“You look beautiful in that wedding dress,” he murmured, sending her heart pounding like a hammer.
“Thank you.”
“Was it something you just threw together?” he teased.
Her lips twitched. “Actually I designed it for the daughter of a billionaire, but the wedding was called off at the last minute so I got to keep the dress.”
“I hope they paid you for it.”
She glanced away then back again. “We’re still working on that.” The father was being obstructive, which no doubt accounted for his billions.
Alex frowned. “Let me know if you need any help.”
Olivia couldn’t help it. She chuckled. “What are you going to do? Set the dogs on him?”
He grinned. “I could rough him up a little for you.”
She laughed again and his grin widened. Maybe it was from being whirled around the dance floor, but all at once she felt giddy—giddy with the pleasure of looking at him. Seconds ticked by, and the gleam in his eyes told her he felt something, too.
The music ended, giving her the chance to move out of his arms. Soon they stood talking to his two brothers and Olivia tried to look calm.
“How’s it feel to be an old married man now, Alex?” Nick Valente teased, his lips curved in a confident smile that must be a family trait.
Alex slid his arm around Olivia, pulling her close to smile down at her. “Can you blame me for wanting to tie the knot with this beauty?”
She felt herself flush, but drew her gaze away from Alex and found both Nick and Matt considering her with piercing eyes.
“No,” Matt drawled. “I can’t say I blame you at all.”
Olivia stared at all three men. Handsome was too tame a word for them. Yet it was more than just looks. It was an innate quality. They were men who knew who they were and what they wanted. Nothing would stop them.
She wondered if they suspected the sacrifice their older brother had made for them. Alex had told her they didn’t know about his father’s demand, but she wasn’t so sure they didn’t suspect something. It was there in the way both men looked at her, as if they didn’t trust any woman or her motives, and especially when that woman had hooked one of them in marriage.
Thankfully, Isabel came up to them with Cesare, sniffing back tears in an elegant manner. “Cesare, I can’t believe our eldest boy is now married.”
Olivia knew that Isabel was Alex’s stepmother, not his real mother, who had died when he was small, but by all accounts he considered Isabel his “true” mother.
Cesare glanced at Alex then away again. “Izzie, he’s a grown man, not a boy,” he said, a hint of gruffness in his voice that made Olivia look at him and wonder if he regretted forcing his son into this marriage. A moment later she came up against a new, determined look in the older man’s eyes that said his moment of regret had passed.#p#分页标题#e#
“Oh, Cesare,” Isabel lightly scolded. “I’m allowed to be sentimental today. I’m the mother of the groom.” She hugged Olivia. “And I have a beautiful daughter now, too,” she said, sending a warmth through Olivia that made her suddenly want to cry.
“Pity I didn’t see her first,” Nick joked, giving Olivia a slow wink.
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Alex said, pulling her in even closer against his hip, his voice totally serious. “She was mine from the moment I saw her.”
She gasped, even as Nick stared at Alex and held his gaze. Then whatever he saw had the middle brother nodding in agreement. “I believe you’re right.”
Olivia’s moment of warmth disappeared but before she could take them to task for their comment, Isabel said, “Stop it, you two. You’re embarrassing Olivia.”
But Olivia wasn’t embarrassed.
She was angry.
It was bad enough knowing she’d walked into this marriage with her eyes open, but making her sound as if she was something to be tossed back and forth between the brothers didn’t make her feel exactly civil toward them.
As if Isabel knew, she clicked her tongue and slipped her arm through Olivia’s, drawing her away from Alex. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go see your mother. She’ll be missing you.”
Olivia gladly let herself be taken away, but a few steps on, Isabel squeezed her arm. “Take no notice of them, Olivia. They’re fine men who get a bit carried away with their own self-importance at times.” She laughed lightly. “Their father’s the same.”
Olivia found herself smiling back. It was good to know Isabel understood. This Valente woman knew how to keep her man in line.