Page 122 of The Sexy Billionaire

“Yeah, back in New York. I have a degree from Italy in the culinary arts.”

Mackenzie’s face lights up. “We could get her to help teach some of the women how to cook.”

“Or even offer culinary arts in the school,” Lilly adds.

I’m excited, this sounds fantastic, I want to be able to do something and from what I’ve heard about their charity, it really helps turn those women’s lives around. If I can help them return to as much of a normal life as I can, then I’m all in.

“Does that mean you’re staying in Rome, not going back to New York?” Lilly asks, her question catching me off-guard.

Hadn’t thought about that when I offered. “I don’t know.”

Lilly shakes her head, reaches out, and squeezes my arm. “It’s okay. We don’t need to make any permanent plans. You’ve been through a lot recently and had a lot of upheaval.”

She’s right. Everything has been a whirlwind and I haven’t stopped and thought about anything long-term.

“I still would like to help.”

“And we would love it. Let’s talk about it after tonight.” Makenzie smiles as someone calls out to her and pulls her from the conversation.

“Everything will work out. You’ll be where you’re supposed to be, eventually,” Lilly adds.

Maybe. As I stare out over the ballroom and catch sight of Gio walking through the crowd, my heart skips a beat.

Lilly nudges me. “I’m glad you found each other. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him this happy, since you’ve walked back into his life.”

Gio is standing with his brother and parents, and I sigh, gosh he is handsome, a shiver runs down my spine remembering what we did earlier. “We have a lot to sort out before any happy ever after can happen.”

“I know, be patient. It will all work out in the end,” she reassures me. “What the fuck?” Lilly’s eyes widen as a buzz starts to filter through the room; people’s whispers get a little louder, and heads turn. It’s like a wave of activity. “It’s Giada,” Lilly warns me. When I turn around, I see her striding through the ballroom as if she owns the room, looking like she’s enjoying the attention she is getting. “I didn’t know she was coming. Oh, I see, she’s Allegra’s date.” That’s when I notice the other stunning woman walking behind her. “What the hell is she thinking?”

“They thought this would shut down the media attention if they saw Gio and Giada hanging out as friends,” Luca advises as he gives his wife a kiss on her temple, as he joins us.

“Don’t you think you should have warned us?” Lilly glares at her husband.

“Babe, I didn’t know. Gio got a phone call five minutes ago about it. You know both of them would be relishing the attention.”

“It’s your family’s big night,” Lilly adds.

“She cleared it with our parents before arriving,” Luca declares, as I watch Gio make is way over to where we are standing.

“Oh,” Lilly reacts.

“Sorry, Paige. I hope this isn’t going to be awkward or anything. I know Gio would have told you if he had known,” Luca tells me.

I wave his concerns away, there isn’t anything I can do about it. No point in getting angry, just nervous.

“Mackenzie, how are you?” Gio says, greeting her.

“Great, thanks,” she answers.

“Oh no.” Lilly gasps.

We watch as the two girls make their way over to where we are all standing.

“Gio, it’s so lovely to see you,” Giada states loudly as she kisses his cheeks as photographers go crazy, catching the shot of the two exes reuniting. He stiffens for a moment but greets her warmly before turning his attention to his sister. Giada is even more beautiful in real life. She’s dressed in a white crystal evening dress that dips low, showing off her largest assets; it molds to her curves like a glove, her olive skin shimmers under the lights. Her dark brown hair cascades around her shoulders and she’s dripping in diamonds. She looks up and her eyes catch mine, she stills for a moment and then a wide smile falls across her plump lips, she leans over to Allegra and says something that draws her attention to me. They both move away from Gio, who tries to stop his sister, but she shrugs him off. His mother grabs him, stopping him from following, and I can see the worry on his face as he watches the two women head for our group.

“Lilly, you look so beautiful. I can’t believe how much you have grown since I’ve last seen you,” Allegra says, greeting Lilly warmly.

“It’s been a while,” Lilly answers.

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