Page 44 of His Two Hidden Masks

“That is a long time.”

“And he never asked me how my day was. He pretended to care about my business, but he couldn’t be bothered to even ask me a single question.”

“I see,” Dylan said.

“I grew up hearing about him. Roberto’s twelve years older than me and was away at boarding school for most years. My sister, Sara, died at eighteen. She would be the same age as him if she’d lived. I don’t wish him harm. I wish him happiness. I just wish I hadn’t let it go so far.”

“The altar is pretty far, clever Bella.”

“I know, right?” I took another big drink of my wine and laughed.

“And you probably wish he would get out of your family business?”

“Yes,” I said, my laughter dying down. “You know I do. My parents are furious with me.”

“Ah, they both wanted you to marry him?”

“Well, as James told you in that brief you finally read, the Uzano portfolio is in need of a cash infusion. Roberto was an easy solution.”

“So, you walked away from more than just a careless husband.”

“Little known fact, one of the fastest ways to alienate yourself from your entire family is to leave a Venetian prince at the altar,” I said.

“I have also heard being an identical twin with a secret identity as a moderately successful musician is also a good way to add tension to every Christmas dinner,” said Dylan.

“I think Strand is more than moderately successful,” I said.

“But he doesn’t really exist, does he?” Dylan said.

I took a sip of my red wine and smiled. We were making fun of ourselves, but I loved the thrill and intimacy of sharing secrets with this beautiful man.

“You know your brother is probably upstairs,” I said, nodding toward the windows.

“Nonsense. James Street is having dinner with you.” He winked.

“Seriously, when are you going to let everyone know there are two of you?”

“I would encourage the Uzano team to do their due diligence on Street Entertainment. You should have a brief on us.” Dylan leaned across the table. “It’s motherfucking cold out here, clever Bella.”

“Would you like to go upstairs and have dessert? If two of you show up in the ballroom, think of the scandal,” I said.

“No,” he said. “What I’d really like to do is tear your clothes off and explore the few inches of your body that I neglected to touch last night.”

I couldn’t speak. Silence stretched between us. The sexual tension felt so thick I wondered if I could reach out and hold it in the air. Could I use it like a cord to pull Dylan’s body closer to mine?

“Oh,” I finally managed to say, breathless. I wanted this, but I didn’t want to want it. My brain went into overdrive. I wasn’t ready to say ‘yes,’ but I also wasn’t ready to say ‘no.’

“I have an idea,” I said. “How about we walk? I’d like to show you something. But first, isn’t this against the rules?”

“Ah, yes, we have done a shit job at having a one-night-stand.”

“Truth?” I asked.

“I like this,” he said. “Truth.”

“I’ve never had one before this. You are my first one-night-stand.”

He smiled mischievously.

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