Page 12 of The Sicilian’s Deal For 'I Do'

‘It’s your family business, not mine.’

‘You don’t like him, you don’t respect him, but, however you mayfeelabout the man, Carrick Stoneisyour father, we are your family.’

‘Yes. You are.’ Luca ground his teeth. ‘But that doesn’t mean I have any interest in working for him.’

‘With him, Luc. Not for him. You’d be equal to me, to him.’

‘Does it occur to you that I cannot be equal to him? That I cannot—it’s too much.’ Luca sighed heavily. ‘You know why I feel this way.’

Max was quiet a moment longer. After all, he did know. He’d been there when Luca had arrived at their home in Sydney, grieving the sudden death of his mother, reeling from the discovery of his famous, wealthy father, simmering with resentments at having been ignored and unwanted. Then, there’d been the sense of competitiveness Carrick Stone had tried to instil in both boys, an almost gladiatorial fight for supremacy that, thankfully, they’d both grown out of. Luca and Max both had a lot of reasons to despise their father.

Max sighed heavily. ‘I get it, Luca. Carrick is—you know we’re on the same page about his lifestyle, his decisions, his attitudes.’

Luca closed his eyes. His father had treated women like dirt, and his own mother had paid the ultimate price, because she’d fallen in love with him and been destroyed by that love. Carrick had lived and left a trail of destruction in his wake because he’d never really loved or cared for anyone—even his sons. He was the lowest of the low.

‘But almost for as long as I’ve known you, I’ve thought it would be great to do this together. You hated coming to live with us, but, for me, I suddenly wasn’t alone. I had a brother, and someone to do all this with.’

For the second time in twenty-four hours, Luca felt a pang of regret. He’d walked out on Carrick as soon as he could, but he’d also walked out on Max. Was he being selfish, just like Carrick, to avoid his responsibilities to the family business? None of this was Max’s fault...

‘I’ll look at the prospectus again,’ Luca conceded with a grimace. After all, that wasn’t too much to ask. ‘And send you an email with my thoughts.’

Luca disconnected the call with a sense of misgiving, but whatever headspace he had to think about his father’s business evaporated pretty quickly. He closed his eyes and there she was: Mia Marini, taking up all his thoughts, driving him crazy even when she was nowhere to be seen, and Luca had the unpleasant realisation that he’d been utterly and completely wrong: one night hadn’t been enough. He wanted more, he wanted answers, he wanted Mia.

CHAPTER THREE

ALLMIACOULDthink of as she stared at her reflection in the large mirrors of the bridal shop was that it was next-level inappropriate to be trying on a wedding gown the day after having sex with someone other than your fiancé. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself that it wasn’t cheating, that she and Lorenzo had no expectations of their relationship being anything like a normal marriage, it still felt the complete opposite of the fairy tale Mia had, at one point, desperately hoped for.

Well, if she wasn’t to have the fairy-tale marriage, at least this time her dress wasn’t going to be such a disaster.

She’d deliberately chosen something that was dramatically different to before. Not a hint of lace or tulle, the gown was instead simple and elegant. Cream silk, cut on the bias, the dress somehow flattered the curves Mia liked and played down those that she didn’t. Her mother would hate it; Mia didn’t care. She’d seen the image of herself covered in ice cream, staring at the sky, so many times: she never wanted to wear a puffy, tulle dress ever again.

The fact this was close to white was a miracle.

If she had her way, though, Mia would elope. There’d be no wedding, as such. Just a signing of the certificate, to mark the fact the wedding was, essentially, a business deal.

‘All okay,signorina?’

Mia’s body felt different. How could people look at her and not see how she’d spent the night? Heat coloured her cheeks as she remembered the way it had felt to have Luca drive into her, so strong and hard, to have her mind blown with pleasure again and again.

‘Fine.’ She nodded quickly, her voice hoarse. ‘I like it.’

‘I will trim the hem to this length, to allow for the heels you showed me.’

‘Great.’ Mia smiled over-brightly. She didn’t want to think about Luca again.

She’d done what she’d set out to do. She’d lost her virginity, gained experience and walked out on him while his back was turned. Okay, it wasn’t anywhere near as hurtful as what he’d done to her—ditching her on her wedding day—but there’d been a petty sense of satisfaction in disappearing from his home while he showered.

Then again, he’d probably been glad.

As for Mia, she’d wished, the whole drive home, that she hadn’t left, and not just because she’d also intended to get answers from him, to find out why he’d ditched her on their wedding day. But mostly, she’d wished, more than anything, that she was back in that bed with Luca: naked, strong, powerful, skilled, showing her all the things her body could feel, teaching her about sex, mastering her so cleverly, as he’d already done.

Instead, she’d quickly dressed and slipped out of the front door, onto the quiet midnight streets, and disappeared into the dark—and from his life, for good.

She emerged from the bridal store distracted, head dipped, so at first she didn’t notice the shiny grey car with jet-black tinted windows parked in a no standing zone outside the shop. But when a car drove past and beeped at the offending vehicle, Mia looked up and did a double take.

Luca.

Here.

---