Chapter 16 Liana
LIANA
“Iwant to thank you guys for coming out tonight,” I say, looking around at Nicco, Enzo, Teo, and my girls. “There’s some exciting news I’d like to share with everyone.”
Izzy, Lux, and Amalia all look at me with encouraging gazes. After filling them in on what’s happening once I signed Massimo’s contract, I knew I needed to call a family meeting to inform the boys. With this wedding happening in two weeks, I needed to tell them sooner rather than later.
“I—”
“So sorry I’m late,” a voice calls out from behind me, causing me to whip around and come face-to-face with Massimo.
My eyes widen. “What are you—”
He wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheeks, whispering in my ear, “You didn’t think I’d leave you to announce our engagement by yourself, did you?”
He takes my left hand and adds, “Besides, I haven’t had a chance to get you your ring.”
My jaw falls open to say something, but the words seem to get lost on my lips.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulls out a little black box. My eyes widen when he opens it and reveals a beautiful emerald-cut diamond ring.
I gasp quietly. “Massimo …”
He removes the ring from the cushion and slides it onto my ring finger, and I let him, too stunned to form a coherent sentence.
“What is going on?” Teo’s deep voice sounds from behind me.
Massimo smiles down at me, then spins me around to face everyone. “Looks like I made it in time for the big announcement.”
Pulling me into his side, he lets his hand rest possessively on my waist.
“Would you like to do the honors, belleza?”
My body stiffens at the nickname, bringing me back to the night we met in college.
Teo and Enzo drag their widened gazes from the ring on my finger to my eyes.
“Um … yeah, uh, Massimo and I are … Well, we’re getting married,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.
Izzy looks around at the guys, surely waiting for their reactions, but when they do nothing, she starts clapping. “So excited for you both,” she says with far more enthusiasm than I was able to put out.
Lux and Amalia join in, congratulating us.
When Izzy notices the guys not responding, she elbows Nicco. He clears his throat. “Oh, yeah, um, congrats, Liana. I’m … happy for you?”
Izzy elbows him again, and he lets out a cough. “Happy for you. Very happy for you,” he rushes out.
Izzy clears her throat, trying to get Teo’s and Enzo’s attention, but they ignore her.
“You’re getting married to Massimo Bonetti?” Teo questions.
I nod and force out a smile. “Yes.”
“Do you even know Massimo Bonetti?” he asks.
“Of course I do. Why would I marry someone I don’t know?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He narrows his gaze on mine and runs his hand over the dark scruff on his jaw. “How long have you guys been seeing each other?”
“About five months,” Massimo cuts in. “But Liana and I have known each other for years.”
“Years?” Teo asks.
“Yeah, uh, we met in college,” I say.
“Is this another Izzy and Nicco situation?” Enzo asks, cocking a dark brow at me.
“Gosh, no,” I mutter.
Massimo tightens his hold on me, and my eyes widen at my slip-up.
“I mean, we didn’t exactly date in college.
We …” I glance at Massimo, who’s staring straight ahead with a small smile on his face.
“I actually didn’t like him at first. You know, the whole me being resistant to guys in our world, but he eventually wore me down and we started hanging out.
My company ended up needing my undivided attention, so we kind of went our separate ways.
Recently we … reconnected, and now we’re here. ”
“That’s so romantic,” Izzy gushes, and I mentally remind myself to give her the biggest hug later for helping me sell this.
Teo and Enzo continue to study me, trying to figure out if I’m lying, so I do my best to keep a smile on my face. My cousins are human lie detectors, and I’m not doing the best job at selling this, so knowing my luck, they’ll call me on my bullshit right here.
“So you’re getting married,” Teo says, and I can sense his skepticism still. “When?”
“Two weeks,” I say.
“Two weeks?” he repeats. “You just got engaged and now you’re getting married in two weeks?”
“What’d you do, get knocked up, Liana?” Enzo asks, and I cut him a glare.
“No, Vincenzo, I didn’t get knocked up. You guys know how quickly things can happen. I’m surprised by this interrogation.”
“What ever happened to not being interested in any of the guys in our world?” Teo asks.
“I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind …” he repeats.
I wrap my arm around Massimo’s waist and lean into him. He tightens his hold on me, and I hate to admit how comforting it is in a time like this. “You know, I really thought my own family would be supportive of my engagement. It seems I was wrong.”
“Liana, that’s not—”
“We’re so happy for you,” Lux interrupts Teo. “Aren’t we, babe?” She turns to look at her husband, and thankfully, with one look from Lux, it has Teo letting out a deep breath and sitting back in his chair. It’s incredible how much he’s changed since marrying her.
“I just wanted to let you guys know the wedding is in two weeks. I would love it if each of you were there, but if you can’t support us, don’t bother showing up.”
Turning to Massimo, I say, “Can we go, please?”
“Liana, you don’t have to—”
“No, it’s fine,” I say, cutting Teo off. “I have a wedding to plan, so you can imagine how busy I am. You’ll receive your invites soon with all the information.”
Holding out my coat, Massimo helps me get into it, then grabs my purse and hands it to me.
“I’ll see you guys later,” I say, and allow Massimo to lead me out of the restaurant, hand in hand.
Once we’ve stepped out into the night, I turn to Massimo and pull my hand from his grasp. “What were you thinking coming here?” I demand.
“I told you. I needed to get you your ring. Plus, I figured you could use some support telling your family about us.”
“How did you even know we were here?”
“Good guess?”
“Condition number one,” I remind him.
He lets out a steamy breath of air that dissipates into the cool night. “Fine. I called every restaurant I knew you could be at asking if there was a reservation under DiMaggio.”
My jaw drops open. “Seriously?”
Massimo shrugs. “It wasn’t hard. I only had to call three places before I found your reservation. You’re a creature of habit, and I know this is one of your favorite restaurants.”
I narrow my gaze, not liking the fact he knows this is one of my favorite places to eat. “I feel like giving that information to someone has to be illegal.”
“Nothing’s illegal for a man like me, belleza.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? Does it bring back memories you’ve spent years trying to bury?”
I lift my chin. “Yes, terrible ones, so stop calling me that.”
Massimo takes a step toward me, invading my space.
I should take a step back, but I hold my ground, not willing to show any weakness to this man.
Sliding a finger underneath my chin, he lifts it just a hair and gazes deep into my eyes.
The vulnerability I feel from the intimate act doesn’t sit well with me, but I do my best to push that feeling as deep down as I can, in hopes it’ll never resurface again.
“I don’t think you mean that. That night, you wanted me just as bad as I wanted you.
” He lowers his head so his lips are nearly touching mine.
When he speaks, his hot breath skims across my mouth, making me want more.
“We shared something special. You’d be wise to stop fighting it.
After all, we are about to become husband and wife. ”
Those words pull me out of the moment, and I push him back.
“On paper only. You’d be wise to remember that.”
A deep chuckle leaves his lips. “Whatever you say, mia moglie.”
Rolling my eyes, I turn around, ignoring him. As I walk down the street, he calls out to me. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” I say over my shoulder.
“Let me drive you.”
Hurried footsteps sound from behind me until Massimo is grabbing me by my arm, spinning me around.
“I only live a few blocks from here,” I say.
Massimo eyes the nude heels I’m wearing. “I know that, but you sure you want to walk in those shoes, and on a chilly night like tonight?”
“I said three blocks, not three miles. We’re so close I can see my apartment from here.”
“Fine, then I’ll walk with you.”
I scoff. “I’m good, thanks.”
When I go to turn around, Massimo stops me with his hand. “I wasn’t asking.”
I would argue with him, but his unwavering tone tells me I’d be wasting my breath, so I turn around and take off down the street while Massimo walks in line with me.
I proceed to ignore him until we get to my apartment located above my boutique. We stop in front of the doors, and I turn to face him.
“Okay, you walked me home. You can leave now.”
His mouth lifts into a smirk. “What, no thank you?”
“I never asked you to come with me, and to be quite frank, I didn’t need you to.”
“You think your cousins would’ve been okay with you walking home alone at night?”
“It’s not like this is an unsafe area. Besides, did you see them come after me? They were perfectly fine.”
“Yeah, because I was with you.”
“Fine, Massimo. Thank you for walking me home.” I nod in the direction we just came from. “Now you can leave.”
“You’re quite the prickly one, huh?”
“Can you blame me, given the circumstances of our relationship?”
“You’ll see soon, Liana.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and I are meant to be. Whatever. Have a good night.” I turn around, take my keys out of my purse, and head inside.
“Blue works for you, right?” he says before I’m able to shut the door.
Holding it open, I say, “I’m sorry?”
“The colors for the wedding. Blue works? It’s your favorite color, after all.”
“I don’t really care.” I kind of do.
Massimo lets out a chuckle. “Blue it is. I’m assuming you have your dress and the bridesmaid dresses handled?”
“If I must,” I say, not wanting him to know I already know the exact dress I’ll be wearing. It’s a dress I designed a few years ago but never had made. Maybe it was my subconscious telling me to hide it away until it was my time.
Massimo chuckles again. “Have a good night, mia moglie.”
I roll my eyes as I shut the door. He watches me from the other side while I lock it.
I do my best to ignore him, but I can feel his penetrating gaze boring into me.
It’s like my senses are heightened around him to an inordinate amount.
The fine hairs on my body stand on end, and I’m acutely aware of where he is and what he’s doing. It’s infuriating.
Without looking at him, I head to my office, leaving him on the street.
Tossing my purse and coat onto my desk, I sink down into my seat.
I wanted to get some work done, but as I sit here, all I can think about is that in two weeks I’ll be married to a don, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that.
What I do know is that I need to keep Massimo at a distance as much as I can, because while I hate to admit it, something tells me he might actually start to break down these walls I’ve built so damn high.