Page 28 of Marrying a Prince

And then she realized what he was trying not to say. Gisella was in there. Hurt filled her stomach as she backed away. Tears stung her eyes. Why would he have her in his bedroom? Hadn't he told her that he hated that woman? That she was terrible?

It was Samson and Barbie all over again.

She needed to get out of there.

"I'm—I've got to go," she whispered, fleeing toward the guest room. She didn't care that she'd just eaten ice cream and needed to brush her teeth. She also didn't care that Leo was calling after her. That his fingertips brushed her arm as she took off.

She wasn't interested in his excuses. She was interested in getting some space so that she could get her emotions under control.

She'd been a fool to let Leo into her life. She truly was just an end to a means. All of her previous thoughts about interpreting his feelings through his actions made her feel stupid. Leo wanted all the fun without any responsibility.

And Marianna playing along with his games was exactly that.

When her door was closed, she leaned against it, letting her tears fall. She angrily wiped them away as she walked across the room. She'd promised herself that she was never going to cry over another guy again. Three months after her last breakup and she was doing just that.

She flopped onto the bed, letting the down comforter float up around her. She stared up at the ceiling.

A soft knock sounded on the door. Marianna grabbed a nearby pillow and placed it over her face. There was no way she was going to answer the door right now. She didn't want to hear his explanation either way.

Gisella shouldn't have been in his room. Period.

And with his shirt off? She groaned into the pillow.

This was not what she wanted at all. Suddenly her carefree vacation away from her problems was rapidly becoming the same situation she’d just left. She couldn't do this to herself again.

When she pulled the pillow from her face, she hesitated, waiting to see if Leo would try again. Nothing. He must have given up and gone back to Gisella.

She flung the pillow to the floor and sat up. This was it. This was the moment that she would vow to herself that she wouldn’t fall for the Prince of Caro. And if she kept that promise to herself, then she just might be able to survive this tricky romantic world she’d been thrust into.

Chapter Ten

Leo laid in bed as the early morning rays peeked through his pulled drapes. He couldn't get Marianna's reaction out of his mind. He hadn’t been thinking when he’d hinted to her that Gisella was in his room. And before he could tell her why, she had stormed off to her bedroom and refused to come out.

He didn't blame her. She'd given up everything to come to Caro and go along with his ridiculous plan to get Gisella out of his life, just to find out that Gisella was staying with him. It had to be quite a blow.

Especially when her ex-boyfriend had done the same.

He scrubbed his face and turned toward the window. The heavy snores of Gisella could be heard coming from the cot that had been set up in his room.

If only he had been able to tell Marianna that it had been his mother's idea. All in the hopes that Leo would remember who he was really supposed to marry and call off his engagement with Marianna.

That was the only reason Gisella was in his room. He couldn't tell his mother no, because he wasn't even supposed to remember who Gisella was. If his mother wanted a strange woman to stay in his room, why should he care?

At least, that was the rationale she'd given him last night when he’d told her he didn't want Gisella in his room. She had brushed his concern aside, saying that even if he didn't remember who Gisella was, it didn't mean she wasn't important. He could say what he wanted to, but he was going to remember Gisella and marry her by month’s end.

So she had a cot brought up, and Gisella happily took up residence in his room.

As soon as his alarm went off on his phone, Leo grabbed it, shut it off, and climbed out of bed. He grabbed the change of clothes that the maid had laid out yesterday and headed to his shower. He wanted to be clean and dressed before other people started waking up.

Well, before Gisella was awake.

He wanted to catch Marianna and tell her what had happened. Leo knew if he could just explain, then everything would be okay. They would be okay.

He showered in record time and slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. His mother allowed him lounge clothes while on the plane, but as soon as they landed, he would need to change into a suit for the press that always waited for them to return.

And this time, appearances were of the upmost importance. He was coming home an engaged man. The woman on his arm would be the ruler right next to him. The country would want to see who would be leading them.

And he was beginning to want that woman to be Marianna. Was that terrible? The last few days he'd spent with her had been the best he'd ever experienced. She was real. She was open. And she was everything all the stuffy women in his social circle were not.

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