you’re just my office manager. So she and Netti have been talking to Nonna—who now thinks that you’re my secret girlfriend. And when Nonna rang me last night…I don’t think I’ve ever heard her so happy at the idea I’ve finally found someone and settled down.’ He pushed his bowl away. ‘Bottom line—I can tell her the truth and make her believe it, but it’s going to hurt her terribly. She’s only staying for a few weeks. And…’ he looked away ‘…this is going to make me sound either like a sentimental fool or incredibly morbid, but Nonna’s not going to be around for ever.’
She knew exactly what he meant. ‘And you want to make her happy while you still have the chance.’
He nodded. ‘I’m the only one of my generation who isn’t settled down. Even Marcie—my youngest sister—is engaged. All my cousins are married, mostly with children or planning them.’
‘So all the pressure’s on you to follow suit.’
He sighed. ‘Yup.’
‘This isn’t the right thing to do, Gio. If we pretend we’re an item while your grandmother’s here, what happens when she goes back to Milan?’
‘I haven’t thought that far ahead,’ he admitted. ‘We can split up gracefully—it’ll be my fault because you can’t stand me being a workaholic, or something like that. And then we can get back to normal.’ He waved a dismissive hand. ‘Look, I’m trying to buy some time. And there isn’t much. Nonna’s going to be here in two days.’
‘I’ve worked with you for nearly a month. And I’ve never seen you panic,’ Fran said thoughtfully. ‘You’re panicking now.’
‘Because I can’t see a way out of this without shattering Nonna’s illusions. Hurting her. Which I really, really, don’t want to do. She’s special to me, Fran. She’s always been there for me. Listened to me when I wanted to talk about things I couldn’t tell my parents.’
She frowned. ‘Gio, this is the twenty-first century. It’s perfectly OK to be single, you know.’
‘Not according to my family.’ He drummed his fingers on the table. ‘And I’ve already disappointed them enough.’
Fran guessed immediately what the root of that particular worry was. And why it was so important to him to please his family now. She reached across the table and took his hand. ‘Listen to me, Giovanni Mazetti. You’re not a disappointment to your family. Look at you: twenty-eight years old, and you’ve built your dad’s business into a chain with the plan to expand it even more. And you were not responsible for your dad’s heart attack. It could have happened any time—even if he’d been sitting down relaxing at home that evening, it could still have happened.’
Gio didn’t look in the slightest bit convinced.
‘Gio, you went to the concert because that was the right thing for you to do at the time—if you hadn’t gone, you’d have disappointed your teacher and your family because you hadn’t tried, and you’d have spent the rest of your life wondering if you were good enough.’
He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.
She squeezed his hand. ‘I mean it, Gio. It was the right thing to do, to go. And you were good enough. You could’ve made a career in music, if you’d wanted to. But you gave it up for your family. You put their needs before your own. So no way have you disappointed them. If anything, they probably feel guilty that you gave up your music for them—and I bet they think you’ve sacrificed your personal life, as well as your dreams, to run the business.’
Gio was silent.
‘It’s true,’ she said gently. ‘That’s why they fuss about you so much. They love you and they worry about you and they want the best for you. So don’t be so hard on yourself.’
‘Hmm.’ He looked her straight in the eye. ‘So was that a yes or a no?’
‘Yes or no to what?’ a voice enquired next to them.
Gio looked up and groaned. ‘I don’t believe this! Why is it, everywhere I go, I run into one of my family?’
‘Because we’re on a mission to take over London and call it Mazettiville,’ the man said with a grin. ‘Imagine how many of us there’ll be in our children’s generation. Or our grand-children’s. Or our great-grandchildren’s.’
‘That’s too scary to think about.’ Gio rolled his eyes. ‘Fran, this is my cousin Ricardo—Netti’s eldest son. Everyone calls him Ric. Ric, this is Fran.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Fran.’ Ric eyed their joined hands. ‘Hmm. I’d heard the rumour. I thought your mum was just hoping a bit too hard. But obviously the family grapevine was right, this time.’
‘Oh, for pity’s sake…’ Gio began.
Fran laughed. ‘So much for trying to keep things quiet. Pleased to meet you, too, Ric. And, yes, I’m Gio’s girlfriend.’
Gio gave her a grateful look. ‘As well as my office manager. But relationships at work are a seriously bad idea, so we were trying to keep it to ourselves.’
‘You’re on a losing streak there, because your mother has spies all over London. Not to mention Nonna’s network,’ Ric said, laughing. ‘So does this mean you’re going to announce your engagement at the party?’
‘Engagement?’ Gio looked utterly stunned. He dragged in a breath. ‘Porca miseria, Ric! You’ll have me married with twins next.’
‘Nothing wrong with being married with twins,’ Ric returned equably. ‘In case he hasn’t told you, Fran, I have twin boys. Patrizio and Oliviero. They were three last month.’
‘I have twin brothers,’ she said. ‘They’re two years younger than I am.’
‘So twins run in your family, too?’ He smiled at Fran. ‘I should warn you—there are rather a lot of us. Though no doubt you’ll be meeting us all next weekend at the party.’
‘So Gio tells me.’ She smiled back. ‘And you’ve escaped tonight for a romantic meal with your wife?’
He nodded. ‘It’s our wedding anniversary.’
‘I did send you a card,’ Gio said, lifting one hand to forestall a protest.
‘And flowers. Which Alison really appreciated.’
‘I most certainly did.’ A woman joined them and ruffled his hair. ‘Thank you, sweetheart. Hello, you must be Fran.’
‘Oh, man. Can’t I have a romantic meal in peace without my cousins coming over to interfere?’ Gio asked plaintively.
‘Not when it’s the first girlfriend we’ve heard of in five years. Of course we want to check her out,’ Alison said with a grin. ‘Fran, it’s so nice to meet you. I’ve already heard a lot about you.’
‘From Angela?’ Fran guessed.
‘Yes.’ Alison smiled. ‘The family network can seem a bit overpowering at first—but don’t worry, you’ll soon get used to it. They only do it because they love each other. Gio’s primed you about the party?’
Fran nodded. ‘Except the dress code—which he said is “whatever”.’
‘Men!’ Alison rolled her eyes. ‘The men try and get away with looking as casual as they can, but the women go dressy. Definitely high heels—oh, and you can make your man buy you a seriously expensive bag to go with your outfit.’
Ric groaned. ‘I take it that was a hint to me, too?’
‘Oh, honey. How sweet of you to offer,’Alison teased. ‘I’ll call Bella and we’ll go shopping tomorrow. Gio’s middle sister is a handbag fiend,’ she confided to Fran.
Gio gently disentangled his hand from