Page 22 of Marrying a Prince

Marianna felt her mom's gaze settle on her. "That's a pity. He's definitely better than that Samson character you brought home."

Marianna's stomach churned. She shook her head. He was the last person she wanted to talk about. "Don't even mention him," she said.

Her mom nodded. "Right. We're not talking about losers." She cut the dough into chunks and started rolling them in her hands.

Suddenly needing something to do, Marianna stood up, washed her hands, and joined her mom. Soon, they were working in sync, forming the rolls.

"What's his family like?" her mom asked.

Marianna set a roll on the pan. "Formal? They really want him to marry this girl, Gisella. Which is weird because she is horrible. I haven't figured out why they would force their son to marry someone so terrible. Such a strange thing." She glanced at her mom. "You wouldn't make me marry someone who didn't love me? Right?"

Her mom laughed. "Honey, this isn't the 1800's. Of course you can pick who you marry." But then she sighed. "He's royalty. It's a different world. He marries, it affects his country. You marry and it affects only us." She raised her hands. "But be wise when you marry."

Marianna kneaded a scrap piece of dough with her fingers. "But it isn't fair."

Her mom pulled open the oven door and sighed. "Honey, life isn't fair. You know that. Leo seems like a good guy. He'll make the right choice. If his parents want him to marry this girl, maybe he should. I'm sure they want what's best for him, but they have to weigh every choice with how it will affect the country. It's a lot of pressure."

Marianna nodded. She understood what her mom was saying, even if she didn't agree with it. But what did she know? She wasn't running a country—his family was. Every decision had to be scrutinized against what it would do for their citizens.

Suddenly, the weight of what they must be feeling settled around her. Was it wrong what they had done? Maybe. Leo wasn't ready to be king right now; Marianna understood that. But maybe she could help him see just how good of a king he would be.

Maybe she could help him see that giving up one freedom didn't mean being stuck in a jail cell. It meant opening the doors for other freedoms. And sometimes, that's what a person has to do. Especially when they were responsible for so many people

Before they could continue, Leo and her dad walked through the door, laughing. Leo was covered with a black substance that Marianna could only assume was oil.

"What happened?" she asked. His clothing and skin were drenched.

"Leo tried to help. Didn't quite work," her dad said, clapping him on the back.

Leo shrugged and grinned up at her. "Yeah. Car repair is probably not in my future."

Her dad laughed. "No. I would stay away from that." He nodded toward Marianna. "Can you help him to the bathroom upstairs so he can shower? I'll grab some of my clothes for him to change into."

Leo's eyes widened. "Um, okay."

Marianna nodded toward the stairs on the far wall. "Come on."

She could hear Leo's footsteps behind her as she made her way to the second floor. They passed by her old room and over to the bathroom just beyond it. She pushed open the door and waved inside.

"Here," she said. She wasn't sure what to do. It felt weird standing there, so she moved out of the way.

"Get his clothes, Mari. I'll wash them and have them ready to go before you leave," her mom called up the stairs.

Heat raced to her cheeks as she stared at Leo. He had an incredulous smile on his face as he studied her.

"Wow. Okay," he said.

She watched in slow motion as he grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Once it was off, he held it out for her to take. Her heart pounded in her ears as she stared at his chest. His tanned, perfectly chiseled chest.Greek God,repeated in her head like a skipping CD.

"Mari?" His voice pulled her from her thoughts. She glanced up to see him staring at her, with that ridiculous half-smile of his. The one that told her he knew she was gawking.

She cleared her throat. "Um, yes?"

He shook his stand in front of her. "You need to take it from me if you are going to bring it down to your mom."

Heat raced across her skin. Why was she such an idiot? "Yeah, of course." She grabbed it from him and fought the urge to bury her face in it. Anything to hide her embarrassment.

And the worst part about all of this, was that he knew what he was doing to her. It was written all over his face. He unbuttoned his jeans, and Marianna did the only thing she could think of—she lifted her hand to cover her eyes. If his chest and abs were doing this to her, there was no telling how she would react to the rest of him.

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