page28 (2/2)

The news that Raphael Mastrantino was dating Giovanni Vito’s granddaughter swept through society faster than the heat wave that had descended on Milan

If Pia had thought she’d garnered toocolances and whispers thrown her way as the woht Raphael’s interest His public possessiveness had fended off any other man’s interest, exactly as she’d intended

Giovanni, while he said he was delighted with this turn of events, was strangely toned down

Pia, however, hadn’t foreseen how torturous their little facade would be to her Or that the more she saw of Raphael, the

He was the perfect son, the perfect brother, the perfect boss, although a little distant, if all the things Pia had heard at an office party were to be believed Froodson As one woman had explained in lurid detail at another party, unaware that Pia stood behind her, he was a perfect lover

No, scratch that, the woman had been aware that Pia was there and had taken a petty satisfaction insure Pia overheard

In front of Milan and Gio and his family, he was the attentive boyfriend or lover or whatever the hell it was that they were pretending to be Every day, he sent her flowers or candy or soht her a subscription for a gift club for the next few years, he’d snarled so in Italian

She’d had her anshich festered She was nothing but a painful chore for him, an item on his damned to-do list

Between a huge deal VA was cooking with acompany in Japan and his time with Alyssa, he was hardly available anyway Their pretense was barely a blip in his life Whereas for Pia, every carefully orchestrated touch was torture Every ht betanting to run away and desperately wanting more

As if that wasn’t enough, Raphael cas Sometimes, it was a quick chat under Gio’s watchful eye

Sometimes, they dined outside with the spectacular view of the setting sun drawing pink and orange ht or if Gio petulantly deether that week, Pia joined theht out a piece of wood and worked on it quietly while listening to Raphael relay the news and politics of Vito Automobiles