Page 41 of Modern Romance March 2025 (5-8)

He frowned.

“So that all these women know that you’re taken. By me.”

He laughed then, and finally, it was one of the genuine things that he gave her. The sound burrowed into her, making a cozy nest in her chest. Something more than the ever-present thrum of desire uncoiled in her belly. A sweet sense of anticipation for more. An intense longing for something deeper than just desire.

“Shall we mingle and greet everyone?” she said, struggling to keep it out of her face. Her desire was something Adriano always wanted, but this…this neediness was different. “They’ve all been waiting for a while.”

“You look different,” he said, completely ignoring her request with that signature arrogance that she found both annoying and arresting. “I had hoped operation Nyra was done.”

Her nerves jangled. “Bad different or good different?”

“Different,” he repeated, some of that arrogance seeping into the way he scratched his brow and studied her. “The dress, the hair, even the makeup, it’s all different. It’s much more skin than I’ve ever seen you show in public.”

“Is that a problem?” she said, something of the survivor in her creeping into her words.

His chin tilted up, in equal challenge. As if he wanted that creature to come out. “Do you think so?”

She colored. Adriano was possessive but he’d never judged her for her choice of profession or her clothes or her lack of sophistication, ever.

So what was it about this exchange that was putting her on the back foot? She was exhausted from the week of planning this with his mother. “Nigella says everything I wear and say and do reflects on you and your reputation.”

His frown deepened. “And what statement is it that you want to make?”

“That I’m equal to anything they expect of your wife. Of the mother of future Cavalieri heirs.”

“You sound like her,bella. As taken with the legacy and legitimacy of things as this society is.” He didn’t quite mock her, but his contempt shone through each word.

“Is it wrong if I want to cultivate the good opinion and friendship of these people, some of whose children will grow up alongside ours?”

“You don’t need it. And our children certainly don’t.”

“But as your wife—”

“As my wife,” he said, pulling her impossibly closer. Their chests brushed and a breath shuddered out of her at the quick graze of his erection against her belly, “You could rule them all,cara. I would not have you pretzel yourself, courting their approval.”

“I don’t want to rule anyone, Adriano. I want to make friends in this world of yours. I want to wipe the stain I bring to this marriage, to our children’s lives. I want to use this power you talk about to do some good eventually. When I mentioned that charity, I wasn’t blowing hot air to look better.”

“I have nothing against that,” he murmured, his tight hold of her sending vibrations that pooled at her core. “And I knew that you meant it.”

With one sentence, he made everything between them a thousand times deeper and more real. She had to clear her throat to make words, to clear the wanting gripping her. “Fabi said you’re not a fan of parties. But you’re…not just bored or displeased. You’re almost angry. May I ask why?”

“I’m not angry.”

“And now you’re lying to me,” she said, exhaustion hitting her like a sledgehammer. She swayed and he caught her.

“You’re exhausted,bella.”

“Yes, arranging a party of this size takes energy. Especially in the way that pleases your family. Even if it means just sending minions on a hundred errands. The decision fatigue is real.”

“Forgive me for being a cranky bastard,cara. You clearly—”

Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off as Adriano’s parents joined them with another couple in tow.

From there, small talk ensued and the Adriano that accompanied her for the rest of the evening wasn’t the one she wanted.

* * *

“I’m glad to say there’s hope for her,” Mama said, coming to stand by him on the upper deck. “Her willingness to correct her past, and your own mistake, goes a long way.”

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