Izzy’s gaze snaps to mine when she sees who it is.
“You’re early, Massimo,” I say, my voice tight.
“You could say I’m very excited about this meeting,” he says.
Massimo’s hands are shoved in the pockets of his black slacks, and he looks as if he’s enjoying himself a little too much.
I can’t help but run my gaze over him. He’s wearing all black, which doesn’t surprise me. It seems to be his favorite color. It doesn’t take me long to realize he’s wearing one of my suits, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“You and Massimo have a meeting?” Izzy interrupts.
“How are you, Izzy?” he says in a sickeningly charming voice I’m sure would have any girl melting on the spot… But not me.
“Doing well, Massimo. How about you? Here to bully Liana into marrying you again?”
A sly smile lifts at the corner of his mouth, and he chuckles a deep sound I feel all the way from here. “Bullying seems like a harsh word, don’t you think?”
“I mean, if the shoe fits,” she says with a smirk. “But why am I not surprised?”
It takes me all of two seconds to realize this isn’t Izzy being a bitch to Massimo. No, this is some friendly banter with some unspoken joke or something that I’m not privy to.
“I’m going to head out,” she says.
“Nicco finally make it?” I ask, not able to contain the slight annoyance I have with him being late.
It’s not that I was planning on hiding my meeting with Massimo from Izzy. I was going to tell her eventually, but I wanted to get everything figured out and get my own mind wrapped around this farce before filling her and the girls in.
“He did. He’s out back, so I’m going to head out for the day.” Putting on her coat, she grabs her bag and smiles brightly at me. “We’ll chat later.”
“Izzy, can you do me a favor and keep this to yourself for now? Please?”
She gives me a small nod and a sympathetic smile. “Of course, Liana,” she says, then walks toward the door, stopping next to Massimo, whose penetrating gaze hasn’t left mine.
“I knew it,” she says to him, which has me crinkling my brow at her. I don’t know what exactly happened on that date they went on, but I’m assuming that’s what all this little back-and-forth between the two of them is about. Before I’m able to ask her, she and Lainey exit the office, leaving me alone to endure the suffocation Massimo makes me feel.
He walks over to my desk.
“What did she mean by that?” I ask.
Taking a seat in the chair across from me, he says, “Mean by what?”
“Condition number one: if we’re going to be married, blatant lies to my face will not be tolerated. You’re to respect me as an equal.”
He raises a brow. “Does condition number one really say that?”
“More or less,” I say, handing him a copy of the document I drew up. “That’s the general idea.”
Massimo’s hand grazes mine when he reaches to take the paper, and I break out in goosebumps.
Our hands rest midair, with me stuck in a trance until I remind myself where I’m at and who I’m with. I shake myself outof the stupor and yank my hand away, but my body’s temporary reaction to Massimo doesn’t go unnoticed by him.
He chuckles, and I roll my eyes at him.
“Do you remember that date I took your cousin on?”
“Not really,” I say, already breaking condition number one.
“Well, since it’s honesty you want… Izzy is quite observant, and she ended up calling me out for taking her on that date. She suspected it was only because I was trying to get the attention of another woman.”
