Page 76 of Modern Romance October 2025 5-8

‘That’s admirable, Stella. But there are times when you just have to jump. When you have to trust your instinct and go with it. I’m offering you a safe place to make your plans and sort out your problems.’

His gaze seared and she had the uncomfortable feeling he saw deep inside to the insecure girl she’d been. The girl who’d learned to prioritise and set goals as a way of coping with a new life she didn’t fully understand.

But that was impossible. She might feel a strong connection to Gio but he didn’tknowher.

Needing to dislodge that intent stare, Stella moved away, peering down the street. Rocco had gone and she resumed walking. Gio fell into step beside her, between her and the road, his tall form a bulwark against any threat. He did that every time they walked along a road.

It was probably habit whenever he walked with a woman. His parents must’ve taught him old-fashioned manners. She found it charming. No, more than that. She liked the feeling that he cared about her safety.

‘Stella?’

‘Thank you for the offer. It’s incredibly generous. I’ll think about it.’

His gaze sharpened and his mouth firmed as if he were about to say something, then thought better of it, remaining silent as they walked.

He was a rarity. In her family the men never shied from saying exactly what they thought, firmly believing they were always right.

Couldshe take up Gio’s offer?

She didn’t have a better option. Her plan consisted of moving somewhere else, out of Rome. Was it coincidence that Rocco had been near her hotel? Or had he somehow found her?

It was stupid to feel confounded by her half-brother’s appearance. He wouldn’t hurt her. But he might use his superior strength to bundle her into a car and back to her father. She wasn’t ready for that. She needed time and space.

A private villa with good security. Alone with Gio.

Excitement stirred. It sounded perfect, almost too perfect. Just as these two days with Gio had been wonderful.

Maybe her luck had changed?

Right now anything was better than being alone, dwelling on her impossible choices. Marriage to a man she didn’t know or turning her back on her career in her father’s company and her family, for if she didn’t obey Alfredo, he’d wipe his hands of her. There’d be no second chance.

It wasn’t that she was scared to leave the company but family was all she had, what she’d clung to since her mother’s death. She’d worked hard to be accepted. Was she ready to throw that away?

She wasn’t in love with someone else, or likely to be. Her experience with men didn’t give her much hope she’d ever find that. Yet still she’d imagined spending her life with someone who loved her.

Her mood plummeted. Was she still, at heart, that little girl who’d believed in magic and happy endings? It didn’t seem possible, yet the abhorrence she felt at an arranged marriage pointed that way.

Gio can’t give you a happy ending but he could definitely give you a taste of magic.

The thought popped into her head and suddenly it was all she could think of.

She slanted him a sideways look. Even his clear-cut profile made her pulse quicken. He turned his head. Fire jolted through her as his mouth edged up in the hint of a smile.

Being with Gio was the closest she’d ever been to adventure. Was she ready for that to end?

You don’t know him. Not even his surname.

But I know the sort of man he is. Sympathetic, caring, even protective. And the things he makes me feel…

As to his name, she could find that out in a moment with a simple question. But part of the delight she felt in his presence, part of the enchantment, was the fact they were strangers briefly passing, cocooned in the moment, without long-term expectations. There was incredible freedom in just being herself. Anonymous. Did he feel the same?

Had he too been targeted by people who pretended to want a long-term relationship, but with one eye on the family fortune?

She was getting beyond herself. He might have kissed her but that didn’t mean he wanted more.

There are times when you just have to jump. When you have to trust your instinct and go with it.

She’d already jumped once, onto the plane to Rome. Did she dare trust her instinct again? Shouldn’t she be more cautious?