‘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 grandchildren’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 Fran’s and covered his face. ‘I can’t cope with you lot. I think I’m going to run away.’
‘No, you’re not,’ Ric said. ‘We know exactly where to find you. You’ll be in the Charlotte Street café at six o’clock tomorrow morning.’
‘Seven, actually,’ Gio corrected, lifting his head and looking his cousin in the eye. ‘Stop stirring.’
‘As late as seven?’ Ric pantomimed amazement. ‘Fran, you’ve just earned yourself a zillion brownie points with Angela. And…’ Ric glanced at his watch. ‘Yep. You’ve got him out of the office a good hour earlier than usual. Make that two zillion points.’
‘Don’t you dare report this,’ Gio said.
‘Too late,’ Alison told him with a wink. ‘I’ve already texted Jude. But we’ll leave you in peace now.’