Chapter 18 Liana
LIANA
“We can always add sleeves to this dress too,” I say to Nancy, a bride Lainey has been working with the past couple hours, who loves the dress she has on but mentioned wanting something with sleeves.
“Oh, my goodness, you can?” she squeals.
“Of course,” I say with a smile. “Customs are always an option. That way you have exactly what you want for your wedding day.”
I walk over to the bay that’s holding our dresses and grab a few that have sleeves and bring them back over to the platform Nancy’s standing on.
“I have a few sleeve options here, and if you don’t like any of these, I can always draw up something else you had in mind.”
Nancy’s eyes light up when they run over the simple lace cap sleeve I’m holding. Taking the hint, I hang the other two dresses on the hanger behind me and turn back to her.
Taking the sleeve of the dress, I let it hang over her shoulder so she gets an idea of how it would look with the A-line silhouette she has on.
“We can always add some sheer fabric and drape it under the lace too. That will really give this dress the whimsical look you’re going for.”
Nancy’s smile broadens at that. “Oh, my goodness, yes! That sounds perfect! It’s exactly what was missing!”
Tears swell in her eyes as she takes in her appearance in the mirror. She runs her hands down the dress, and I know without asking she’s finally found the dress of her dreams.
I nod to Lainey, who’s holding the matching veil. Coming up on the other side of Nancy, she says, “Are you ready to see what it looks like with a veil?”
Nancy nods in excitement, not able to get any words out.
Lainey swiftly puts the veil in her hair, and her smile widens.
“Why don’t we get you turned around so you can show your family and friends?”
Lainey helps Nancy spin around on the platform while I rearrange the train on her dress.
“Well, what do you all think?” Lainey says, excitedly.
Everyone gushes and Nancy’s face brightens. I know it’s finally time to ask the question.
“Alright, Nancy,” I say, getting her attention. “Are you ready for the question of the day?”
She nods. “Yes, I’m ready.” The giddiness in her voice brings a smile to my face. This is why I love bridal. I’ll never get sick of bringing a bride’s dream dress to life.
I nod to Lainey to do the honors. “Okay, Nancy,” she says, with a beaming smile on her face. “Are you saying yes to the dress?”
Nancy glances around at the group of people she brought with her on one of the most special days of her life. They’re eagerly smiling, waiting for her answer. “Yes!” she finally squeals. “I’m saying yes to the dress!”
Quickly backing out of the space to let her and her family and friends celebrate the exciting moment, I let Lainey finish up the custom order, and head back to my office.
A gasp escapes my lips when I walk in and see the back of a man sitting at my desk.
My hand flies up to my erratically beating heart. “Holy shit, Massimo,” I say, shutting the door and walking over to my desk.
As I stand across from him, I take in his perfectly styled dark hair and his brow with the cut running through that’s cocked at me. “Surprised to see me, mia moglie?”
It annoys me that the emphasis he puts on that sends a thrill through me, but that exciting feeling is extinguished when I glance down at his hands and see he’s holding a picture frame—my picture frame. It’s one of the last family pictures I took with my parents.
“Please stop calling me that,” I snap, reaching over to snatch the frame out of his hands, then set it back in its place on my desk. I take a seat across from him.
“Beautiful picture you have there,” he says, nodding to the frame. “You look a lot like your mom.”
I ignore him, which does nothing except make him chuckle.
“Why don’t you want me to call you mia moglie? We’re getting married this weekend, so you should probably get used to it.”
“Or just call me by my name.”
Massimo smirks. “Nah, I think I’ll call you my wife.”
“You know, the more I get to know you, the more I don’t like you.”
“Now, I don’t believe that for a minute.”
“How … When did you even get in here?”
“I haven’t been here long. I know you close soon, so when I saw you helping that woman in the wedding dress, I took it upon myself to come back here.”
“Thank you for letting me know I need security back here instead of on the floor.”
“You think a security guard could prevent me from getting where I want to go?”
Letting out an annoyed sigh, I say, “Is there something I can help you with, Massimo?”
“I’m here to discuss your living arrangements.”
“What about them?”
“I have some men that can help you move your things over. I just need to know what works best for your schedule.”
I narrow my gaze on him. “Are you sure we need to live together?”
“It’s in the contract.”
I sit back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest. “So it seems,” I mumble.
I knew Massimo wouldn’t budge when it comes to living together, but I had to give it one last shot.
“I’m pretty busy up until the wedding …” Massimo sucks in a large breath like he’s gearing up to say something, but I add, “So I won’t be able to move everything in by then, but I’ll start getting the important things together.”
He lets out a long breath, and his stiff shoulders seem to relax a bit.
“Just let me know when you’re ready for me to send my guys over.”
“Tomorrow is fine.”
His eyes widen. “Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ve already started packing so they can start moving my stuff into your place.”
Massimo eyes me warily.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I was expecting that to turn into another argument. I didn’t think you were going to be so … reasonable.”
“I mean, I can always make it an argument if you’d like me to.”
“No, I rather like it when we speak civilly with each other.”
“You make it sound like I’m a nuisance.”
“You have been.”
“Well, you haven’t exactly been the cherry on top of a sundae either.”
Massimo chuckles. “See how you’ve just turned this into an argument?”
I do my best to stop the laugh that bubbles at my lips because Massimo’s right—no matter how much I don’t want to admit it—but he still catches it. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Is there anything else you need?”
He narrows his gaze on me. There’s something about the way this man looks at me. His dark eyes sear through me, like he’s reading my soul. It makes me feel … vulnerable.
“I wanted to let you know I spoke to Tomasso about Alessia and Colton.”
“You did?” Shock fills my tone. I didn’t think Massimo would hold up his end of the deal until after he got what he wanted, and even then, I was prepared to nag him to get it done. So the fact he’s already spoken to him surprises me.
“I did. Understandably so, he wasn’t ecstatic that I was stepping in the middle of his family affairs, but that all seemed to go out the window when I gave him one of my residential buildings.”
My jaw falls open. “You did what?”
“I gave him one of my high-rises. All of the units are rented out, so it’ll bring him a nice monthly income.”
“Why would you do that?” I demand. “Why give that asshole more money and power?”
“You asked me to interfere with his family and his business, Liana. It wouldn’t make me a very good leader to demand those things without offering him something in return.
He’s still one of my capos, which means I need to have a good relationship with him.
Expunging someone’s debt and forcing him to allow his daughter to date whomever she wants is not something I can demand without anything in return. ”
“You’re the boss. You can do whatever you want.”
“You’re right, I am the boss. But you and I both know arranged marriages are a traditional concept in our world. I completely eradicated that for Alessia, for you. I had to give Tomasso something in return.”
I shake my head, not understanding why Massimo would do such a thing. “I never asked you to do that.”
“I don’t know why you’re so upset by this. I assumed you would be happy Alessia can be with whomever she wants to be with now.”
“I just …” He’s right. Why am I making this into a bigger deal than it actually is? This is exactly what we wrote into the contract, I just didn’t realize he was going to give Tomasso something in return. It makes me feel … indebted to him.
I internally shake that thought out of my head. There’s no reason I should feel indebted to Massimo when I’m essentially giving him my life with this marriage.
“Well … thank you. For taking care of that. I … appreciate it.”
Massimo smiles at me. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m willing to do anything for you, Liana. Giving Tomasso that building is no sweat off my back. Imagine if you’d just let me in. Our lives could be fucking amazing.”
I let out a sigh but don’t respond. As much as I hate to admit it, there’s a part of me that’s starting to believe Massimo, but I have to ignore that feeling. I need to remind myself this man forced me into a marriage. I can’t forgive him for that.
I decide to change the subject. “How’s the wedding coming along?” It’s an interesting change of subject. I meant to pretend like I have zero interest in anything that has to do with the wedding, but I’d be lying if I said a part of me wasn’t curious.
Massimo gives me a soft smile, as if reading into that question the way I was hoping he wouldn’t. “It’s coming along well. I think you’ll be pleased with everything.”
I give him a small nod, not knowing what else to say. This conversation is getting too pleasant.
“What about your dress?” he asks.
I actually started working on my dress the day I signed the contract, so it’s already done, but I don’t want him to think I care about this wedding, so I don’t tell him that.
“I’ve been working on it here and there. Should be done in time,” I state.
Massimo lets out a humorous breath, which has me thinking he doesn’t fully believe me. “Sounds like everything will be ready then.”
I give him a small nod.
“I need to get going, but I’ll send my men over tomorrow. I have some things I need to take care of in the morning, but I’ll make sure I’m available to meet you guys at home.”
I give him another small nod, sitting up taller in my seat. “Yeah. Sure. Um, that sounds good.”
After standing, he pauses to give me a smile and says, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” then turns around to leave.
I sit back in my chair and let out a heavy breath. This meeting was too comfortable, and I don’t like that. I need to remind myself who Massimo Bonetti is, because my head is being jumbled with the man I’m starting to see versus the man I thought he was, and I can’t have that happening.