Page 36 of Forbidden Bride (Forbidden 1)
His smile reaches his eyes, making little lines appear at the corners. Marco runs his fingers along the inside of my thigh beneath my skirt as we eat. He makes little circles, kneading my skin until my flesh is singing.
It’s not like before. This time, he’s being intimate without touching me in the most intimate way. There’s a kind of comfort in experiencing his soft touch without the expectation of more. We’re two people enjoying each other’s company. Lovers marveling at the feel of the other’s touch. Sharing a meal, a conversation, a gorgeous sunset. The scent of the ocean all around us. I could stay here forever.
It’s pure perfection.
“What’s your magic?” Marco asks. “You never really told me what you love most.”
“Books,” I say without hesitation.
He laughs. “That was easy.”
“They’re my everything. Always have been. They provided my education, of course, but they’re also my entertainment and my escape…and more than that, I guess stories help me experience the world and other people in a way that I haven’t been able to in real life.”
“Because your family is so overprotective?” Marco asks.
I nod. “And strict. Even in high school, when I had the most freedom I can ever remember having, I only had…acquaintances. I was only allowed to hang out after school for group projects or study sessions. But even then, I didn’t have any close friends. I didn’t get out much, or socialize, or get to travel for school breaks. Too risky. Too dangerous. Too far from home.”
Marco tilts his head. “Hmm.”
“That sounds really lame, doesn’t it?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious about how sheltered I’ve been.
“Not at all. It sounds like someone needs to show you the world,” he says, taking my hand. His eyes search mine. “Someday, I mean. If you’d be interested.”
“I’m interested,” I whisper, unable to tear my gaze from his.
Moments pass.
Finally, Marco smiles. “Lightning round,” he says, breaking the tension.
“I’m ready.”
“Favorite author.”
I laugh. “Jane Austen, hands down. Make it harder for me.”
“Dream vacation.”
“Crap. It’s a tie. England, in the summer, because I’ve always dreamed of visiting one of those huge country estates where all the Regency novels are set, but also Iceland, because I want to see those incredible landscapes, and the aurora borealis, and the glacier lagoons.”
“Not the beachy type, then?”
“It’s not that. I love the beach. But we have so many gorgeous ones here in California—so no. If I’m going on vacation, I want it to be something completely different.”
“Fair,” Marco says with a nod.
“And you?” I ask. “Where would you go?”
“Anywhere I can race a car,” he says easily. “But there are some great tracks in Europe. Especially in Italy and France and the UK. Um…what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“No idea,” I tell him. “At all. I’ve taken a few college classes online, but they were just for fun—I never got any support from my family in terms of the whole college thing. I guess they never saw me becoming anything other than someone’s wife. But I do want to get a degree. And I think…I think I’d like a job where I get to help people in some way. I don’t know.”
I feel even more self-conscious now, but Marco is smiling at me.
“It’s okay not to have everything all planned out,” he says softly. “And since it sounds like nobody ever told you this, here’s a little secret: you can be anything you want to be. Really.”
He sounds so completely sincere that it chokes me up a little bit, and I spend a minute or two just squeezing his hand and staring out at the ocean.
“Marco,” I finally say, letting out a long sigh.
Dang it, I didn’t want to do this. I promised myself that I wouldn’t get emotional.
“What is it? Did I overstep?”
“No, I just…I don’t want this to end. We’re running out of time together.”
“I know.” He smooths a stray piece of hair from my face and brushes his thumb over my lower lip. “It’s funny…I never believed in fate until I met you.”
“What do you mean? Like star-crossed lovers?”
“Exactly. I’ve never been so caught up like this. It’s like something from a book,” he admits. “Ever since we met, I’ve thought of nothing but you. You drive me crazy.”
“Is that a good thing?” I ask.
“The best,” he answers, dropping a soft kiss in the hollow behind my ear.
I shiver and then take his hand, turning it palm up so I can kiss the base of his wrist. The soft pulse there flutters against my lips. “You know why so many stories are centered on fated lovers? Because it’s romantic. And tragic. Maybe this was never meant to last.”
His deep blue eyes pierce my soul. “I don’t believe that.”
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I look out at the streaks of pink and blue on the horizon and take a deep breath. Look at us. We started out as Romeo and Juliet, and now we’re on track to end the same way. Destroying ourselves for the sake of our love. I’ll go off and slowly give myself up to an arranged marriage, letting it chip away at my heart and soul a little more each day, and Marco will lose himself in his racing, and probably more women—but none of them will be me. He’ll always wonder what we could have had. This I know for certain.
Eyes tearing up, I pull gently back from him and beg off to the ladies’ room. I need a minute to collect myself. His hand trails slowly away from mine as I walk away.
Turning into the short hallway to the restrooms, I stop short when a dark figure appears at the other end of the hall.
“Karina?”
Shit. “Mercutio? What are you doing here?”
My cousin shakes his head and wags a finger at me. “Oh no. The question is, what are you doing here? Marco Bellanti does not look like your wedding planner. You’re gonna be in deep shit, Karina.”
My heart sinks and his expression softens.
“Look, I warned you about this. And I didn’t rat you out, but I’ve already gotten four calls about you while I’ve been trying to win over that hot little senator’s daughter over there,” Merc says, jerking his head toward a corner of the restaurant. “So instead of sealing the deal for a night in her bed, I’m once again stuck babysitting your ass. I said I’d try to find you.”
All the joy inside me retreats. “I’m sorry, Merc. I’ll go home right now.”
“Yeah, you better. And you might want to grow a backbone before you get there. That’s all I’m saying.”
He lightly touches my arm and saunters off. Watching him go, I peer around the divider at Marco. His back is to me as he watches the ocean and takes a drink of beer. My heart fractures at the thought of sneaking off without saying goodbye, but I have to. Things are about to take a drastic turn. I can feel it.
How long did I think I could keep this up without getting caught? It was only a matter of time, and I’ve been well aware of that from the start. Fear uncurls in my gut. My uncle knows something is up.
I played with fire and now it’s time to burn.
