Page 19 of Marrying a Prince

She laughed. A whole-hearted, open laugh. "Really?"

He pushed her shoulder. "Don't laugh. It's true."

She nodded. "Okay."

He was going to go to meet her parents. Not only because she’d asked him, but to prove to her that he could—and perhaps prove it to himself.

He laced his fingers together, cracked his knuckles, and rolled his shoulders. "Let's do this."

* * *

After a lot of convincing from Leo, his mother finally agreed to the trip as long as Filippo went along with them. She stipulated that he could only be gone for a few hours but then needed to come straight back.

Leo couldn't believe the hold his mother felt that she had on him. He'd never really noticed until now. Here he was, almost the leader of his country, and his mother was giving him a curfew. It didn't sit right with him.

Marianna insisted that they not ride in a limo. She worried about the attention that would bring to her parent's small neighborhood in northern New York. Luckily, they were able to rent a small SUV.

Leo sat in the back next to Marianna, enjoying this tiny slice of freedom. He glanced over at Marianna, who was staring outside the window. They'd left the city and were driving down the winding roads. It was beautiful when you got outside of the city. It reminded him a little bit of home, and for the first time a long time, he felt homesick.

As if sensing that he was staring at her, Marianna turned and met his gaze. Her eyebrows rose and her skin hinted pink. "What?" she asked.

He couldn't help the smile that twitched his lips. "Nothing."

She furrowed her brow. "Do I have something on my face?"

He laughed and shook his head. "No."

Her expression grew serious. "Are you nervous about meeting my family? Really, they are the most relaxed people you will ever meet."

"I don't doubt that."

She hesitated as if she were trying to unpack his statement. He enjoyed that she seemed a bit unsure of what he meant.

"They have a great daughter," he said, letting his words and meaning hang in the air.

Marianna tucked a dark curl behind her ear and shook her head. "I did what anyone would do."

He knew that statement wasn't true. A lot of people thought only of themselves or what they could get out of a situation. Marianna didn't hesitate to help him, even when it meant she would get nothing in return. His mother’s contract had been a pretty clear example of that.

"What do you want?" he asked and then realized that he really hadn't meant that question to be so prying.

Her eyes widened, and she reached down and started fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you want in life? I have a feeling that hiding in hospital hallways because of some loser has never been your dream. What does Marianna want?"

She swallowed and shifted her gaze outside. "I don't know. I always figured that I just wanted to work in a hospital, but now I'm wondering if I could want more." She glanced back at him. "You know?"

He hadn't realized that she might want to ask the same question of him. Was he ready to reveal how he felt about his life? It felt wrong to ask it of her but not reveal it himself, so he decided to answer.

"Yeah. I know. You spend your childhood thinking you want to be one thing and yet, when you become an adult, all of that changes. Suddenly, you have to be sure. And what if the thing you're supposed to want, isn't what your heart is saying?" His skin heated as the words tumbled from his lips. He hadn't meant to heap his issues onto her.

"Are you talking about being king?" She peeked up at him.

He studied her and then nodded. "Yes. King. Ruler of my country. Spending every waking hour strategizing how to make life better for my citizens. Getting questioned and hated for the decisions that I’d have to make." He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand. "It's not as easy as it's cracked up to be. People get unhappy and blame you."

Not to mention the arranged marriages that were forced upon the royals. But Filippo was listening, and Leo needed to keep up the amnesia act, so he kept those feelings to himself.

"It can't be all bad," she said.

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