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My sister spots me first. Her face lights up and I’m beyond ecstatic that she seems happier than the last time I saw her. She jumps out of her seat and rushes towards me, wrapping her arms around me in the next second. I giggle. “Whoa, sis, did you miss me?”
She squeezes. “More than you know. I have so much to tell you. Alone,” she adds.
“I’m sure we can slip away to talk,” I murmur.
She pulls back and looks at me. I cock my head and study her. There’s a content look on her face, in her eyes. She looks different. Relaxed. “You’re glowing,” I blurt.
My sister blushes, confusing me even more. I’m even more intrigued now about what she wants to tell me. I hope Bishop has pulled his head out of his ass and has finally seen sense.
Franny and my sister greet each other as I make my way over to the rest of my family. I hug Valentina quickly then move to Evan, who is now out of his chair. “Baby sis,” he drawls, pulling me into his arms.
“Hey, brother.”
He pulls back to look at me. “I know it’s only been a month since Ibiza, but you look different. Grown up.”
I chuckle. “I look tired. It’s been full on since the competition started.”
He narrows his eyes, grinning with a shake of his head. I move to my parents, greeting them both. They sit at the head of the table, holding hands. My chest constricts. The love they share is palpable. It makes me think of Theo and me. I take a seat beside Aria, and Franny drops down to my left.
“I ordered in tonight, I hope you all don’t mind. I’ve cooked most nights since your grandparents have been here, it’s nice to have a night off,” my mama chirps with a smile on her face.
“Darling, I already told you it’s fine. Stop worrying. I’m glad your parents went to have dinner with friends, you need to relax after running around after them so much,” my father chides.
She swats at his chest. “They’re my parents, darling, I don’t mind. It’s nice to have a night off though, but I still want everything to be perfect. It’s been a while since we have all been together like this.”
“Mother, we were all together at Christmas.” My brother rolls his eyes.
“Yes, well that was months ago. I miss my babies,” she throws back.
My brother smirks, his eyes moving to my dad. “I wanted to discuss the pieces we created for the Royal wedding. There has been a lot of publicity surrounding the jewelry—all good—and now they want to talk about designing and collaborating on a one-off exclusive line with Maxwell’s. I think it would be a good move. No other brand has a royal collection attached to it.”
Father runs a finger across his lip in thought. “Hmm, it’s something I’m interested in hearing more about, Evan. But not right now. Tonight, is about family.”
Evan nods. “I will forward you the proposal.”
After that the conversation turns easy. It’s relaxing. Although I wish Theo were here with us, being a part of my family and making memories. I wish I had allowed him to come. Theo is my family and I want all the people I love together.
We eat pizza and pasta from a local restaurant. It’s divine. I’m only glad I’m not here for a vacation, and that I get plenty of exercise with my riding, otherwise I would be rolling out of Italy.
A cell beeps breaking our conversation. I glance over to find Evan scooping up his phone from the table. He frowns, before swiping his finger across the screen. His brows furrow, head lifts and his eyes land on me. My heart rate kicks up at the look on his face.
“Thalia?” he says through gritted teeth.
All I hear is the thudding of my heart and I don’t know how I manage to speak. “Yes?”
His jaw twitches. “Why is there a story in some trashy tabloid saying that you are dating Theodore Rhodes? That you had an affair with him behind his girlfriend’s back?”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
“What?” my father barks.
I swallow as I grab my own cell. Quickly opening the internet browser, I type my name into the search bar. Almost immediately an article appears, the headline big and attention grabbing.
Heiress and Model, Thalia Maxwell caught in cheating drama with her married trainer, Theodore Rhodes.
The teenager who was voted this year’s World’s Sexiest Woman is not as innocent as we were made to believe. Publicly it is thought that Miss Maxwell has been dating French prince Francois Toussaint for the last couple of months, but it has now been brought to our attention that this is not the case. Sources tell us that the youngest Maxwell was having an affair with married US gold medalist showjumper, Theodore Rhodes before it all came crashing down when his wife, British socialite Melody Whitworth found out.
Remember the blind item released last year? It was about none other than our beautiful, talented model, Thalia. We have been told that she has recently reconnected with Mr. Rhodes at a competition in Italy where his ex-wife is also in attendance.
