Page 91 of Ice To Meet You

I shook my head slowly. “Heisgood enough. Your grandson is incredible.”

After a silence that seemed to stretch across the ages, he shifted, my desk creaking under his movement.

“Are the two of you …” He paused as if picking his words carefully. “Together? In a relationship, I mean.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. “Yes,” I whispered. It was the first time I’d said it out loud and damn, it felt good. Iris and I had skirted around the question, but with my admission, a warming calm settled over me. “It’s not something either of us rushed into or intended, but I think your grandson is wonderful and everything you should be proud of.”

Gio sighed, tickling Claudette behind the ear. She purred and head-butted Gio’s hand. She seemed to like him as much as she liked Matteo.

“I won’t say the news is a shock. After seeing the two of you tonight, I could see there was some … some regard. And he would forever talk about you on our calls. But I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have suggested he work with you if I’d known it would lead to something more.”

His words stung, lodging deep in my chest. He might not be upset about our relationship, but that didn’t mean he was pleased about being entangled in my life and business. Matteo and I had made everything more complicated.

“We never meant to deceive you. I know we’re probably not what you had in mind, and some might say we’re taking a risk.”

Gio quietly laughed. “I know something about risk.” He leaned over and topped up our glasses. “Although I love Matteo’s grandmother very much, she wasn’t my first love. My first love was deemed unsuitable by my family.

She was older than me. Not by much, but in their eyes, she wasn't acceptable. Things were different back then, and my family was traditional. They refused to let me see her. I was young, and I went along with their wishes. As much as I adore Maria, I often wonder what would’ve happened if I’d taken a chance and gone against what they expected of me.”

Gio smiled at Claudette, tapping his nail against his glass. Eventually, he sighed. "I like you, Esmé. You make sense to me. Your knowledge is impressive, and your taste undeniable. So, despite tonight’s chaos—and everything that’s come to light about you and Matteo—I’ll still invest in your gallery."

My body filled with a fizzing energy, and I put down my glass, spilling drops of red liquid on the desk. “You’re serious?”

He glanced at the spill with a smile on his lips and a glint in his eyes.He chuckled. “I am. And perhaps over time, with your guidance, Matteo will take an interest in the family business, too. Maybe you’ll help him keep both feet on the ground and not dangling over cliffs.”

I huffed a laugh. His offer was laden with unspoken conditions—conditions of Matteo and I working out—staying together; but I didn’t care. “I don’t know what to say.”

He shrugged. “Then say nothing. Take my money and make me more. That's all I ask.”

Somehow, I doubted that. “But what if …?”

“You won’t,” he said. “The two of you will be just fine.”

My skin prickled. He’d known I was about to ask what would happen if Matteo and I went our separate ways.

Gio cleared his throat and shifted off my desk. “I’ve taken up too much of your time. I know you must have a lot to do.”

I stood too. “Thank you, Gio.”

He shook his head. “Don’t thank me. I wouldn’t invest if I didn’t trust your judgement.” He chuckled. “Now I just need to work out how to keep news of tonight’s events away from Maria. She’s in New York on a shopping trip with friends.Hopefully, the gossip won’t travel that far. I’d prefer to soften the blow beforehand.”

Gio’s eyes sparkled as he ran them over my face. “Goodnight, Esmé. I’ll be in touch. And if, as I expect, you see my grandson before I do, please give him my love.”

Gio gave Claudette one last tickle, then left the gallery with a tinkle of the bell. My pretty white cat jumped down from my desk, weaving around my feet.

“Are you missing Matteo as much as I am?” She looked up at me with her green eyes. It was odd having her here in the gallery alone. The two of them travelled as a pair these days.

I pulled in a thick breath. Even if I didn’t have my dignity, I still had Gio’s investment. I still had Papa, Luc, Iris … and … if I wanted him, I still had Matteo. He was unlike anyone I’d been with before—impulsive, fearless, unapologetically alive. He didn’t waste time worrying about what others thought, and I could only imagine the freedom of letting go the way he did.

I picked up my drink, my entire body pulsing with energy. Letting go? He’d told me to let go on the zip line. And when I had, did I regret my choice? Not for a second.

If I were truly honest, I wanted nothing more than to let go—with the man who’d stolen my heart somewhere between the sky and the slopes.

I drained my glass. Then with trembling fingers, I picked up my phone and made a call.

After four rings, a sleepy voice greeted me. “Hello?”

“Iris. I’m going to ask you to talk me out of something.”

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