They believed me.
"They're going to ask questions," I say. "About what I do. About the family. About why their daughter is with a man who?—"
"Who saved my life?" Marina squeezes my hand. "Who sat at my bedside for days? Who tracked me across the country because he couldn't stop thinking about me?"
"When you say it like that, I sound like a stalker."
"You were a stalker." She grins. "A very dedicated one."
I don't smile. Can't. The weight of what we're about to do presses down on my chest. Meeting parents. Normal couple things. Except nothing about us is normal, and her parents know it.
"They'll love you," Marina says.
"You don't know that."
"I do." She shifts in her seat to face me fully. "My mother especially."
I frown. "Why your mother especially?"
"She likes good-looking men for her daughter." Marina's eyes sparkle with mischief. "And rich ones. She's been dropping hints about my love life for two years. When she sees you pull up in this car, wearing that watch, looking like you stepped out of a magazine?—"
"I'm not?—"
"She'll be planning the wedding before we finish dinner."
I stare at her. "You're joking."
"I'm completely serious." Marina leans closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "In fact, I should probably confess something."
My jaw tightens. "What?"
"I'm only with you for your money."
The tension in my chest cracks. Just a little. "Is that so?"
"Absolutely." She nods solemnly. "The penthouse. The private jets. The designer clothes you keep buying me these days even though I tell you to stop. I'm a gold digger, Dante. You should know this about me."
"A gold digger."
"The worst kind." She sighs dramatically. "I saw your bank account and thought, 'This is the man for me.' The abs were just a bonus."
Something shifts in my chest. The fear doesn't disappear, but it loosens. Makes room for something else. Something that feels dangerously close to hope.
I reach across the console and wrap my hand around the back of her neck. Her breath catches. I pull her toward me, until our faces are inches apart.
"You can have it all."
Her eyes widen. "Dante?—"
"Every penny. Every property. Every car and watch and piece of art." I brush my thumb along her jaw. "As long as you're mine, you can have my soul if you want it."
Marina's expression softens. The teasing fades, replaced by something raw. Real.
"I love you," she whispers.
The words hit me like a bullet.
She loves me.
