“He said I’d have to have sex with him.”
My words knock Lux back into her seat, Amalia’s jaw drops, and Izzy stares at me like she must’ve misheard me.
Silence takes over the table, nothing but the murmurs of patrons in the background.
“He said you have to…” Lux mumbles.
“Yes,have sexwith him. Oh,andmarry him.”
“Okay, this is insane,” Izzy says, shaking her hands in the air.
“What the hell?” Amalia says.
“Yeah, so I’m sure you can all understand my disdain for this man now.” I turn my attention back to the menu.
Even saying those words out loud to my best friends was difficult. It’s demoralizing and degrading that Massimo propositioned me in such a way. I can’t believe he’d think I’d ever do such a thing.
“Okay, can I just say something,” Izzy says, breaking the silence. “The whole having sex to help you thing is definitely rude, but what’s with the marriage part? I mean, he wants to be tied down to you, which makes me think this is about a little bit more than just sex.”
I slowly drag my gaze to my cousin and peer at her from over my menu. “I’m sorry, but are you sticking up for him?”
“She has a point,” Lux says. “It actually kind of reminds me of Teo and I.”
I gasp. “You too?”
I snap my gaze to Amalia, whose wide eyes already tell me which side she’s taken.
“Oh my gosh, you’reallon his side?”
“Okay, now hold on just a minute. I never said I was on his side,” Izzy says. “I will always and forever be on your side. All I’m saying is that if hejustwanted sex from you—which I’m obviously not okay with—then why would he want to marry you?”
“I don’t know, Izzy, but it doesn’t matter because I’m not going to acknowledge some asshole who thinks he can force me into a marriage.”
I wince at my words, sliding my apologetic gaze back to Lux, who gives me a loose shrug and says, “Ehh, that’s totally valid. I also thought I hated Teo when he made me marry him.”
“That was completely different, Lux. You and Teo… you’re perfect for each other. Me and Massimo?” I shiver at the idea of the two of us together. “He might be sinfully good-looking, butthat’s about all he has going for him. I will not allow him to use me in whatever stupid game he thinks he’s playing at, and that’s that.”
My voice gets softer, realizing the abrasive tone Massimo brings out in me. I cannot talk about this anymore. I refuse to. “Look, let’s just move on as if Massimo doesn’t exist and enjoy our girls lunch, okay?”
The three of them exchange a look that tells me this isn’t going to be the end of this conversation, but Izzy still says, “If you insist.”
I give each of them a relieved smile and say, “I do,” but I can tell by the tight smiles and consoling eyes they’re giving me, Massimo Bonetti will be a man no one can pretend doesn’t exist.
8
MASSIMO
“Hey, Dad,” I say as I walk into his office and take a seat across the desk from him.
He greets me from behind his computer screen. “Massimo, I’m sure you can guess why I’ve called you in today.”
If I had to bet all my money on it, I’d say it’s because of my lack of a fiancée.
“I’ve given you some time to find a wife. Do you have anything to report back to me?”
“Not yet, but with just a little more time, I know I will.”
I haven’t spoken to Liana since my run-in with her at the boutique. It didn’t take me long after the words tumbled out of my mouth to realize confronting her the way I did probably wasn’t the best fucking idea.
