Page 30 of Good Girl Gone Bad

Nonna’s lips broke into another smile, filling his heart with pride. “I like you already, Patricia.”

Lily saw an empty chair next to her and sat down. “The feeling is mutual. Marco told me a lot about you.”

Nonna waved her off, leaning closer. “Don’t believe him, they’re all lies.”

Lily winked at her. “That’s what I thought.”

He watched them chat, taken aback for a moment. Lily would be the last of his dates his grandma would ever meet. Nonna had never liked Angelica much, especially after the end of their relationship. He’d kept from introducing random affairs to her as a sign of respect, and also for self-preservation. Yet, a strange emotion delved into his chest, as if him introducing Lily to Nonna represented some closure. Lily was doing a pretty damn good job, too.

“Primo,” said a voice he recognized behind him.

“Arietta,” he called, turning around to greet her.

“Your fiancée is quite something,” Arietta said. “She’s drop-dead gorgeous, smart, and even seems to have fallen on Nonna’s good side.” If the words complimented, Arietta’s tone did not. It sounded more accusatory than kind.

“She’s the total package,” he said, choosing to ignore the snarkiness in Arietta’s voice. Arietta had been Angelica’s best friend growing up, and never approved of them breaking up. Marco never discovered what Angelica told friends and family, but somehow Arietta seemed to think he’d been the jerk and done something unforgivable. Maybe she knows the truth. That’s why she doesn’t want to see me happy.

“Yes. By the way, you do know I donate to a local artistic organization, right?” she said, switching to a lighter tone.

In the past decade, he’d stayed away from his drama-prone cousin as much as he could manage. Nothing more than a quick chat here and there. “No, I didn’t.”

“Well, your fiancée has been generous enough to trust me with her secret.”

He frowned. “Secret?” Shit. Lily was just too trusting if she’d told Arietta anything.

A glint sparked in Arietta’s big eyes. “Yes. Her hidden talent.”

What the hell? Afraid to let out more than needed, Marco nodded as if he knew what the hell she was talking about.

“I was wondering if she’d mind coming over tomorrow for a quick visit. We have some children from a local school visiting the studio and I’m sure they’d love to meet an international artist. That would mean the world to them.”

“I think we’re fully booked.”

“I understand, but if she spared thirty minutes from her day, I’d be so grateful. If not, maybe we can ask her new best friend to sway her,” she said, her head pointing in the direction of their grandmother.

A flare of irritation ignited through him. Damn Arietta. “Fine. Thirty minutes and that’s it.” Whatever plan Arietta had to embarrass his fiancée, he’d be one step ahead of her.

A smile of triumph formed on Arietta’s face. “Thanks, Marco, for being so accommodating.”

He waited patiently until the end of the evening, after dinner and dessert, when he and Lily were headed back to their suite, to ask her, “What did you say is your hidden talent?”

“Sculpting.”

“Sculpting?”

“Yes. It’s a long story, but I introduced myself as Lily at first, then I realized I made a mistake, so I said Lily was a pseudonym for my amateur artistic side.”

Wrong name. Shit. No wonder Arietta walked around like she knew the secret numbers of a winning lottery ticket. His cousin suspected his fiancée was not who she said she was, and if Arietta mentioned that to Nico, all would be lost. Nothing could stop those two from tearing Lily’s identity apart. While Nico would do it for the “greater good” of their company, he wouldn’t boast about his findings to Nonna or anyone else. Even when they disagreed, he and his brother had each other’s backs.

But the same couldn’t be said about Arietta. She’d find pleasure in outing Marco’s plan publicly. “No wonder Arietta was all over you. She suspects something’s off.”

“Oh, crap. You hate me, don’t you?” She chewed on her lower lip.

Hate her? He wished. Hating her would make his life easier, hating her wouldn’t cause his body to go into overdrive when she smiled at him or called his name. “No.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I dropped the ball. Even though you prepared me so much, I’m not a natural liar—preacher’s daughter, you know.”

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Arietta only wants you to meet some children who are visiting an art studio. It’s not like you’re expected to teach them about sculpting. Google some stuff about the craft and you can interact with the children for a while. Do you like children?”

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