“Whoa, easy there.”

She stares at me wide-eyed before she bursts into giggles.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” She giggles again before she wipes her lips with the back of her hand. It’s such an unappealing move, but she somehow makes it look sexy. My rock-hard cock agrees.

A knock on the door saves me from doing something very stupid, like pushing Chiara against the wall and kissing the hell out of her. No matter how tempting the idea is, I can’t let myself go there. It’s clear that she’s going through some rough shit, and I refuse to be the asshole who takes advantage of that.

“Come in,” I say.

The door opens a fraction, and Max’s head pops through the crack.

“Rea—Chiara, what are you doing here?”

“I didn’t come looking for him, if that’s what you were thinking.” She turns to glare at her cousin.

Max doesn’t seem happy with her answer by the way his eyebrows furrow together. “Sure you didn’t. Hey, I’m all for sticking it to your mom, but don’t you think bringing a complete stranger to her favorite niece’s wedding party was a bit much?” He glances in my direction and adds, “No offense, dude.”

“None taken. For the record, I usually don’t accept random invitations from strangers. I was on my way to the Winery Della Vecchia, and Chiara mentioned the owners would be here.”

“Ah, so you don’t want to sleep with my cousin?”

Max raises an eyebrow at me, putting me in a very tough spot. I wasn’t expecting him to be so fucking blunt. It’s almost like I’m dealing with my lawyer, Enzo. It must be an Italian thing. Most of the people I know would wait until Chiara left the room to ask me that question.

Like an idiot, I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind. “Good Lord, no.”

Chiara winces as if I slapped her, making me regret my careless outburst. It sounded like I’m repulsed by her, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Ouch. That was a solid burn, man,” Max says.

“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s not that I don’t find you attractive, Chiara. I—”

She raises her hand, speaking over me. “You don’t need to apologize. Enjoy the party.”

Pivoting on the spot, she shoves Max out of the way so she can escape the room.

“You really did put your foot in your mouth, didn’t you?” He smirks.

I run a hand through my hair, frustrated with my inability to salvage the situation before Chiara left.

“How mad is she at me right now?”

Max shrugs. “I don’t think mad is the right word. Her ego is probably bruised purple now. Our cousin Paola is marrying the guy Chiara has been in love with for years and—ah, cazzo. I shouldn’t have told you that. Chiara will kill me if she finds out.”

A spike of jealousy spears my chest, which is completely absurd. I rub my face, feeling worse than I did before.

“It wasn’t my intention to make her feel bad. I’m not blind. Chiara is gorgeous, but I didn’t accept her invitation thinking I would get some in the end.”

Max scoffs. “Right. I’ll pretend I believe you. Chiara is an adult, and I’m her cousin, not her keeper. She could use a distraction today, and if that’s you, I don’t care.”

5

Chiara

I must have done something terrible in my previous life, and the universe has decided to make me pay for all my sins today. I don’t think my poor heart can take another rejection before I become a blubbering mess. The way Alistair answered Max’s out-of-line question left me reeling. He sounded so appalled by the mere idea of sleeping with me that it felt like a punch to my gut.

Tell me how you really feel, why don’t you?

I can’t go back to the party outside, so I head to the second floor, hoping not to bump into anyone. My cousin and her bridesmaids are still enclosed in the main suite, waiting for the signal to head down. I veer in the opposite direction, going to Grandpa’s office instead, the only place in this house where I feel relatively safe. It was my hiding spot when I was younger and my cousins were being extra mean to me. I was the youngest and the easiest target for their wicked games. Maybe if I didn’t take every insult they aimed at me to heart, they wouldn’t pick on me so much. I guess the old saying is right: if you stand for nothing, you fall for everything.

The office is mercifully empty—I can’t believe I didn’t think of coming here before. I let out a sigh of relief as I close the heavy door behind me.

After taking a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm my nerves, I walk to the window and watch the party downstairs for a few minutes. I spot my mother asking guests to take their seats, which means the ceremony is about to start. I have no plans to move from my spot. I’ll stay right here. I don’t care if there will be hell to pay later, or that I’m leaving Alistair alone down there to deal with the wolves by himself. I’m beyond the point of caring.

What a fool I was to indulge in fantasies about the man. I’m not unattractive, but the guy is sex on a stick, an Adonis among men, and way out of my league. He would never go for such a silly girl like me.

What am I doing? I promised myself not to allow those low self-esteem thoughts to enter my head anymore. Maybe Alistair was feeling disarmed and thought it would be disrespectful to tell Max he wanted to bang me.

I’m lost in my thoughts when the door opens. There goes my privacy. Turning around, I find Pietro standing at the entrance. Oh fuck. What now?

“Shouldn’t you be downstairs already, waiting for your blushing bride to walk down the aisle?” I can’t help my sarcastic tone.

Pietro closes the door behind him with a resounding click, making me swallow hard. What is he doing? My heart kicks up a notch, not from excitement, but from apprehension.

“I don’t think I can go on with the ceremony until we finish the conversation we started earlier.”

My heart lodges in my throat. “What?”

“I need to know something, Chiara.” He stalks my way, and I feel like prey all of a sudden. I don’t like the strange look in his gaze.

“We have nothing to talk about, Pietro.” I try to sidestep him, but he blocks my way, grabbing my wrist.

“That’s bullshit, Chiara. Why did you bolt out of that bathroom when I confessed I had a crush on you during high school?” He watches me with a fire in his gaze I’ve never seen before.

“You made me uncomfortable. You’re about to marry my cousin, after all.”

“Is that all?” His voice is strained, as if he’s fighting some inner turmoil. “How come I have the feeling you’re lying?”

“I’m not lying. Why does it matter anyway?”

“I need to know if you felt the same way about me. Otherwise I’ll go insane.” The confession comes out of his mouth as if it pains him to say it.

Too fucking late.

I pull my arm from his grasp. “Are you kidding me right now? You need to know? Why? Is your ego already in need of a boost?”

“No. You don’t understand—”