I scoff. “I’m good, thanks.”
When I go to turn around, Massimo stops me with his hand. “I wasn’t asking.”
I would argue with him, but his unwavering tone tells me I’d be wasting my breath, so I turn around and take off down the street while Massimo walks in line with me.
I proceed to ignore him until we get to my apartment located above my boutique. We stop in front of the doors, and I turn to face him.
“Okay, you walked me home. You can leave now.”
His mouth lifts into a smirk. “What, no thank you?”
“I never asked you to come with me, and to be quite frank, I didn’t need you to.”
“You think your cousins would’ve been okay with you walking home alone at night?”
“It’s not like this is an unsafe area. Besides, did you see them come after me? They were perfectly fine.”
“Yeah, becauseIwas with you.”
“Fine, Massimo. Thank you for walking me home.” I nod in the direction we just came from. “Now you can leave.”
“You’re quite the prickly one, huh?”
“Can you blame me, given the circumstances of our relationship?”
“You’ll see soon, Liana.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and I are meant to be. Whatever. Have a good night.” I turn around, take my keys out of my purse, and head inside.
“Blue works for you, right?” he says before I’m able to shut the door.
Holding it open, I say, “I’m sorry?”
“The colors for the wedding. Blue works? It’s your favorite color, after all.”
“I don’t really care.”I kind of do.
Massimo lets out a chuckle. “Blue it is. I’m assuming you have your dress and the bridesmaid dresses handled?”
“If I must,” I say, not wanting him to know I already know the exact dress I’ll be wearing. It’s a dress I designed a few years ago but never had made. Maybe it was my subconscious telling me to hide it away until it was my time.
Massimo chuckles again. “Have a good night,mia moglie.”
I roll my eyes as I shut the door. He watches me from the other side while I lock it. I do my best to ignore him, but I can feel his penetrating gaze boring into me. It’s like my senses are heightened around him to an inordinate amount. The fine hairson my body stand on end, and I’m acutely aware of where he is and what he’s doing. It’s infuriating.
Without looking at him, I head to my office, leaving him on the street.
Tossing my purse and coat onto my desk, I sink down into my seat. I wanted to get some work done, but as I sit here, all I can think about is that in two weeks I’ll be married to a don, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that. What I do know is that I need to keep Massimo at a distance as much as I can, because while I hate to admit it, something tells me he might actually start to break down these walls I’ve built so damn high.
17
MASSIMO
“These dusty-blue colors are absolutely gorgeous, Massimo,” my mom says as she goes through everything the wedding planner brought over.
I glance up from my phone and say, “You can thank Liana for that. Blue’s her favorite color.”
“Will she be joining us today?” she asks.
