Page 131 of The One
My mind is scrambling to process what Mateo just said.
My mouth falls open, but no words come out.
I shut it again, confused as hell.
What is happening right now?
Did he take something?
I’m pretty sure I’m not asleep and dreaming.
“You… you want to marry me?” I finally ask, my voice laden with disbelief.
Mateo’s smile grows impossibly large. “Yes,dolce mia, I want to marry you.”
What the…?
How did we go from kissing to this?
“But… but you never even saw me,” I stutter.
My stomach knots at the memory of feeling like thin air around him, present but unseen.
It hurt. It still hurts.
“And now you’re telling me that you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
This doesn’t make any sense.
“I’d like to believe in fairy tales. I really, really do. But this just seems too much like fantasy,” I whisper, my voice retreating, trying to shield me from the vulnerability threatening to swallow me whole.
“I’ve been in love with you for years, and you never spared me a glance.”
His eyes light up like the stars on a cloudless night, endless and full of wonder. He takes my hand in his, pulling me closer.
“You’re in love with me?” he asks, ignoring the rest of what I said.
My cheeks ignite, a blush racing up my neck and blooming across my face.
Merda, why did I admit that?
I try to pull my hand back, but he holds firm, his thumb brushing across my knuckles in a way that sends shivers skittering down my spine. My heart is pounding so loudly I’m sure he can hear it.
He closes the small, vulnerable space between us. His hand moves to cup my cheek, tilting my face toward his.
“Say it again.” His voice is raw with urgency. “Say it, please.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head as if that will erase what I said.
“No. You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“But I did,” he replies, his voice cracking.
“Mariella, I love you too.”
He lowers his head and presses it against mine as if that could transfer his conviction into me.
Mateo loves me?
