Page 7 of Marry Me in Rome

“I’ve never been in love either.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Probably. Lexi was right that I had plenty of exes in my hometown, but there was a reason none of them lasted long. Not a single one changed my life. Like, yanked my heart from my chest and walked off with it.

Then again, I never gave them the chance.

Surprise registered on Matteo’s face at my answer, but he quickly hid it and stepped back to allow me access to the stone.Er, face. Rock guy. I stuck my hand into the slot and grinned at them both.

But just as I began to pull my hand free, I stiffened, my eyes flying wide. A tortured cry tore from my lips.

Matteo went rigid. Then his hands wrapped around my waist, yanking me backward and throwing me behind him. His eyes combed my limbs, looking for injuries . . . and stopped on my shirt sleeve and the empty space where my hand should have been.

He froze, his face registering shock.

My shoulders shook.

It took him a second to realize I wasn’t weeping, but laughing. Even Alexis snorted and covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile.

I shoved my hand back through the sleeve. “Hello,” I said softly, extending it as if for a handshake.

“You—” He took a step backward and shoved a hand through his hair. “It didn’t really?—”

“Eat my hand?” I finished for him. “No. But you’re right, that was way more fun than the Pantheon.”

He stood there, his mouth still slightly agape.

“Roman Holiday,” I told him. “That was a scene from the old Audrey Hepburn movie. She’s a princess and he’s a reporter. I guess it’s more of anAmericanthing.”

I burst out laughing at the incredulous look on his face. The poor man really believed I was hurt. My chest warmed, like that sensation of drinking hot cocoa on a cold winter day. He’d just thrown his arms around me to protect me from a mythical god embodied in a giant coin with a gaping mouth.

I kind of wanted him to do it again.

But not really.

Mostly.

Minutes later, we stood outside, watching that scene of Roman Holiday on my sister’s phone. Matteo’s arm pressed tightly against my shoulder. I detected the smell of mint on his breath from chewing gum. That combined with the inches where our skin touched, despite the layers of cloth between us, made my breaths shallow and quick.

The movie scene was just as good as I remembered despite it being Gregory Peck who played the prank on Audrey and not the other way around. Matteo chuckled at the end and turned to me with a new respect in his eyes. If someone handed me a golden trophy, I would have felt equally proud of winning that look.

“Our mom loved old movies,” I said, my words tumbling over one another in my haste. “Kennedy only ever wanted to see the ones about Paris, but Roman Holiday was my favorite. I didn’t know the Mouth of Truth was real.”

Dante leaned against my leg and I patted his head. Matteo’s eyes darted to my hand, and I realized what I was doing. I slowly withdrew it.

Thankfully, Matteo didn’t comment. He checked his smartwatch and then scanned the road. “Well, if you’re done with pranks, the next place isn’t far?—”

“Alex!”

We turned to find a group of three slender women wearing athletic gear headed our way. Or rather, toward my sister. “Hey, we’re bored with the history stuff, so we’re going paint balling,” one of them called with a British accent. “Want to come? We need another person.”

Alexis turned to look at me. “Um, I’d better not.”

“Who are they?” I asked. “And since when do you go by Alex?”

She looked sheepish. “Friends from the ship that I met on the first day. Most of my friends call me Alexis or Alex, Jillie. It’s not a gender thing or whatever. I just like it better than Lexi.”

She’d never told me that before. I made a mental note to stop calling her Lexi. “So they’re who you keep hanging out with at night?”

Alexis—Alex—shrugged. “Usually. Want to go? Matteo will have to come too, so we can keep the numbers even.”

Matteo said nothing, seeming to let me make the decision.

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