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“Please let Nonna know we will be there shortly. Tell her we wanted to get some air after a long morning of travel and that I wanted show Maya the countryside.” He addressed Lynetta with the request, his annoyance with Leo still too close to the surface.
“Sì, Vito.”
Maya turned to him after the vehicle dropped them off and drove away. “Was my car sickness that obvious?”
“It was. But there’s another reason I wanted us to walk together for a bit.”
“There is?”
He took her gently by the elbow and they started to stroll on the grassy verge by the side of the road. “I’m afraid there’s something you need to know before we greet my grandmother. You may not like it.”
Hadn’t he said those exact words to her that first day at his studio?
“Wow. That sounds pretty serious,” she commented.
There really was no easy way to break it to her. Better to just blurt it out. He inhaled deeply. “See, the thing is, my grandmother is under the impression there’s more between us then there really is.”
She blinked at him. “I beg your pardon? I don’t quite understand.”
Vito rubbed a weary hand down his face. How had he found himself in such a messy predicament? It was as if he had no idea what direction his life was headed in at any given moment.
Without giving himself too much time to think, he gave Maya the basic rundown of what Leo had done and why. She appeared a bit shell-shocked once he was done.
Welcome to the club, he wanted to tell her.
They’d reached the sprawling vines that abutted the estate gardens. The aromatic scent of grapes permeated the air. Vito reached for a ripe bunch and held it out to her. She still hadn’t said a word about what he’d just told her.
Maya took the fruit from him and popped one of the grapes into her mouth. She seemed to savor the taste as she chewed and swallowed. A sudden unwanted desire to feed her one himself made his palm itch. His gaze fell to her mouth. He could still taste those lips of hers on his own, feel their lush fullness. Vito had to remind himself to focus on the matter at hand.
“So, am I supposed to act as if you and I are betrothed?” she asked.
“I know it’s ridiculous. You have to believe I had nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, I have no doubt you had nothing to do with any of it, Vito.”
He could have sworn her tone held a hint of disappointment when she spoke the words. Which made zero sense. He had to have imagined it.
“I’m not sure how I feel about deceiving an unsuspecting grandmother, to be honest.”
“This is the type of untruth that’s meant solely to give her some pleasure on a milestone day.” Truth be told, he hadn’t exactly been looking forward to spending the entire time fielding questions about whether he was ready to move on with his life. Not to mention hearing about all the eligible young granddaughters of her friends that Nonna always wanted him to meet. At the least, it would be a refreshing change to spend some time at his estate with the entire family and not have to duck unwelcome suggestions about all the women his family wanted to introduce him to. Of course, this way he and Maya would have to find ways to answer all sorts of questions about how they’d met and fallen in love.
Surprisingly, he didn’t think that would take much effort. They could even stick mostly to the truth.
Still, he had to make sure Maya was completely certain that she was up for what he was proposing. “It’s only for the afternoon. I understand if you want no part of it.” Heaven knew he couldn’t blame her for that. “I’ll work something out if you’re not comfortable.”
“It’s okay. I’ll do it.”
Vito released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “You will?”
She slowly pulled another grape off the bunch she held and ate it before she answered. “Sure. Why not? It’s your grandmother’s birthday, after all. And I find myself attending without a gift. This one small fib seems harmless enough. If it will make her happy on such a momentous day, then I’m happy to do it.”
“Grazie, mia bella,” Vito said, planting a small peck of a kiss on her cheek. When he straightened, he couldn’t help where his thoughts drifted. For one insane moment, he wished with all his heart that the pretense wasn’t even necessary. That it might all somehow be real.
