“Nina!” Mara squealed, setting her baby in his bassinet before rushing over to greet me. “It’s been so long.Come stai?45”
I melted into her hug, savoring the familiar warmth of her embrace. “Sto bene.46 How about you?”
“I’m tired but good,” Mara replied with a smile.
“Nina,” Dillon greeted in his low, smooth voice. “You look well. How have you been?”
I leaned back on the sofa, stifling a yawn. “I’m doing alright. Looking forward to your birthday?”
Dillon shrugged, pouring himself a glass of scotch. “I suppose I’m past the age of excitement, but I am looking forward to my gala. I hope you’ll be attending?”
“I’ll be there,” I replied with a nod. “I even made a dress for the occasion.”
“Perfect,” he said. “Does Ronan know you’re here?”
I gulped, feeling a rush of heat to my cheeks at Dillon’smention. “No.”
His expressions remained stoic as he took another sip of his drink. “Alrig—”
“Babe,” I heard a feminine voice call out, and I looked over at Mara, completely shocked at who it could be.
Dillon swiftly spun around on the sofa, and a gorgeous girl emerged, her brown curls in an afro and wearing what I assumed to be one of Dillon’s button-ups.
“Precious,” I heard him call out, a smile apparent on his face.
This felt like I was in a dream. Did I just seemio cugino47smile at a woman? And moreover, did I see a woman in his house? In his clothes?
“Uh, Mara,” I whispered.
She looked at me and chuckled, “You missed a lot.”
“I can see that,” I whispered back.
“I was wo—oh, hi,” she said as our eyes met.
“Introductions are in order, I presume,” Dillon announced as he gestured for her to come closer, and she did, taking a seat on his lap as his hands securely wrapped around her waist.
I definitely missed a ton because this couldn’t be the same cousin who I knew had forever sworn off women after his last marriage.
“Nina, meet Azzaria, my girlfriend,” he introduced, “And Azzaria, meet Nina, my cousin.”
She smiled at me, her brown eyes lighting up. “Nina, it’s so nice to meet you,” she exclaimed.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Azzaria,” I responded chirpily.
She sat down with us for a while longer until she said her goodbyes and went back to the bedroom.
“It’s either this isn’t real, or you’ve been doing a great job at hiding it from the media because I haven’t seen one tabloid with you and her,” I blurted.
A rather pleasant smile appeared on his face. “The latter, butone day we’ll get into that. Speaking of tabloids, though, I see you all over, and I hear your name quite often when I go out.”
My cheeks reddened, and a wave of euphoria hit me. Dillon was a person of high stature. He had the best of everything and a wealth that seemed insurmountable, so when he told me that, the pride kicked in.
“It’s true. You’ve been killing it. Your name keeps popping up onVogue,” Mara chimed in, her admiration clear. “Showing up everywhere fashion is covered. It sucked I couldn’t be at your show to see it live, but I watched the streaming in the hospital.”
I chuckled, placing a hand on her thigh, grateful for their support always. “Hard work pays off.”
Dillon nodded in agreement, pouring me a glass of scotch as well. “It certainly does.”
