Page 33 of Marrying a Prince

Marianna saw Leo stiffen at the mention of Gisella's last name. This couldn't be good. Out of instinct, Marianna leaned forward. "Is this bad?"

Leo shook his head. "No. Not if we stick to the story." He glanced over at her, his rich, dark eyes intoxicating her.

Suddenly, all she wanted to do was keep him safe. And if keeping him safe meant keeping him away from Gisella, then so be it. After all, that was why she was here.

She pinched her lips together and nodded. "What do you need from me?"

His gaze slipped down to her lips for a moment and then back up. "It would probably be best if you didn't talk much. Just smile and keep the topic light." He sighed. "There probably won't be much talking anyway. There never is."

She nodded. "I can do that."

The feeling of his hand surrounding her arm startled her. The warmth of his fingertips seeped into her skin and caused her stomach to lighten. It felt so good to be touched by him. She never wanted him to let her go.

"Thanks, Mari," he said, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "I mean it."

She turned to look at him, but he'd already glanced over to Filippo. Before she could say anything, he dropped his hand and made his way down the stairs with Filippo in tow.

She leaned against the railing, grateful that it was so close. With the way her body was reacting to Leo, she was sure she would collapse without something to hold her up. She took in a few deep breaths.

What was the matter with her? How come she kept forgetting, over and over again that this was all fake? The prince didn't like her anymore than he liked Adelina or another other person he hired to do a job.

And that was all Marianna was here to do. A job. She would help him pass the crown over to his cousin, without disappointing his parents too much, and then watch him ride off into the sunset, leaving her to go back to the States. Alone.

And then a sinking feeling settled in her stomach. She was going to be alone. After all of this, why hadn't she realized it? This was not some ingenious way to solve her problem, because her problem wasn't Samson. It was her fear of being alone. Well, that and her fear that she might not be loveable, but that was not a thread she was equipped to pull on tonight.

Thankfully, Adelina appeared at the base of the stairs with an expectant look on her face. Marianna breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way she was going to make it down the stairs feeling like this. She needed to get out of her head and focus on her job. That was all.

"Are you coming?" Adelina said, waving toward the stairs.

Marianna nodded and made her way down. Once she reached the bottom, Adelina studied her.

"Why did you change your hair?"

Marianna reached out and ran her fingers through it, remembering what it felt like to have the prince so close to her, telling her that she looked beautiful. Then she groaned. She was in trouble. Bad.

"The prince said I looked like his mom and prefers I wear my hair down."

Adelina raised her eyebrows. "And this is a bad thing? Looking like the queen?"

Marianna didn't realize that saying something like that would be offensive. How could she be so dumb? "I—um—well—," tumbled out, but Adelina raised her hand.

"Enough. I don't have time to fix it. Hopefully, Her Highness with not be insulted." She motioned toward the hallway on the other side of the foyer. Marianna nodded and obeyed.

Soon they were standing in the doorway of a large hall. A massive table stretched down the middle. It spanned the whole room. A large fireplace was along the far wall.

Maids and butlers dressed in dark suits were scurrying around with trays of food. They would lay one down in front of someone and then turn and grab another one.

At the far end of the table was an empty seat. A portly man who was busily eating what looked like a turkey drumstick sat on one side, while a young girl with dark curly hair sat on the other. She was giggling as she watched the portly man.

"Adelina," Mrs. DeLuca said from her seat at the head of the table. She motioned with her head to the empty seat.

"This way," Adelina said.

Marianna nodded and followed. She tried to ignore how this seat put her at the other end of the table from Leo. And she tried not to get angry at the fact that Gisella was right next to him, laughing and placing her hand on his arm.

Marianna knew what Mrs. DeLuca was doing. It made sense. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. When her gaze landed on Leo, he shot her an apologetic look. She smiled and shrugged.

By the time she got to her chair, it had already been pulled out. She sat down as the butler pushed the chair back toward the table. Now sitting, she glanced over at her companions.

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