Read Online Her Sicilian Arrangement by Hannah-Lee Hitchman - Free Book Online

lady are going to get married
soon,” Maria explained, smiling down at the bright-eyed
doll.
    “ Will there be cake?”
    They
all chuckled and then Alessandra stepped a little
closer.
    Her
eyes were still wide with shock as she heard the word and then she
extended her hand to Meagan in a gentle handshake. “Fiancée?” she
muttered and then looked at Maria. “Did you know about
this?”
    “ Not
at all. But isn’t it wonderful?” Maria yelped and then took her
daughter’s hand as if she was in a hurry. “Celine and I shall be in
the sitting room having cookies in case you need me.” She then
scampered off into the house, leaving them to face Alessandra’s
frightened expression.
    “ You
never mentioned that you intended on marrying,” she said and sat
down around the white wooden table beneath the beautifully made
outdoor cabana.
    Marco pulled Meagan closer to him, who now had a slightly
upset look on her face, and sat down at the table. “It was never
planned, Mother. Meagan and I love each other and we saw it fit
that we should spend the rest of our lives together.”
    His
mother looked at her and then smiled. “Is that true, Meagan? Do you
truly love my son?”
    “ Of
course,” she said, firmly through clenched teeth and then ran her
hand gently along his shoulder. “I have never met another man who
has made me happier.”
    “ And
she, I,” Marco said, looking at her with such adoration that she
could not decipher if it was genuine or not.
    “ Wonderful!” Alessandra explained. “So…you will make a large
wedding for the entire family to witness, yes?”
    “I
agree,” Marco said. “We will see if that can be arranged at a later
date.” And as soon as he finished that sentence, he felt a painful
squeeze on his knee and he glanced at her with a wince. “And I am
more than sure that Meagan will love that. Right, mia
tesora ?”
    She
stared at him for a moment, hoping that he could see the anger in
her eyes and then finally answered, “Of course!”
    “Stupendo !”
Alessandra chuckled. “I shall go make us some tea and then we can
talk some more about this wonderful news, yes? Your father and
Felipe are gone into town for a while. I’m sure they will be back
very soon. Excuse me a moment.” And walked away and disappeared
within the interior of the house.
    Before he could even say a word, Marco felt the painful stomp
of Meagan’s wedge heels on his toes. At that moment, he felt as if
she had impaled him and he flashed a dangerous look at her that
matched the one in her own eyes. “Are you out of your mind?” she
snapped, trying as best as she could too keep her voice down. “I—I
can’t do this! What the hell was I thinking? What do you mean by
we’re going to plan a wedding at a later date?! How much more
arrogant can you be?”
    “ Look…this is nothing to turn homicidal over!” he returned. “I
just want to make my family feel happy for a while, especially my
mother. My father still thinks I am still not man enough. I—I know
that I hadn’t said it before but he and I do not get
along.”
    “ And
why is that?”
    “I
never wanted to take over his business so he thinks that I think
his occupation is beneath me. But really, I just wanted to build my
own success. I wanted to prove to everyone that I am much more than
what my name implies. The Mussolini men have made a fortune from
owning vineyards…but I wanted to make my own legacy.”
    Meagan sighed and then looked away. “Why don’t you just
explain that to him, then?”
    “ He
is not the type of man who listens. You call me arrogant…but he is
the arrogant one. Sometimes I can do nothing but draw the
conclusion in my mind that he hates me.”
    “ That can’t be true,” she said, with a sigh. “Maybe he just
felt hurt by your decision and he doesn’t know how else to handle
his emotions but to…to channel them with anger.”
    She
heard Marco sigh and then turned to look at him. “Look, I really
admire you for