The declaration is so sudden, and I don’t know how to respond. Before I can say anything, he’s kissing me again, slow and sweet and tender.
Eventually, he pulls out of me, and I wince at the sudden emptiness. He rolls onto his side and gathers me into his arms, pulling my back against his chest, his arms wrapping around me like he never wants to let go.
His lips brush my neck, and the curve of my ear.
“Stay with me,” he murmurs. “Forever. Stay with me forever.”
I close my eyes and sink into the warmth of him. This is everything I ever wanted. Everything I was afraid to hope for. Cristiano, holding me like I’m precious. Loving me like I’m the only thing that matters.
I was wrong about him. The wardrobe was just a mistake, a moment of teenage panic that he’s regretted ever since. This is the real Cristiano, a man who gives me snow globes and carries me carefully and makes love to me like I’m the center of his universe.
“Marry me.”
His words are so quiet I almost miss them.
My eyes snap open. “What?”
“Marry me,” he breathes, his arms tightening lovingly around me. “I want you to be my wife, Mina.”
He’s still holding me against his chest, his arms warm around my body, and I stare at the ceiling, letting myself imagine it for just a moment. What it would be like to say yes. To turn around, look at his face, and sayyes, I’ll marry you. I’ll be yours forever.
Be his bride. Wear white for him. A satin dress and a lace veil. Hear him declare his love for me before all of Malus.
I could. The words are right there on my tongue. He’s asking me, and he means it, and a part of me wants to say it so badly my chest aches with it.
But I’m the housekeeper’s daughter. And this is still his father’s house.
“Cristiano. I’m eighteen. You’re nineteen. We haven’t even been on a date.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’ve loved you my whole life. But if you want, I’ll take you on a million dates, as long as you wear my ring and promise yourself to me.”
“But—”
“Say yes.” He’s kissing my throat, his lips warm and insistent. “Say you’ll marry me.”
My head is spinning. This is too much, too fast. “Cristiano, even if I wanted to, your father would never allow it. He’d never let his son marry the housekeeper’s daughter.”
He goes still. Completely, utterly still.
“Don’t worry about my father.” His voice sounds strange all of a sudden. Harder and colder.
“Cristiano?”
“Just say yes, and I’ll figure out the rest.”
“But there’s nothing to figure out. A man like Mr. Montoni won’t allow his only son to marry someone like me.”
“I’ve thought about that too,” he admits. “Dad will never accept us.”
I relax a little, grateful we’re on the same page, even though the reality that I’m not good enough for Cristiano stings.
“So I’ll kill him.”
His voice has gone cold and completely flat. The warmth of the moment evaporates.
“What?”
His arms are still wrapped around me, but they feel different now. Constricting.
