Page 188 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

The occupants of the nearby tables started applauding and despite knowing the truth, their delight was infectious. Mari felt herself blushing, nodding in acknowledgment, when she felt Dominico take her hands and pull her to her feet, slip the ring on her finger and draw her into his kiss.

Dominico’s kiss.

She’d been there before. Experiencing the magic of his kiss. Being swept away by the hotbed of his mouth, the tangle of their tongues and the magical taste and feel of him.

But they were in the middle of a busy restaurant, and she couldn’t afford to let herself get swept away today. She’d keep this short. They didn’t need to make a spectacle of themselves.

At least, that was her intention.

But twenty years evaporated in the heat of his mouth and the sensuality of his lips until old hurts slipped into oblivion as she found herself lost in sensation. She clung to him for fear her knees would give out and she’d fall to the floor. She clung to him for fear that he’d let her go and she’d never feel him against her again. This was the kiss she knew, the kiss she’d missed—and yes, the kiss she’d longed for. For too many years until she’d thought she was over him.

Except, apparently, she wasn’t.

He pulled out of the kiss before she did, taking her hands and smiling down at her as if he’d known she’d been unable or unwilling or both to pull out of that kiss first. Curse the man. Another reason to resent him. And now it seemed every table in the restaurant was applauding, the sound a muffled roar over the sound of the blood still rushing in her ears.

She eased out of his arms, breathless and shaken, before clutching the back of her chair so she could settle into it rather than collapse. ‘What was that for?’ she whispered.

‘Sealing the deal with a kiss,’ he said with another of those smug Cheshire cat smiles, raising a glass of the golden liquid to her. ‘That’s all.’

Was it all? Because it had sure felt like more. It seemed as if he was wanting to prove something, as if she wasn’t immune to him, and smugly liking that she’d fallen for it.

Okay. Well, forearmed was forewarned. He’d blindsided her with his sudden move and his unexpected kiss. She’d let down her guard and he’d taken her unawares. She just had to make sure that he didn’t take her unawares again.

She raised her glass to his and managed a smile she didn’t feel in return before turning her attention to the menu. She needed to focus on something else and stop thinking about that kiss.

‘Tell me about your husband.’

Whoa. Where had that come from? That wasn’t the something else she needed to focus on. Her knees were no longer shaking, the warmth of his kiss evaporating. She blinked and looked up over the menu.

‘Ex-husband, you mean.’

He nodded, smiling as if he’d just asked her what she might be partial to on the menu. ‘Him. Tell me about him. Who was he?’

She smiled back. Two could play at that game. ‘Does it matter? He was someone who seemed nice at the time. Someone I thought was a friend.’ Who had acted like a friend when she’d been grieving and alone, when she’d seriously needed a friend. He was a widower who’d been married to an old school friend of Marianne’s, and who was struggling to raise a baby and a toddler. Her gran had encouraged her to start babysitting for him to earn some money and because she was so concerned that Mari was collapsing in on herself and thought it would cheer her up.

He reached over and took one of her hands. Pressed it to his lips adoringly and asked, ‘Did you love him?’

She resisted the temptation to pull her hand free and laughed instead. ‘Did you ever love any of the women you’ve been pictured with?’

A warning light flared in his dark eyes, but he didn’t let her hand go. ‘I didn’t marry any of them. So, did you?’

‘Does it matter? It’s over.’ She looked back at the menu. ‘What are you having?’

‘And children?’

‘Because I’m not sure,’ she said, ignoring him as he had done her. She didn’t want to go near the children question. ‘I’m partial to the lobster medallions but then the Wagyu beef sounds tempting.’

‘Why won’t you answer? What are you so afraid of?’

She purposefully placed her menu down on the table. ‘Why should I be afraid of anything? Why do you need to know?’

He shrugged. ‘I’m naturally curious. Of course I want to know about your past. We’re about to be married.’

A sham marriage and yet he still insisted on knowing about her past? She shook her head, his questioning heading ever too closely to one of the reasons she’d ended up married to Simon. But not close enough that she couldn’t fire back.

‘Good point. When you put it like that, I’d like to know about your past too. Just how many women have you slept with in the past twenty years?’

His jaw clenched, a muscle in his cheek twitched. Right before the smile returned. ‘You’re avoiding the question.’

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