I pulled my hand back into my lap, curling it into a fist like I could trap the feeling there before it spread any further.

"There." His voice stayed even, unaffected, but his eyes held mine a beat too long before he stepped back toward his seat. "Now nobody has cause to ask."

I stared down at the ring catching candlelight on my finger and reminded myself, firm and silent, that this was paperwork. A signature. A means to an end. I had no business feeling anything at all about the way his hand had felt wrapped around mine, and I had even less business wondering, in the quiet after he sat back down, whether he'd felt anything wrapped around his.

After the meal was cleared, the waiter brought out a covered silver platter. When he lifted the dome, I blinked in surprise. It wasn't the complex French cuisine the estate's chef usually prepared, but a hot, perfectly cooked dish of pan-seared salmon with garlic and fresh greens.

"The chef didn't make this," I noted, catching the rich aroma.

Luca cleared his throat, taking a slow sip of his water while looking out the tall window. "The chef had the evening off. I stepped into the kitchen."

I stared at him in quiet shock.

In three years of dating, Sebastian had never so much as boiled an egg for me. If I was tired or sick, Sebastian expected me to order takeout for him and clean the kitchen afterward. Yet here was New York's most feared mafia boss, quietly cooking a warm meal on the night we signed our papers.