Page 73 of King Of Order

I kept my gaze on him, cold satisfaction settling in my chest.

Chiara stared at me in shock as I banded a hand around her was it and pulled her close.

Claudio, who’d been lurking, caught the hurried sidle of Don Ricci, and I tagged the mistrust in his eyes as he watched Gino scurry off.

It wasn’t long before I noted Claudio and Aldo whispering across the room, their eyes locked on me with suspicion.

I took a wild guess on what they were thinking.

Who was this man?

Why was he in Chiara’s life all of a sudden?

And what balls did he have to send a made man packing in such a hurry?

I smirked and executed my move.

I turned to the woman by her side, tilted her chin, and took her in my arms.

To all looking on, I was simply a man comforting his woman in her hour of grief.

Chiara’s eyes widened in surprise as I muttered to her. ‘Claudio is watching.’

She blinked, taking a split second to catch on.

With a slight smirk, she played into it, reaching a hand to place it on my jaw in a sign of deep intimacy.

I bent my head and kissed her, long and sweet.

It was a poignant moment between lovers seeking solace in each other from their agony.

It was also our charade at its best.

However, it wasn’t just for show.

Dio! The way her lips pressed against mine, the little moan she gave, and the growl I followed it with captured our growing intensity.

We stayed swaying together, staring into each other’s eyes, even as I sensed Claudio’s eyes burning into us.

His suspicions were running wild, evidenced by his breaking off from Aldo and pushing through the crowd toward us, his face a mask of scarcely concealed irritation.

‘What the hell was that?’ he asked, stopping a few feet from us.

‘What?’ Chiara attempted to clarify.’

‘Your so-called fiancé here appeared to have chased off a good friend of our father’s?’

‘You’ve got quite the imagination,’ I drawled.

His eyes flicked between me and Chiara, but they lingered on me with a look that bordered on contempt. ‘I’m not stupid. Something’s off about you.Whoareyou?’

Chiara stepped forward, trying to smooth things before this became a scene. ‘Claudio, we’ve had this discussion before, or are you losing your damn mind?’

Claudio’s gaze didn’t leave mine. ‘I’m not talking to you,sorellina,’ he snarled, edged with venom. ‘I’m askinghim.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘How does a businessman push around someone like Gino Ricci without batting an eye? So tell me—who the hell are you really?’

I sensed the tension rising in Chiara but stayed calm, meeting Claudio’s stare with an unwavering chilliness. ‘I’m exactly who she says I am,’ I said, my burr deep and laced with menace. ‘Valerio Ciprioni. Her fiancé.’

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