Every laughed, and I forced myself to join in.
“Luca, will you lead us in saying grace?” Mrs. Romano requested.
“Sure.”
My stomach gave an uncomfortable flip as everyone joined hands. Mr. Romano grabbed hold of my left hand, and I suppressed a grimace as Gio took hold of my right hand. Everyone closed their eyes, while I glared down at my lap. I chanced a sideways glance at Gio, only to find him already looking at me from the corner of his eyes. I quickly averted my gaze.
“Dear Lord, thank you for bringing our families together. Let this meal bring us closer, and let fortune be in our favor as we embark on these new and exciting times for Arianna and Giovanni. Amen.”
“Amen,” everyone said in unison.
The moment it was over, I gratefully released Gio’s hand.
“So,” Mr. Romano said, turning toward my father, “tell me a little bit about your business ventures.”
With that, they set off into an enthusiastic conversation as they began their meals. I glanced down the table, noticing that my mother and Mrs. Romano had also made fast friends and were chatting amicably over their meals.
Which left Giovanni and me eating in awkward silence.
He cleared his throat. “So…this was…unexpected,” he said in a low voice.
“I’m sure it was,” I said, unable to hide the bitterness in my voice.
“Well, at least we’re not complete strangers, right? Maybe fate arranged our meeting beforehand?”
“I doubt that.”
Perhaps sensing my hostile tone, Gio raised his eyebrows. “Uhm…so—why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself?”
“Oh, so you’re actually interested in knowing more now?”
He blinked. At that point, I noticed his father briefly catch his eye. Gio smiled, clearly trying to pretend that everything was going well. My father caught my gaze too. Instead of smiling though, I stuffed a bite of my dinner roll into my mouth.
“Listen, we have to make the best out of this,” Gio said quietly. “I’m willing to put in the effort. You’re beautiful, your folks seem like nice people—”
“Your folks seem like nice people too. I just wish I could say the same for you.”
Giovanni swore under his breath and reached for his drink.
The rest of our meal continued in relative silence.
CHAPTER 10
Arianna
“Thank you so much for dinner,” my father said. “Everything was superb.”
“Glad you enjoyed it. Would you like to join me for a cigar?” Mr. Romano said.
“Sure.”
Together, he and my father left the table.
“Let me help you clean up a bit,” my mother offered to Mrs. Romano.
“Thank you so much,” she replied. And within seconds, my mother disappeared with her, carrying dishes to the kitchen and leaving me alone with Giovanni once more.
“Did you enjoy dinner?”
“I tried to,” I said, not bothering to look at him.
He stood from the table and extended his hand to me. “Come on.”
“What?”
“Let’s take a walk.” When I didn’t respond, he leaned down toward me. “Our parents are going to get suspicious if they don’t see us at least trying to get along, you know that, right? And we really do need to get along, don’t you think?”
With a sigh, I stood from the table. “Fine.”
I followed Gio as he led me toward the front door of the house. We passed by our fathers, who smiled and waved at us on the way out.
The evening had turned chilly, but it was lovely nonetheless. Bright stars sparkled overhead.
“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Gio said. Once again, he reached for my hand, wanting to help me down the stairs, but I ignored him and descended the stairs on my own.
“I guess,” I said.
We walked across the yard and set off down a path along the sidewalk. I shivered slightly in the breeze.
“Are you cold?” he asked. He began unbuttoning his blazer, presumably to offer to me.
“No, I’m fine,” I said, not wanting his chivalry.
His hand brushed mine as he attempted to hold it again, but I snatched it away.
“Look,” I said, coming to a halt, “we may be forced to get married, but that doesn’t mean anything, got it?”
Gio stopped and looked back at me. He tilted his head. “What do you mean it doesn’t mean anything?”
“I mean that on paper, we’ll be married, but we’ll never actually be a thing.”
“Arianna, what did I do? I mean—we had a good time last night, but today, you hate me, and I don’t understand why.”
“The fact that you don’t know why is precisely the problem.”
CHAPTER 11
Giovanni
I knew I was in over my head, but I had no idea how to tell my family.
The not-so-romantic walk Arianna and I had taken after dinner hadn’t ended well. She made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t happy with our pre-arranged nuptial, and she already had no intentions of honoring our union as a real marriage. All because of something I did.
Ironically, before finding out she was my future bride-to-be, I had shared similar sentiments. But after seeing her response, I was beginning to have a change of heart. I wanted to give this thing an actual shot, and it was driving me crazy that she wasn’t willing to do the same.
After years of having women fawning at my side, I didn’t want to think that I was merely feeling offended about a woman not wanting me. I didn’t want to think I was truly that vain. But the more Arianna resisted me, the more frustrated I became, and I knew it wasn’t just solely because of my responsibility to my family.
This woman was hurting my pride.
“So—I see you and Arianna went for an after-dinner stroll. How did things go?” my father had asked after the Marino’s left that evening.
“We’re still new to each other. It’s going to take some time…”
“I know that. But what was your first impression? Do you think you’ll be able to go through with this?”
“Are you honestly giving me a choice?”
“You volunteered for this, Gio.”
“I know, I know…I’ll…I’ll give it my best shot.”
“Do you not find her appealing? I think she’s a beautiful girl. Well-mannered. Educated. Loves children. What more can you ask for? You just do what you do. Work your charm. Win her over so we can start planning this wedding.”
After this conversation with my father, I vowed to put a strong effort into winning Arianna over. However, she refused to answer my calls, even after a whole week had gone by. Needless to say, she wasn’t making things easy for me. I couldn’t help wondering if she had told her parents that she disapproved of the arrangement and whether I’d be receiving a call at some point informing me that the deal was off.
When Saturday rolled around, I attempted to call Arianna damn-near every hour, to no avail. I felt like a pest, but each time I even gave a fleeting thought to throwing in the towel, I shuddered at how disappointed my father would be with me. No matter how old I got, disappointing my father remained something that I was always leery of doing. I would probably go the rest of my life seeking his approval.
After the tenth straight time of calling Arianna and receiving no answer, I angrily threw my phone onto the couch and began pacing the room.
What could I have possibly done to offend her so badly?
I’d replayed the night of our first meeting so many times in my head that I began to automatically recall the feel of her skin every time I closed my eyes. She had been so into me at the time. I was excellent at reading body language, and I knew for a fact that she had wanted to be with me that night. Hell, I had been willing to take things slow, but she sped things up by kissing me first.
So, what on earth had gone so wrong between then and now? I just couldn’t figure it out.
“The fact
that you don’t know why is precisely the problem.” Those had been her last words to me, except for the faked cheer she had mustered to tell me goodbye and that she’d had a nice time when she and her parents left after dinner.
Unable to take it anymore, I decided that I needed to hear from Arianna in person. I wanted her to look me in the eye and explain what it was about me that she found so repulsive.
At just that moment, my mother walked into the living room. “Oh!” she said with a start. “I didn’t realize you were still here, Gio.”
“I was just leaving,” I said.
“Where you headed to?”
“I’m going to see Arianna.”
The smile that spread across my mother’s face was almost too heartbreaking to bear. I turned away from her. She was my mother, and like all mothers, she had a sixth sense. If she looked at me for too long, she would know that something was wrong.
“So, things are going well between the two of you then?” she said.
“Sure,” I said, much too quickly. “See you later, Ma.”
I then darted out the door before she could ask me anything else.
I got in my car, already knowing where the Marino residence was, for I had been given an open invite to their home by Mr. and Mrs. Marino—much to Arianna’s chagrin, of course. I figured I might as well use it to my advantage though. Besides, she wouldn’t be rude to me in front of her parents. Hopefully, I could work some charm over them again, which would, in turn, make Arianna warm up to me as well. At least that’s what I hoped.
Only time would tell.
As I continued to drive, it became apparent just how affluent the Marino’s were. Their neighborhood was beautiful, as were the homes that populated it. And once I pulled up to the Marino residence, I understood firsthand why my father was so desperate to get into the family.
I pulled into the driveway, my nerves skyrocketing.
What if Arianna wasn’t home? What if she refused to let me in? What if she had already told her parents that she wanted nothing to do with me, and they sent away and told me to inform my father that the engagement was over?
Before I lost my nerve completely, I forced myself out of my car and headed to the doorstep.
Holding my breath, I pressed the doorbell.
All remained silent, and for a moment, I suspected no one was home. Relieved and dejected at the same time, I prepared to leave. But then I began to hear stirring from behind the door.
My heart began to pound as I saw the doorknob turning.
There she was. Arianna Marino.
She apparently hadn’t been expecting company, for she was dressed in workout clothes and had her hair tied back into a sloppy ponytail. Yet, my breath caught in my throat anyway, for she still looked beautiful. Even workout clothes couldn’t hide the magnificent curves of her figure. And with her face fresh and free of makeup, her natural beauty was put on prominent display.
Her eyes widened at the sight of me and then began to narrow suspiciously.
“Hello,” I said
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
A long and uncomfortable silence passed between us. I began to shift my weight from one foot to the other, feeling so uncharacteristically unsure of myself. What the hell was she doing to me? “Can I come in?” I asked.
Arianna folded her arms.
“Oh, come on,” I said. “Please don’t turn me away after I’ve come all the way out here to see you. I just…wanted to say hello to you and your parents.”
“My parents aren’t here,” she answered.
“Oh…well—maybe we could just hang out for a moment and…talk.”
“Just to talk, huh?” she said as if she didn’t believe my intentions.
Unfortunately, right that instant, I began to feel yearning stirring inside of me at the memory of the night we’d shared upon first meeting. Although that had been the furthest thing from my mind when I’d decided to come over, standing in front of her, I could hardly think of anything else.
I cleared my throat. “So, are you going to let me in or not? You know—you’re just making it harder on yourself, treating me this way. You do realize that whether you like it or not, we’re going to be a part of each other’s lives. So, we may as well start adapting to that now, don’t you think?”
Arianna’s expression faltered for a moment. Then, to my surprise, she stepped aside, permitting me entrance into her home.
My arm brushed against hers as I crossed the threshold and my eyes involuntarily traveled over her body as she closed the door behind me. She then turned to face me.
Neither of us spoke.
I ran my hand through my hair. “Arianna, can you at least tell me why you hate me so much?”
“Don’t play so innocent.”
“I’m not playing innocent. I honestly don’t know what I did to offend you. So please, enlighten me so that I can be sure to not do it again.”
She sighed. “Look—when we first met, I knew...I thought…there could never really be anything more between us. But still—the way you made me feel afterward. Kicking me out of your apartment like that, as if I was just some hired whore whose time had run out. I’m not that kind of girl. Until then, I’d never done anything like that before and…I just don’t like the way you made me feel. And to know that you view it as all right to treat women that way…” She paused and shook her head. “What kind of life am I going to have with you as my husband? And it’s not like I can say anything to my parents about it. They’re so ecstatic, I don’t know what to do.”
I hung my head and shook it. “Ari—I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way at all. The only reason I rushed you out of my apartment was because my father had called me at the ass crack of dawn, telling me that I had to get over to their house because I had to meet the woman I’d been arranged to marry. It was disorienting, to say the least. My mind was just preoccupied. Trust me—I wanted to stay with you longer, to at least have breakfast with you, but I was too busy thinking about meeting this mystery woman that I had to dedicate myself to even though I didn’t know who she was.”
Arianna stared at me for a long time. Finally, her expression softened. “I guess that makes sense.”
I smiled slowly. “So, does that mean I can take you out now? I really would like to get to know you better.”
Once again, I found my eyes involuntarily roaming over her body, and felt the yearning stirring within me again. I averted my gaze and took a deep breath.
“I don’t know about all of that.”
“All of what?” I asked.
“Going out with you. I mean—I still don’t know you.”
I smiled and extended my hand. “Hi. I’m Giovanni, and I’m not really the jerk you once thought I was. How are you, Arianna?”
I saw her struggling to hold in a laugh, but finally, it came out. She shook her head and then shook my hand. I pulled her in closer to me, and wrapped my arms around her, turning our handshake into a hug.
The hug went on longer than I meant it to, for I found myself not wanting to let her go as my hands rested on the small of her back, wanting desperately to roam downward. Her hands rested on my back, her touch steadily growing firmer.
I leaned away from her just slightly so that I could see her face. “Well, I’d say things are a lot better between us already.”
I didn’t mean to, but I stared at her lips. When I finally managed to look back into her eyes, I noticed that she was staring at my lips as well.
Yes, despite everything, the attraction we felt towards each other was still there.
“I swear—I’m not that kind of girl,” she said again.
“I know,” I said. “But luckily—since I’m going to be your husband, it doesn’t matter, right?”
She didn’t respond, but she also didn’t pull away from me. And before I could stop myself, I pressed my lips to hers.
A moan escaped her lips, and I couldn’t con
trol myself any longer. I needed to have her right now. My hands reached for the bottom of her tank top and pulled it off her. Her fingers fumbled as she worked on the buttons of my shirt, missing some in her haste to get me naked. I helped her finish, shrugging off my shirt before I continued undressing her. Her yoga pants and sports bra were off in seconds.
“You’re too sexy, Arianna.” Her body was a work of art. I moved my fingers over her perky nipples, turning them into two pebbles, and lowered them to her pussy.
I stepped next to her and snaked my arm around her waist as I slid my fingers past her thong, through her already puffy and wet lips.
“Already so hot and wet for me,” I muttered into her ear.
She moaned and pressed against me, thrusting her pussy into my hand.
“That is so good.”
“Yeah? You like when I touch your wet pussy like this?” I massaged her clit slowly, building her tension gradually.
“Y-yes.” Her breathy confirmation made my dick throb.
“Where do you want me to touch you, sweetie? Tell me.”
“Everywhere. I want your fingers inside of me.”
My cock pulsated stronger, my pre-come already soaking my boxers. The scent of her arousal hit my nostrils, making my mouth water for her. Her pulse quickened as I touched her clit and vulva, slightly increasing my movements. I circled around her hole, watching her beautiful face twist with pleasure and need. She was growing impatient, pushing her pussy against my fingers to urge me to fuck her, and I was happy to oblige.
I inserted two fingers deep into her, instantly squeezed with her tight walls. Fuck. I couldn’t get over how tight she was, and I was going to explode if I didn’t dip my dick into her soft wetness soon.
“Giovanni! Yes! Fuck me deeper!”
My, my. She was getting bolder. I added another finger, deepening my thrusts, and watched her fall apart just two seconds later. Her pussy contracting around my fingers felt incredible, but I needed to feel it on my cock.
I pushed her to the ground right in front of the doorway and grabbed a condom out of my pants pocket, grateful for always carrying a few with me just in case.
7+Us Makes Nine: A Nanny Single Dad Romance (Baby Makes Three) Page 23