Page 22 of Seduced by Her Billionaire Fake Fiancé

“How do you know?”

“Because today is about our engagement, something happy and good, and mentioning Antonio is the opposite of that. You do not need to know about him.”

Conversation closed.

As was their burgeoning attempt at closeness, she thought with dissatisfaction. Where she’d genuinely opened up to him about her brother, he hadn’t seen fit—or necessary—to return the gesture.

Well, whatever.

This was all for show, and anytime today, she expected confirmation from her legal team that the funds had been deposited and the ownership change was final.

They didn’t speak for the rest of the drive.

It was a small gathering,thank goodness. Just Max’s parents, Ronaldo and Patrizia, his sister Emilia and brother Leandro, and a small army of staff bringing dish after dish after dish.

The food was lovely and Max’s family incredibly supportive—and happy—to hear of their engagement. They were nothing like Andie had expected. Where Max was prickly and brooding, his parents were welcoming and warm, his sister most of all. It was only in the brother, Leandro, that she could recognize some similarities of temperament.

“I hope you do not mind, Andie,” Emilia said, coming to sit beside her as coffee was prepared, after a long, comfortable lunch. “That we insisted on a controlling stake in your business.”

Andie’s spine straightened but there was also something gratifying in this—in knowing that he’d been honest with her about his siblings being the reason he’d changed the terms of their deal.

“I was surprised,” she admitted after a pause.

“I was worried it might cause problems between the two of you, but I can see that was not the case. You seem so well suited. I cannot remember the last time my brother was so happy.”

Emilia had silky black hair and green eyes, lips she’d painted a deep red, and she was dressed immaculately, like a supermodel, ready for a photoshoot. Yet it was all so easy and elegant, not pretentious nor uncomfortable looking.

Andie, for her part, was delighted that she’d been able to convince his family as to their being a real couple. Then again, they’d had practice now. It was not so awkward to lean close to Max, to smile up at him, to hold his hand. If anything, she was secretly relishing these moments of physical contact, little reminders of their time in the car in New York. To touch him outside of these encounters would be mayhem, but here, it was not only permitted, it was necessary.

“After Megan, I never thought…no, it was not just Megan,” Emilia corrected. “After Antonio,” she lowered her voice and looked around for Max to confirm he was still on the other side of the terrace, in conversation with Leandro, their expressions serious. Meanwhile, Andie wanted to reach out and throttle him for his easy confidence that his friend wouldn’t come up. “I never thought he would smile again.” Emilia’s own lips tilted upwards. “You make him happy, which makes me happy. Thank you.”

Guilt speared Andie. Her eyes flitted to Max and with cheeks that were a little warm, she heard herself say, “He doesn’t talk about it.” She could have kicked herself for the admission though. The last thing she wanted was to pry for information Max didn’t want her to have. They both had private lives and needed to respect those boundaries.

“I’m not surprised. He doesn’t speak to us about it either. It nearly tore him apart, though.”

Emilia seemed willing to discuss the matter, but Andie didn’t encourage Max’s sister.

Emilia though, had the bit between her teeth and wouldn’t let it go. “Has he told youanything?”

“Only that he lost a good friend.”

“His best friend,” Emilia corrected. “Since they were kids. They were inseparable. Antonio was the son of our parents’ gardener. He grew up here, and the boys would always be running together, getting into scrapes, breaking curfew, generally making our parents and Antonio’s despair,” she said with a soft laugh. “He was a sweet kid and a very decent man. We all adored him.”

Already, Andie could feel her emotions straining, tears too close to the surface these days threatening to fill her eyes.

“At college, they grew apart a little. Antonio started dating a woman, they got engaged, then married. She fell pregnant. It was when Antonio was back here, to tell his parents, that the accident happened.”

Beneath the table, Andie dug her fingernails into her palm.

“Max was driving,” Emilia continued. “He blames himself, but it was not his fault. We were lucky not to lose him as well.”

Andie gasped, then quickly dipped her head when she saw Max turn to look at her, his eyes narrowed, assessing.

“His car was T-boned by another driver, not paying attention, on their phone, you know, just being an idiot,” she said witheringly. “He was going too fast—the other driver, not Max—and that was it. Antonio was killed instantly; the entire impact of the collision crumpled his side of the car. You might have noticed that Max only drives around in a fleet of armored vehicles now,” she added.

Andie’s heart twisted. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“He’s very conscientious about road safety.”

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