They stood close together and were directed to look this way and that and then Silvia, the PR manager said, ‘These are all great, but can we get one with you holding hands now?’
Lili tensed. Her skin was hot all over to be standing so close to Cassian and it wasn’t entirely from the discomfort of his proximity. How could she say no, though?
She moved the bouquet from her two-handed grip to her right hand and Cassian took her left hand in his. Immediately Lili wanted to pull away but she forced herself to let him hold it, letting the fact that it felt cool distract her.
Cool, and large, fingers wrapping around hers.
‘Now, can you look at each other please?’
Lili turned and looked up to find Cassian staring down at her. His beard was neatly trimmed, hugging his jaw. His lower lip looked hard, but soft.
‘That’s lovely, thank you, now can we get a kiss?’
Cassian must have seen something on Lili’s face because he said, ‘I think that’s enough for now, Silvia. We’ll use one of these ones.’
‘Bene, okay guys, you can wrap it up.’
Cassian moved so that he was in front of Lili blocking the PR team. He was still holding her hand and she could feel her pulse thundering from a mix of fear and excitement.
He held up their hands and said, ‘You don’t like this, do you?’
Her mouth went dry. She shook her head jerkily, ‘I…not really, no. I’m not very tactile.’
His grey gaze was narrowed on her face, his eyes even more silvery because of his suit. ‘Is it just me? Because I could have sworn that you can feel it too.’
‘Feel what?’
Cassian’s thumb moved so that it sat over her pulse point at her wrist. He said,‘That.’
Lili swallowed. He wasn’t wrong, but he had no idea it was also fear. Not of him, but fear from the past from the sense of being powerless and at the mercy of threatening men.
She pulled her hand away and put it behind her back. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
There was the sound of a throat clearing nearby and Lili saw Eloisa. She said, ‘The wedding lunch is ready.’
‘Grazie, Eloisa,’ Cassian said.
Before they went inside Lili asked, ‘The photos, where will they appear?’
‘Some of the papers, and the magazines will likely pick them up too.’
Lili bit her lip. She hadn’t really considered that. She imagined her family seeing the photos but reassured herself that they would probably refuse to acknowledge it was actually her. But it was ironic because she’d now married into exactly the level of society that her father had always sought validation and acceptance from. The fact that Lili had done something he’d never managed felt like a very hollow victory. She’d never wanted to better her parents, she’d just wanted their love.
Cassian stood aside to let Lili precede him into the villa but she could feel his eyes boring into her back the whole way as if he was privy to her thoughts. She really hoped he wasn’t. She hadn’t deceived him—shewaslegally Lili Spirenze but that was the name she’d taken in a bid to distance herself from her family. She reassured herself now, there was no way that the world of Antonio Bagiotti would intersect with Cassian Corti. He moved in circles far removed from her parents.
The wedding lunch was being held in one of the formal dining rooms. Parquet flooring and frescoes on the walls and ceilings with gold trim made it one of the more opulent rooms.
The windows were open to let the breeze through and Cassian and Lili sat at the top of the table with their dozen or so guests—well, Cassian’s guests—on either side of the table.
At one point Lili saidsotto voceto Cassian, ‘You didn’t need to go to all of this trouble, it’s not as if anyone here thinks this is a real wedding.’
‘It’s as real as any other wedding. We’re just not deluding ourselves that it’s built on anything more than practicality and good judgement. If more weddings were like this then the world might be a better place.’
Lili looked at him. ‘Your parents were happy though, no?’
He blinked and Lili noticed that he had very long lashes. They didn’t prettify his face though, the lines were too stark and hard for that.
‘Yes, they were. Very much so.’
