Page 18 of Marrying a Prince

He grabbed a briefcase that was sitting next to him and pulled out a folder. What was going on? "Mother?" he asked, glancing over at her.

She waved him away as she watched Mr. Carlson motion towards the stack of papers he had placed in front of Marianna.

"The DeLuca's have asked that you sign a contract," Mr. Carlson said.

Leo did not like the sound of that. And he felt bad that he hadn’t been able to warn Mariana before his mother pounced. He felt stupid for not realizing that his parents would not let a woman become engaged to their son without some legal boundaries. He’d figured that, with his supposed amnesia, his parents would just go along with it. He was a fool.

"You don't have to sign anything you don't want to," he said, glancing over at Marianna.

Marianna looked up at him and then back to his mother. "It's okay. I can sign a contract. It's probably for the best. It protects me and you. That is until you get your memory back."

For some reason, his heart squeezed at her words. Not only was she selfless when it came to being a nurse, but she was selfless in her personal life too. He was going to thank her for this later.

After about 50 signatures and an equal number of initials, Marianna was finished. Leo was grateful for that because he wanted to get away. Being here was the last place he wanted to be.

Mariana pushed out her chair and stood. She glanced over at him, smiling. "Happy to have all of that done."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the balcony. Once outside, he slid the door closed and turned towards her. "You didn't have to do that."

She studied him and then nodded as she turned and made her way over to the railing. She rested her arms on the top rung. "It's wasn't a big deal. Honestly, it actually makes me respect your mother more. She's trying to protect you. I'm sure there are a lot of women out there that would use you to get ahead, and she sees that."

He nodded as he joined her, resting his elbow right next to hers. It was admirable, her defending his family like that. Most of the time, Gisella would try to push a wedge between him and his family, but Marianna was trying to bring them together.

"You must have a good relationship with your parents."

She smiled. It was soft and reflective. He liked it. "Yeah. They're great people. Nosy and a bit crazy, but so am I."

He studied the soft lines of her face. She was really beautiful. He parted his lips to confess that fact, but then decided against it. Hadn't he promised not to have feelings for her? How quickly he'd forgotten his own promise.

"They raised a great daughter." A compliment about her personality felt like okay territory.

She glanced over at him. Her once calm expression had turned unsure. "Do you think…" She let her thought trail off.

He turned to face her. Was it wrong that he enjoyed the fact that she was uncomfortable? "Do I think what?"

She chewed her lip, and he couldn't help but let his gaze slip to her mouth. The memory of their kiss flooded every cell of his body. That was one thing he was pretty sure would never be removed from his mind. She'd felt so perfect, pressed against him.

He cleared his throat. "Come on, Mari. You can ask me. Right now, the favor tally is five for me, zero for you. It's time I started holding up my end of the bargain."

She peeked up at him and then let out her breath. "Okay. Since you asked. My parents want to meet you. They think it will help us with our story."

An uneasy feeling sat in his gut. "They know?"

She nodded. "Sort of. I'm sorry. I couldn't lie to them like that. But it's okay. We can trust them."

The earnestness in her gaze made him believe her. If she trusted her parents, so could he. "Okay. Let's meet them. What do you need me to do?"

Her eyes widened. "Really? You'll come?"

He laughed. "Are you nervous?"

She blinked a few times. "No, I just didn't think that it would be that easy."

"Hey, I'm very accommodating," he said, forcing a shocked expression.

"But you don't need to confirm with your mom or assistant?" She nodded toward the people milling around the room they had just left.

"I do not need to ask permission. I'm a grown adult. I come and go as I please." Even saying the words felt like a lie. He wished he had that kind of freedom, but he didn't want her to think that he was some kid, needing to ask permission to go to a friend’s house.

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