Page 26 of Marrying a Prince

Leo nodded. "I get it."

Closing her eyes, she tipped her head until it rested on his shoulder. Leo couldn't help but breathe in the smell of her coconut shampoo. He reveled in the feeling of her so close to him. Perhaps, it wasn't only him that had brewing feelings.

"Do you mind if I rest here for the ride back? I'm exhausted," she murmured, already sounding half asleep.

Leo nodded. "Of course."

She let out a satisfied sigh. "You're a good friend."

Leo cringed at that word.Friend.He knew he should be grateful that she saw him as someone she could confide in, that there was no romantic worry between the two of them. He should be happy about that.

He wasn’t in a place in his life where he could be more than friends with anyone. So he shoved all thoughts of anything more to the corner of his mind, tipped his head back, and closed his eyes.

He tried to ignore the feeling of Marianna so close to his body. Thankfully, the hum of the road and the warmth of the setting sun surrounded him and lulled him to sleep.

Chapter Nine

Everything seemed to rush past Marianna when they got back to the hotel. Mrs. DeLuca whisked Leo away, stating that there was so much work to be done before they left. Marianna went out with one of the servants, Adelina, who was to take her shopping for "royalty appropriate clothing."

By the time Marianna got back, it was past midnight, and she was ushered into the spare room in Leo's suite, where the bed was turned down and she was expected to get into it.

After the noise in the living room died down, Marianna took that as a sign that everyone had left, so she slipped the covers off and got out of bed.

Adelina had been efficient and thorough. Marianna had never seen someone show like the little Italian woman did. Now, Marianna had an entirely new wardrobe that included satin, full-length nightgowns, like the one she now wore. It had spaghetti straps, and the cool air hit her arms, causing goosebumps to cover her skin.

She grabbed a matching satin robe that was hanging on the back of her door and stepped out into the hall. She hesitated, waiting to hear if anyone would say anything to her. She wasn't one hundred percent clear on the rules, but she was pretty sure leaving her room in the middle of the night broke one of them. Especially since she was sharing a suite with Leo.

His parents had seemed okay with her being there, since Filippo's room was right next to hers. But she didn’t mind that. If anything, his being there helped her feel safe. There was no way anything could get out of hand when there was a chance that Leo's bodyguard could come in.

Heat raced across her skin as the memory of Leo so close to her body flashed in her mind. The way his tanned skinned stretched over his muscles. For a moment, she wondered what they might feel like under her fingertips.

"Why are you up so late?" Leo's deep voice snapped her from her thoughts.

She yelped and turned to see him shutting the small fridge and smiling over at her. He was wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and no shirt.

Of course no shirt.

She forced her gaze upwards instead of letting it fall to the hard lines of his chest and abs. She folded her arms so there was no temptation to reach out and feel if his skin was as smooth as it looked.

"You okay?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow like he knew just what he was doing.

Ooo, he was good.

She cleared her throat and nodded. "Um, yep. Mhmm." Wow.

"Having a hard time sleeping?" He set a quart of ice cream down on the counter and pulled out a drawer. He removed two spoons and held one out to her. "I am," he said as he shrugged.

Thankful that she wasn't the only one struggling with this situation, she let out the breath she'd been holding and nodded. "Yes. I don't know why. I mean, I agreed to this."

His eyes widened as he pulled the lid off. "You're having doubts?" He dug a spoon into the ice cream and then handed the container over to her.

Grateful for a task that distracted her from his intoxicating. . . everything, Marianna scooped out a mound of ice cream and set the container back down on the counter. "Aren't you?"

Did she really want to hear the answer to that question? No matter what, it would hurt. If he did have doubts, was it because he didn't see her as princess material? Or worse, was he having doubts about her ability to carry out their arrangement?

When he didn't answer, she looked up to see him studying her as he took bites out of his ice cream. "I don't think so. I trust my gut, and my gut told me that you would be the best person to help me." He leaned closer. "There's not a lot of women out there like you."

Heat burned her cheeks from the combination of his words and proximity. She forced a chuckle. "You're just saying that because you're a prince. You're used to schmoozing women."

---