Page 32 of The Sicilian’s Deal For 'I Do'

His eyes narrowed before his face was quickly wiped of emotion. ‘Then don’t keep them. Donate them. For now, let me have the pleasure of seeing you try some on.’

It would be ungrateful and churlish to refuse, though Mia also hated trying clothes on. However, she discovered that the clothing Luca’s clever assistant had selected was so beautiful that, rather than feeling her usual revulsion at the activity, she actually enjoyed slipping into the silky fabrics, the delicate skirts and bottom-hugging jeans.

‘They’re beautiful,’ she admitted after a third outfit change.

‘Not the clothes.’ He came towards her, linking his hands behind her waist. ‘You are beautiful, Mia.’

Her heart fluttered; this time, she absolutely believed him.

‘And now, this one.’

He reached for the burgundy bag and her heart began to thump. ‘What is it?’

His smile was knowing as he reached into the bag and removed a small velvet box. ‘Something I wanted you to have.’

She bit down on her lip, butterflies bursting through her.

The box shape was all wrong for a ring, and she was glad. A ring from Luca would remind her of the last ring he’d given her. No, she corrected swiftly. He hadn’t ever given her a ring. One had been couriered over with the contracts, to Mia’s father, who’d given it to Mia unceremoniously, except for a throwaway remark on his having presumed Luca Cavallaro might have sprung for a large diamond.

‘A larger diamond would have made your fingers look so much slimmer, Mia. What a shame!’ Jennifer had chimed in.

For her part, Mia had loved it. The ring had been small and delicate, a fine gold band with a single gemstone in the centre. Not a diamond, but an emerald, it had caught the light and refracted it into the room.

She’d had it sent back to Luca by her assistant the week after their non-wedding.

She couldn’t have borne the thought of having it in her home.

With fingers that weren’t quite steady, she opened the box, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of the necklace within. Her father would have been delighted, for surely this necklace was both exquisitely beautiful and also very valuable.

Her finger ran over the chain—platinum gold with a round diamond set in each inch or so, leading to a teardrop diamond with three solitaires on either side. It was incredibly beautiful. Despite the double-digit carats, it was still, somehow, delicate and wearable.

It was far more valuable than anything Mia owned, and yet she could immediately see herself in it.

He’d chosen well.

But perhaps this hadn’t been Luca’s choice, so much as the clever work of an assistant.

‘May I?’

Her lips pulled to one side and she nodded jerkily, turning and catching her hair over one shoulder, stomach swooping as she waited for him to fasten it behind her neck. His fingers brushed her flesh there and she jumped, her cells flooding with awareness and need. She lifted her hand and felt the diamonds, then turned a little so she could catch her reflection in the mirror.

Her breath burned in her lungs.

It wasn’t just the necklace. It wasn’t just the clothes. It wasn’t just the man standing behind her, so rugged and addictively attractive. It waseverything, a whole combination of these things. It was standing in this room of Luca’s house, in a town he’d brought back to life for her, it was seeing herself like this, that made Mia fully realise this was a reality she could have been living.

If the forks in the road of life hadn’t driven him away, if, instead, he’d been waiting at the church for her, dressed in a tuxedo and standing up at the front, those dark eyes watching her, waiting for her, she would now be Mrs Luca Cavallaro.

And then what? a voice in the back of her head demanded. You’d be desperate for the children he’d never give you. Desperate for the love he’d never give you.

And she knew then that her innermost doubts were accurate.

If she’d married Luca, she would have fallen completely head over heels in love with him. If she’d married Luca, she’d have wanted far more than he could ever give her, and Mia’s life, despite the trappings, would have been a misery.

All of this was an illusion.

Despite the way he made her feel, despite the happiness spreading through her, threatening to make her forget, Mia knew the most important thing she could do this week was keep a firm hold of reality. Because none of this was real. None of this would exist by the end of the week.

She wanted to keep things casual, to be relaxed and light-hearted, but something was pulling at Mia, a desperate need to understand the one thing that didn’t make sense.

---