Page 15 of Modern Romance December 2025 5-8

The depth of his perception when it came to her emotions…it took her breath away anew. And the warmth it enticed in her belly scared her.

Mimi pressed her forehead into his chest, uncaring that she was messing up his pristine suit. Or that he could mistake it for her softening toward him. In that moment, she needed his support to stay standing.

Not a surprise that John would offer to be here for her. To give her away, in what was nothing but a farce, because he wouldn’t want her to be alone. Even though he knew now that she was having the baby that was supposed to be his daughter’s, though he’d never shown any preference between her and Pia.

He had loved them both the same from the moment her mother had married him. And Mimi had tried for his sake, more than anything, to be a good sister to Pia, who, like her, had never known her other parent, having lost her mother in childbirth.

That cunning sneak grief came at her again, making her tremble on the warm day. With Renzo’s arms around her shoulders now, she wasn’t alone with it.

“Shh…cara. You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to,” Renzo whispered.

Mimi wrapped her arms around his waist loosely, pretending for one moment that this was real. That his care for her was real.

“Does he know how this pregnancy came about? Did you tell him that the baby’s…ours?” she asked, for once hoping he had taken control of the situation. She didn’t have it in her to go through it with her stepdad, didn’t have it in her today to be strong for him.

“Yes, I told him the entire twisted story, and it will stay with him. I want the world to know that this is our child. I don’t want any confusion—now or later. I loved my brother, but this is our life now. And there’s no need to feel any guilt for making the best of the cards we’ve been dealt.”

“It’s not that simple for me,” she muttered.

“What about this bothers you?” Something about the way he asked that question, his voice low and threaded with a hint of genuine concern, made Mimi unravel a little more. If she wasn’t careful, he was going to turn her into a home-trained little puppy who did whatever he wanted every time he spoke in that husky tone.

“I don’t like this much public scrutiny. And then there’s the fact that I’m at a disadvantage here, Renzo. This whole wedding circus makes it look like I trapped you. You’re known for your bachelor status—for enjoying your freedom, for enjoying the fast life. Now it looks like you have no choice but to marry me because I’m cooking your bun in my oven. All my life…”

She swallowed the words that wanted to rush out after that. No need to bare her entire vulnerability to his eyes.

“All your life what?” he demanded.

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. Not willing to set aside her concern to simply soothe him.

Even though his frustrated grunt urged her to do just that.

“Then how about we do something that shows the media and everybody else here that you’re not trapping me into anything? That I’m standing here because I want to be here.”

She looked up at him, and her breath left her in a rush at the glint in his eyes. Whatever it was, Mimi knew she was going to hate and love it at the same time. “Like what?” she said, making it clear that she didn’t trust him.

Renzo’s grin turned wicked. His hand moved to her waist, pulling her closer in a way that made her hyperaware of every camera trained on them. And somehow, he even managed to shift a little to the side so that he didn’t nudge up against her belly. And then he clasped her jaw in a firm grip. “Something like this.”

Mimi stared, transfixed, as he dipped his head and touched his lips to hers.

His were cool and soft while hers were burning hot with a longing she couldn’t push down. She’d have thought it impossible for her body to even register any more stimuli…but she was minutely aware of the puffs of his breaths against her lips, the indents of his fingers against the nape of her neck, and the low rumble his chest made under her own fingers when she rubbed her lips lazily against his…and then there was the way he draped himself over her, with those broad shoulders shading her from the entire world, as if the moment was too private to be shared…

And then even that level of awareness fell away, and she was spun into pure golden sensation as the kiss deepened.

“Open,bella. Let me taste you.”

The sensual shock of his words made her gasp, and he took immediate advantage, swiping his tongue inside her with a mastery that made her groan. On and on he kissed her, in long sips and little nips and lazy bites, stealing every inch of air from her lungs and every ounce of sense from her head.

Mimi sank into the kiss, lazy heat unspooling through her, unraveling her. And when he turned the soft nip into a sharp pull of her lower lip, dampness filled her panties, and she lost the little balance she had.

She fell into him, and he steadied her, but not before her belly brushed his…erection. A lash of pure primal heat held her captive.

God, to be wanted by this man was unlike anything she’d ever known.

His low curse feathered over her skin as his lips drifted down her jaw. Large hands rounded her shoulders gently, belying the heat and intensity of the kiss. “I only meant to give them a little glimpse into this. Now it won’t look like I’m being dragged to the altar against my will.”

“How very sacrificialandperformative of you, Renzo,” she said, something she couldn’t control creeping into her tone.

Surprise made his mouth slacken while his gaze searched hers. Whatever he saw there, he sighed. Not that it stopped him from rubbing his thumb pad against her lower lip. “You’re a hard negotiator,cara.”