Page 244 of Modern Romance November 2024 5-8

‘It was a winter hobby. I cannot help that I am naturally talented at everything.’

She’d only just stopped the tears rolling down her cheeks when he used his magic charm to wangle them to the front of the queue without a pre-booked ticket, and without anyone trying to kill them.

Marcello could not remember a better day. Watching Victoria attempt to ice skate would go down in his annals of history. If he lived to be a hundred he would never forget the day his super-professional right-hand woman was laughed at by small children zooming past her. If he lived to be one hundred he would never forget his pride at the moment she finally dared let go of his hand and skated three feet on her own. Afterwards, they’d shared a giant box of churros dipped in chocolate and drank mulled wine, then taken a carriage ride back to his apartment with the sun setting behind them. Her joy at this had lit her face into something that transcended beauty.

The best part came when they returned to his apartment and she found a pile of boxes laid on the freshly laundered and made bed.

The large hazel eyes landed on him with a question. He adored that her cheeks were still rosy from the cold.

He sat on the armchair. ‘Open the Genevieve box first.’

Excitement thrumming—Genevieve was the current go-to designer of New York’s elite—Victoria removed the lid and carefully parted the tissue paper to lift out a red velvet dress. Shaking it out, she fingered the soft texture with amazement then looked back at Marcello. Expectation was alive on his face.

‘This is for me?’

‘Unless you know another Victoria who wears the same size dress as you. Take another look in the box.’

At the bottom lay an envelope with her name on it. Her heart thumping, she opened it and gasped to find two tickets to the Broadway show she’d abandoned Sheena at. Peering closer, she saw they were for the next night and in what had to be the centre front of the mezzanine.

‘I have been assured that they are the best seats possible for this show,’ he said. ‘We will be able to see the whole ensemble perform without any restrictions, and the acoustics are supposed to be incredible.’

She just gaped at him.

‘I can easily change them for orchestra seating if you would prefer?’

And he would. She saw that. The Lord alone knew how he’d managed to get these spectacular seats at this short notice—she imagined a large amount of money had been exchanged in bribes and sweeteners—and the royalwehe’d used...

Marcello would be going with her. Marcello who, when she’d first told him she was going to watch this particular musical, had asked why on earth she wanted to waste hours watching people prance around singing and dancing on stage dressed as witches.

And now he would be taking her.

This was his surprise for her and just as he’d used sweeteners to procure the tickets, the show itself was a sweetener. His last gift before he said goodbye to her as a lover.

‘Do you want me to change them?’ he asked, doubt creasing his forehead.

She swallowed to loosen her throat, and shook her head. ‘These are perfect, thank you. And so is the dress.’

The doubt remained. ‘You are sure?’

Not wanting to spoil what for Marcello was the most thoughtful and unselfish gift he could have given her, she smiled through the pain lacing her veins. ‘When I went with Sheena, we were so far back in the gods that the cast were like ants.’

The crease in his forehead changed. ‘Sheena?’

‘My old roommate.’

Understanding dawned. ‘You went to see the show with a girl friend?’

She nodded.

To her amazement, he burst out laughing. The sound rumbled through the vast bedroom and soothed her despondency enough for her to straddle his lap and rest her hands on his chest.

‘What’s so funny?’

His grin was as wide as she’d ever seen it. ‘I thought you had gone on a real date.’

‘That’s what I wanted you to think.’ Leaning her face into his, she eyeballed him and added, ‘I stupidly thought you’d give me some peace for the night if you thought it was a proper date.’

His hand slipped under her jumper and flattened against her naked back. ‘You should have told me the truth. If I had known you were withSheena, I would have waited until the next day to get you to help me find that pen.’

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