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Some people pass by and stare closely at us, and I flinch, turning my head away. It’s way too hot for me here.
I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“You must know some other way back. Something more hidden,” Chloe says, tugging on my hand to try and get me to slow down. “At least let’s just go somewhere to lie low for a bit. If people are following us, they’ll get bored eventually.”
“Okay, okay. Good plan.”
Someone points at us, and I pull Chloe down an alleyway, both of us pressing in tightly against each other as the space narrows.
I shift my weight from foot to foot, waiting and waiting until it becomes agonizing.
“Are they gone yet?” I whisper.
She hesitates, and I can tell she’s trying to stop herself from saying I don’t think they were following us to begin with. I don’t care if she thinks I’m being paranoid. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she’s got married to the most notorious person in all of Bellamare.
Everyone has an opinion about me. There isn’t a single person who would be shy to share it if they saw me. Bellamari people don’t believe in dishonesty.
She might think I’m this cool guy, but the truth is I’m just the loser prince that everyone hates.
The last thing I want is for Chloe to get caught up in that mob.
She cranes her head to try and look around the wall, and I pull her back, our bodies bumping against each other in the narrow alleyway. She looks up at me pleadingly. “They’re gone,” she says gently, keeping eye contact. “Let’s head back.”
“Just a few minutes longer,” I whisper, placing my hand on the wall next to her like a barrier.
She stares up at me. We’re so close that the heat of her skin radiates out to me, washing over me like sunlight.
“Paolo, it’s okay,” she says, placing both hands on my shoulders. “We’ll just go back. I’m sure there’s all sorts of rumors on the internet all the time. No one will think you broke any rules. It’s all going to be okay.”
Her hands on me are like comforting anchors, pulling me back down to the ground.
Without thinking it through, I reach out and brush my thumb over her cheekbone. How can I possibly start to tell her what she really means to me?
How can I possibly explain all the ways she’s changed my life?
“You okay?” she asks, staring deep into my eyes.
“Yes,” I say quietly, and mean it.
Then I place my other hand on the other side of her face and lean in to kiss her deeply. And just like in the garden, my heart soars again, racing with the certainty that this is right. This is good.
She’s wrong if she thinks I don’t care for her. I do. I care more than I ever cared about anyone before. There’s something inside us that matches so perfectly, something that connects us so deeply that letting go of her feels like ripping a part of myself away.
My heart beats in double time as I realize she’s pulling me closer, deepening the kiss. Her hands are tight on me, her body pressed up close to mine. Her hips bump against me like she’s trying to find something to grind up against. I’m dizzy with the sensation, dizzy with the idea that she wants me.
I feel sick and crazy all at the same time.
I never want to like anybody else. Only her.
In that moment, as the world freezes around us, everything is clear. I need to find some way to win her back. I need to prove to her that this love is real.
I need her to be my wife — for real.
CHAPTER 23
CHLOE
The second we get back in the car, Paolo starts driving, not uttering a word. Thereareno words to explain what just happened. That was more passionate than any other kiss we’ve shared. I know it was stress-driven, but I can’t help but wonder how real it really was.