“Wow,” I say, rolling my eyes, “congratulations. How exciting for you.”
Massimo chuckles. “Your sarcasm is very appreciated, Liana.”
Folding my arms across my chest, hugging my iPad, I say, “What does this have to do with my meeting with Tomasso?”
“He informed me of what it was about,” he states.
I freeze, not sure how to respond to that. “Okay?”
“Alessia Caruso… How important is she to you?”
Not liking that he’s asking me this question, I narrow my gaze on him and say, “Why does that matter to you?”
“The longer you take to answer my questions, the longer I’m going to be here. I’m sure you want me gone, right?”
He’s baiting me, and I don’t like it, but I do want him out of my store. “I’ve known Alessia for a few years. I see a lot of myself in her, so yes, we have a good relationship. Why?”
A smirk curls Massimo’s lips. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Enough dancing around what you’re trying to tell me. Just spit it out,” I snap.
“I’m here to help you, Liana. I know Alessia’s boyfriend’s dad owes Tomasso a lot of money, and you tried to pay it off for them to keep Tomasso from ruining the kid’s career in football.”
I’m silent, waiting for him to continue because I’m still unsure where he’s going with all of this.
“It’s really quite sweet of you. Such a romantic, you are.”
“Massimo”—I start tapping my foot—“get on with whatever you’re trying to say.”
“I’m here to offer you a deal. One I don’t think you’ll be able to resist.”
The conniving look in his eye and the sinister grin on his face have me uneasy. I’m not sure what this deal could possibly be, but if it involves Massimo Bonetti, then I know I’m not going to like it.
“I’m willing to speak to Tomasso about letting you—or whomever wants to—pay off Gregory Taylor’s debt. I’ll even putin a good word for Colton to Tomasso—see if that gets him on his side. But there’s just one thing I want in exchange for my help.”
I give him a few shakes of my head and let out a scoff. “Of course there is. Why wouldn’t there be strings attached? You can’t just do something out of the kindness of your heart.”
“On the contrary, this is all out of the kindness of my heart, whether you choose to see it that way or not.”
“What is it that you want, Massimo? I don’t know what you could possibly need from me.”
His words ring back through my ears—we’re inevitable—and I freeze on the spot, my heart pounding so loudly it thrums in my ears.
“Wait a second. You’re not going to ask me to…”
Massimo raises a brow at me. “To…?”
“I swear, if you ask me to have sex with you in exchange for your help, I’m going to?—”
“Oh, that’s not all I’m going to ask of you. Not only do I want you to have sex with me, but I also want your hand in marriage.”
Deafening silence fills the room. Did he just say what I think he just said? No, it can’t be. I did not just get propositioned like a damn prostitute by Massimo fucking Bonetti.
“I’m sorry, I think you’re going to have to repeat yourself. Surely, I didn’t hear you correctly.”
“I assure you, you did, but for your sake, I’ll repeat exactly what’s going to happen. In exchange for me helping Alessia and her boyfriend out, you and I are going to get married.”
My jaw drops, and before I realize what I’m doing, I pull my hand back and let it fly through the air, making contact with Massimo’s cheek.
