To her surprise, a few days ago the solicitor had arrived with a velvet covered box saying, ‘These are family jewels from the vault. Signore Corti said to choose an engagement ring and jewelry for the wedding.’
Feeling like a total fraud, Lili had gasped when the box was opened, showcasing a glittering display of what had to be priceless antique jewels. She’d chosen the plainest ring she could see—with a gold band—three white diamonds in a row in a slightly raised setting. Yet even that seemed too ostentatious to her.
The ring felt heavy on her finger now. The solicitor had had it resized for the wedding and it fit snugly. She’d chosen a simple pair of pearl drop earrings.
She wasn’t wearing a veil. Maria, who Carlotta had tasked to help with preparations, had pulled Lili’s hair back into a loose chignon, securing it with a homemade garland of flowers from the garden. She’d also done her make-up, thankfully nothing too clownish. Lili had blinked at herself in the mirror—she looked…pretty. Her eyes seemed huge and very blue, and had her mouth always had that pouty look? Her cheeks glowed as if she’d just taken a brisk walk outside.
There was a knock on the bedroom door and Eloisa, the new housekeeper, put her head around the door. ‘They’re ready.’
Butterflies erupted in Lili’s gut. More than butterflies. Was this really happening? Had she really been so bold as to suggest her boss marry her so he could keep his ancestral estate?
Feeling slightly as if she was in a dream, she was led out of the villa and down the steps where Matteo the gardener was waiting with a golf buggy used normally for getting around the estate. Maria appeared and handed Lili a simple bouquet of flowers from the garden, matching the flowers in her hair.
She clutched it gratefully.
Matteo was wearing a suit, as was his son, Tommy, and the buggy had been adorned with bunting and flowers. Lili felt ridiculously emotional. These people had become almost like family to her in the last year.
She got into the buggy with the help of Carlotta, making sure her dress was safely tucked in and then in that buggy and another behind, they made their way to the chapel in a secluded corner of the estate. Lili had always liked to come here—not out of any particular religious sentiment—but because it was peaceful and a place to savour a feeling of safety.
Ironic now that it was going to be the location of possibly the scariest thing she’d ever done in her life.
Her little entourage went into the small chapel and then Lili took a deep breath and walked out of the sunlight and into the cool interior.
CHAPTER FOUR
CASSIAN HEARD THEsounds at the back of the small chapel. People arriving. He looked around to see his staff entering and taking seats. There were a few witnesses up at the front. His solicitor and his executive assistant.
And then, the sunlight coming into the chapel was momentarily eclipsed when Lili walked through the door.
For a second, Cassian felt as if someone invisible had just punched him in the stomach. He couldn’t breathe. She was encased from head to toe in white lace. He’d never seen someone so covered up, and yet every delectable curve was lovingly outlined by the dress and it was more provocative than if she’d turned up wearing that one-piece swimsuit.
It immediately made him think of uncovering her.
She seemed to hesitate at the top of the aisle for a moment and then she started to walk down it, on her own, chin tilted up. Something about that caught at Cassian, making him feel a tug of…pride? He almost had an urge to go and meet her halfway but she was already there, beside him.
She looked at him and her eyes were very big, cheeks a little pink. Mouth looking even plumper than usual and slightly glossy. The expression on her face was somewhere between wary and serious. Something he really wasn’t used to. It unsettled him a little because he’d got so used to dealing with women trying to charm their way into his life. And bed.
She’s marrying you, reminded a little voice. Charm isn’t required here, on either side. And yet, as Cassian tore his gaze from Lili to look at the priest, he found that he almost regretted that fact.
* * *
After speaking words she couldn’t recall, Lili and Cassian emerged back into the sunshine. Her cheek burned where he’d placed his mouth in a dry kiss. When they’d faced each other at the altar, Cassian had bent his head towards her and she’d been struck with vying desires—to pull back and to reach up and press her mouth to his. Terrifying.
In the end she’d offered her cheek and had pulled away quickly. And by holding on to her bouquet with a death grip she’d managed to avoid touching hands.
She reassured herself now that no one would have expected a sham of a kiss. She wasn’t even sure why he’d looked as if he was going to kiss her. But the fact that she’d even wanted to know what it might feel like…still made her feel a little wobbly and very exposed.
He drove the buggy back to the villa, the guests following behind. Lili still clutched the bouquet. When he came to a stop outside the main entrance he jumped out and Lili managed to absorb fully what he was wearing for the first time. It had been so overwhelming stepping into the small ornate chapel and facing the reality of setting this whole thing in motion that she’d focused mainly on his face.
She could see now that he was wearing a three-piece suit in steel-grey with a white shirt and grey waistcoat. A slim matching tie. A cream flower attached to a buttonhole matching the flowers in her bouquet. A whimsical touch that impacted her somewhere vulnerable.
Why go to that trouble?
The official pictures. It occurred to her just as he held out his hand to help her out of the buggy and said, ‘The photographer is waiting to take our photos.’
Lili ignored his hand, saying, ‘I can manage, thanks,’ and used a handhold to help herself out of the buggy.
She didn’t look at him for fear of seeing something on his face. They walked around to the side of the villa where a photographer was waiting with an assistant and a young woman in a suit who introduced herself to Lili as Cassian’s PR manager. She was blonde and efficient.
