Page 2 of The Sicilian’s Deal For 'I Do'

Of no longer being a Marini, which, in some ways, she’d never really felt herself to be.

Of no longer being alone.

Of being a wife, married—and to someone like Luca. Putting aside his physical beauty, he was rich and powerful and she was sure she’d be able to lead her own life while living under his roof, that he wouldn’t trouble himself with her comings and goings. But also, there would be children, and that thought alone had made her a very willing accomplice to the whole scheme. Children, a family of her own, something she’d so desperately wanted since losing her parents and the sense of security that came from knowing she was loved.

Though she was outwardly compliant with her adoptive parents, a streak of rebellion had been growing inside Mia, and marrying Luca Cavallaro seemed like a brilliant way to exercise her independence, finally.

‘He’s probably just late,’ Mia murmured, trying to reassure herself.

‘To his own wedding?’ Jennifer demanded, moving one of the red-taloned hands to her hips. ‘He is supposed to be out there, waiting for you, Mia. That’s the way it works.’

‘He’s a very busy and important man,’ Mia pointed out. ‘That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?’

Gianni Marini shook his head, his rounded face showing obvious impatience. ‘All you had to do was sit in the corner and smile from time to time.’

Something sparked in Mia’s chest. Had she done something wrong? Had she been the one to ruin this? Had the kiss been so bad? She spun away again quickly, trying to find the same family with the brother and sister playing hide and seek, but they were gone. The light danced off the large tree in the centre of the square. Mia had always loved the light of Palermo. She’d hated leaving it to go to milky grey England, but Jennifer had insisted that her daughter attend her alma mater, so boarding school it had been. How she’d missed the sunshine and sea salt.

‘Oh, God.’ Jennifer’s voice crackled in the air. Mia closed her eyes without turning around. She’d been holding onto hope, remembering Luca’s eyes, absolutely certain that someone with such beautiful eyes and the ability to truly look at someone andseethem could never do anything quite so callous as this. But then, she also knew. Even as the hairdressers had worked and the make-up artist had glued false lashes in place and her nails had been painted and made hot beneath a UV light, Mia had somehowknownit would all come to nothing.

‘What is it?’ Gianni asked loudly.

‘He’s not coming.’

‘How do you know?’

‘The whole world knows,’ Jennifer snapped. ‘Look.’ Mia kept her eyes shut, back to the room, breath silenced despite the heaviness of her heart.

Gianni read aloud, quickly, ‘“Runaway Groom”—that’s the headline.“It appears Luca Cavallaro preferred the idea of an airport runway to that of a wedding aisle after all. The billionaire bachelor was spotted leaving Italy last night despite his planned wedding, which was to take place today, to Mia Marini, daughter of steel magnate Gianni Marini. Trouble in corporate merger paradise? Watch this space.”’

Mia groaned, the last sentence almost the hardest to hear of all, because she realised that the whole world knew their marriage was just a corporate merger. And it was. But was it so implausible to think a man like Luca might actually want to marry Mia for herself?

A single tear slid down her cheek.

‘He left last night!’ Jennifer barked, her voice trembling with rage. ‘And didn’t have the decency to tell us. All of this, all of this trouble, and not even a chance to save face. How could he do this to us, Gianni?’

To you?Mia wanted to scream. She was the one in the ridiculous dress with awful hair and over-the-top make-up. Suddenly, she was claustrophobic and couldn’t breathe. Could barely stand up. Stars danced behind her eyes and she spun wildly, staring at her parents without seeing them, then locating the door to the small room.

‘I have to go.’

‘Go where, Mia?’ Jennifer asked sharply.

‘Outside. Anywhere. I don’t care. I just—I can’t breathe.’

‘Mia, don’t,’ her mother warned, but too late. Mia burst into the chapel, to a packed room of people, all there for the spectacle of this. Most were on their phones, but when she appeared, they looked up, almost as one, some with pity, others with a delighted sense ofschadenfreude. Mia barely noticed any of it. She scrambled along the back of the church, past the guests who’d not been able to find seats, ignoring their words, their voices, throwing open the heavy, old timber doors so the beautiful Palermo light bathed her. She closed her eyes and let it make her strong for a moment, then ran down the stairs and across the square, right into a child who smeared strawberry gelato against the horrible white dress.

And all Mia could do was stand still, in the middle of the square, hands on her hips, head tilted to the sky, and laugh. There was nothing else for it.

CHAPTER ONE

NOTASINGLEday went past between then and now in which Luca Cavallaro wasn’t convinced he did the right thing. He couldn’t think of the Marini family without a sense of ruthless anger and disgust.

They’d lied to him.

They’d tried to sell him a worthless business with clever accounting and incomplete statements. And to tie him up in marriage to their daughter. Worse, Luca had come damned close to going along with it. Luca Cavallaro, who’d known from almost as long as he could walk and talk that he never wanted to marry, never wanted to love. Not after seeing what love could do to a person.

Then again, this hadn’t been about love, so much as a necessary term to secure a company that had come to mean a lot to Luca. His hand formed a fist at his side as he remembered how he’d felt when he’d first heard that Marini Enterprises was available...the company his father had coveted but failed to secure. Luca would stop at nothing to make it his. Not because he cared about earning his father’s approval, but because he was driven to win, at all costs, and if he could beat his father, so much the better.

So he’d accepted the marriage deal as part of the merger, had even started to relish the idea of marriage to Mia Marini. It wouldn’t be a real marriage, after all, just a convenient union—but there would have been some definite perks. In fact, he’d started to look forward to having Mia in his home, and his bed. That wasn’t the same as marrying for love—there had been no risk to either of them.

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