Page 155 of Modern Romance June 2025 5-8

‘Just waiting onyou,’ he said, leaning into her side, and she pushed him away. He took her in—a riot of dark lazy curls that framed high cheekbones, a button nose, a perfect bowed lip and an arched eyebrow that bored daggers into him.

Much to her apparent frustration, Maria had grown into a very beautiful woman who clearly hated that it made it harder for men to take her seriously. Especially in the boardroom. Not that they thought that way for long. But while Maria had inherited her beauty from her mother, she had inherited her grandfather’s cut-throat business acumen.

In the hierarchy of the family, she might be considered to be at the bottom rung of the ladder, but Antonio anticipated the day when they would realise she was the best heir to the Gallo throne. It was just a shame that she needed to marry him to prove that.

‘Is that her?’ Maria asked, nodding towards where his mother stood.

‘Mm,’ he acknowledged, picking his mother and his wife out of the crowd.

‘She’s pretty,’ Maria observed.

‘Mm,’ Antonio conceded with a smirk that Maria seemed to find funny.

‘Youlikeher.’

He turned and glared at his cousin.

Her smile dropped a little. ‘Do youlikeher, like her?’

‘Why can no one speak in sentences any more?’ he demanded, tossing his hands in the air before stalking towards the bar to get himself a drink.

‘Antonio—’ she stopped him with a hand on his arm ‘—is this a problem? Should I be worried?’

It was the first hint of vulnerability he’d ever seen her display, which was enough to remind him of what was at stake for her. Everything.

He closed the distance he’d put between them. ‘No, it’s not. The plan is the same. We’re just here to fulfil the requirements of an asinine judge before he grants us a divorce.’

Maria closed her eyes and nodded.‘Va bene.’And when she opened them again she was smiling as if nothing had happened.

‘Ah, there you both are!’ his mother called from over his shoulder and this time he was the one that grimaced.

Per l’amor di Dio, he just wanted a drink.

He turned to watch them approach, feeling more than a few curious gazes on them.

‘Ivy, may I introduce Maria?’ he said, turning to Maria. ‘Maria, this is Ivy.’

‘There. See? It wasn’t so bad,’ his mother whispered before slipping back into the crowds.

Antonio sighed, while Maria’s smile was big, beautiful and confident.

‘It’s lovely to meet you, Ivy. I’ve heard a lot about you,’ she said, her hand outstretched.

Ivy smiled and took the offered hand. ‘I imagine that would be quite hard, but that you’ve heard about me at all bodes well.’

‘You work in a library?’ Maria asked, leading them over to the bar where finally, thankfully, Antonio could get a drink.

He let their conversation drift over him, parsing it for anything alarming while he scanned the rest of the guests. He saw the familiar disdain in the side glances, felt the whispers and the hostility towards someone who wasn’t ‘of their blood’.

He didn’t care. Truthfully. These people didn’t mean anything to him. But while they didn’t own Gallo Group, they certainly sat on the board and benefitted from it. And that was important to Maria, so he’d play their game.

Until he got Maria what she deserved.

An elaborate dinner began at about the time Ivy was used to going to bed and she resisted the urge for another glass of wine, knowing she would have to keep her wits about her. They were outside, at an impossibly long table beneath a pergola from which hung luscious vines hiding grapes within their leaves.

She’d tried to make conversation with the woman beside her, but had given up soon after it became painfully clear that she wasn’t the least bit interested. Instead, Ivy turned her attention back to Antonio, who had asked if she was okay with the lighting.

It was rather dark, but she’d assured him that she was fine. Throughout the day she’d felt his solicitous attention, which only served to unnerve her more. As they tucked into beef Carpaccio, Ivy willed herself to eat, even though what Antonio’s mother had told her earlier that afternoon had left her stomach quivering with emotion.

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