Charlotte would have had a blast here, but she had returned to London and left me here to battle the demons of my life on my own.

I picked up what was labeled a sea urchin taco appetizer. I slipped the tiny taco into my mouth ? as my eyes scanned the room filled with guests, decked out in tuxedoes and evening gowns ? for the one man who’d refused to give up his baseball cap.

Ever since that night at the hospital, things had suddenly changed between us. Angelo seemed to become withdrawn. It almost seemed as if he had completely lost interest in me. I had avoided my grandmother at all costs, the last thing I wanted to deal with was a confrontation of any kind about what she had seen. Even if she hadn’t seen the kiss, my grandmother had sharp eyes. She would have noticed something.

Suddenly, I lost my appetite. I took a napkin to the corners of my lips and wondered for the umpteenth time what I was going to do. Ever since my father’s illness everything had changed.

Yes, he was better, but the incident had imprinted the very jarring reminder of his mortality in my mind. The alliance with Fabio still hung over me, but after that night, maybe he would have changed his mind. I prayed he would have some pride and would give up the idea of marriage to me.

My thoughts were interrupted by the clinking of a cutlery against glass.

All eyes turned to my father. He put down his knife and glass then stood at the mic to address the audience. He talked about his grandfather’s extremely humble beginnings as the son of an immigrant mother who’d fled a difficult life in Sicily. He acknowledged the contributions of the people invited to the gathering.

My mother stood to extend her gratitude as well. Then she mentioned me.

Every eye in the room turned towards me.

She beckoned me with her hand. “Come here, Sienna.”

Reluctantly, I walked up while she told the audience how glad she was that I had returned home.

I didn’t think it was the time nor the place, nor the right audience for that matter because although the gathering did appear somewhat intimate, we were all aware it was more official than anything else.

They applauded like they truly cared.

It was time to leave, however my father grabbed my hand and stayed me. “Wait a bit, Sienna,” he said.

At that moment, someone else emerged from the crowd. Oh God, no!

Fabio walked towards me. “I have something to announce,” he said, “to this special woman here.”

I wanted to run away. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. I turned towards my father and what I saw in his eyes made my blood run cold. I couldn’t move.

Fabio took the mic. “I’ve known this beautiful woman here for so many years. We spent our childhood together, running through the fields of this very vineyard, stuffing ourselves with the grapes, and then complaining that our stomachs hurt.”

The audience tittered politely, and so did my parents.

He moved his focus from me and focused on his own parents in the audience. “Dad, Mom, I’ve shared with you how this beautiful woman here, found her way into my heart a long time ago, and no matter how far she goes, there is not a day that goes by when I do not think of her.”

My stomach turned. Ugh … What a liar. There wasn’t an ounce of passion in his body for me. Even the time when he’d attacked me in the car, I did not feel real need or even want.

He turned to me.

I felt sick to my stomach. I knew what was coming.

“Sienna,” he said smugly. “I’ve watched you grow and blossom into the intelligent, and captivating woman you are right now, and to be honest, I don’t think I can wait another moment without being able to call you mine … and only mine”

The crowd erupted into applause.

I couldn’t even bring the corners of my lips upwards in feigned politeness.

He grabbed the mic out of its stand and started walking towards me with his deadened, dark gaze on mine.

I stared back in amazement. Was this the same guy who called me a bitch and kicked me out of his apartment?

He took my hand, and it took all of my self-restraint not to wrench it from his grasp. Then … the man dropped to one knee, while my heart dropped into my stomach. I stared down at him. Too shocked by his drama to really comprehend what was going on.

I wanted to scream at him to get up and put an end to his sick act. With an enamored smile, he placed the microphone on the floor and pulled out a velvet ring box from his pocket. He opened it and inside was a blindingly massive diamond ring. “Sienna Siciliano, will you marry me?”

Tags: Georgia Le Carre Romance
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