Page 173 of Modern Romance October 2025 5-8

‘This is a rather impetuous start to our relationship,’ Gio Gallo observed.

‘We don’t have a relationship,’ Enzo hit back.

Gio shrugged as if his objection was irrelevant.

‘Coffee?’

‘Black.’

Gio stared back at him as if that were unnecessary information, as if no one worthy of his time would take it any other way.

Enzo didn’t want or need any more coffee, but it might be better to have something to occupy his hands so that he couldn’t throttle the old man.

And just like that, all his plans, his carefully constructed verbal attacks burned to ash in his mind and he was left with only one question. The question that had driven him here, despite his absolute conviction that he would have nothing to do with any of them ever again.

‘Why did you do it?’

‘I thought you would make a good match. She is perfect for you,’ Gio replied without shame or prevarication; no denial or pretence as to not knowing what they were talking about. Enzo could respect at least that much. But the answer?

Enzo scoffed.Perfect?

‘Why did you do it?’ he asked again. Because despite his words, Gio hadnotanswered the question.

Gio glared mutinously at him and Enzo glared back, finally dropping the mask of the careless playboy who would have thrown his hands up into the air and given up, made a joke, laughed it off.

‘Ahhh.Thereyou are,’ Gio said.

Enzo refused to be unnerved by his words, or insight into his personality, instead clinging to the silence that Giowouldfill eventually. They always did.

‘Did she get to meet you? The real you?’ Gio asked.

Enzo clenched his teeth together.

‘Mmm. I thought she might. She’s really quite an amazing young woman.’

Something about the proprietary way he spoke of Erin grated on him painfully.

‘Youmarry her then.’

Gio smiled at that. A near laugh. Apparently, that was as far as the man got to humour.

The assistant brought in two espressos and left just as quickly and quietly.

‘That’s not part of the plan.’

‘What plan? No games. No mysterious manipulations. Why do all this?’

‘Because you are family.’

‘Certainly not legally,’ Enzo pointed out.

‘My issues with your mother should never have involved you and for that I am regretful. I...made a mistake. And you paid for it. You appear, by your itinerant ways, to still be paying for it.’

Not sorry. Not at fault. He would have gone mad growing up with this man in his life, Enzo was sure. But still...there was an acknowledgement there that threatened to soften him, to ease his anger.

‘She reached out to me,’ Gio said, his piercing gaze pinned on Enzo.

‘Erin?’