Page 71 of Lie to Me

He raises a brow and stays silent, but I don’t have it in me to fight with him right now, so I just shake my head.

Was he always this goddamn annoying?

“Absolutely not.”

Marco sighs in exasperation. “What the fuck do you mean, absolutely not? You agreed to move in with me.”

After leaving the warehouse, we headed to my place to pack my things before coming to his apartment. Marco—chivalrous, as always—wouldn’t allow me to carry my own bags, only rather than take them to the spare room for me to put my things away, he took them to his room.

“I agreed to move into your apartment, not into your bedroom. My things are going in the spare room and staying there, just like I am.”

He stands next to the bed that’s piled with my bags on top of it, arms crossed and a scowl marring his handsome face.

“I’m not ready, Marco. This is all… a lot,” I admit reluctantly. His posture softens as his expression turns understanding. He approaches me and pulls me into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “You don’t have to stay in here, just having you back in my life is more than I ever dreamed of.”

My body melts into him and I nod against his chest. So much has changed in such a little amount of time and I’m struggling to wrap my head around everything.

“I love you, Sloane,” he whispers and tears spring to my eyes. He’s said it multiple times since last night, and each time the words make my stomach flip. I haven’t said it back, but he keeps saying it anyways, as though once the words fell from his lips the first time was a dam opening, and now, they just spill out. I alsothink he just needs me to know how he feels, since I spent so long thinking he never loved me at all.

I never stopped loving him, but I know that once I say those words aloud, everything will be real.

I won’t make him wait forever, I’m just not strong enough to say them yet.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Marco

Present

Luca

Meet at Dad’s. Izzy found something.

The relief I felt as I received Luca’s text was unmatched and I raced over to my father’s house, desperate to know what she had found, only for her and Luca to keep me waiting.

I’m silent as my dad and Enzo both chat to each other, feeling antsy as fuck about what’s to come. Robyn’s here, too, only she left us to go raid my father’s pantry because she was having cravings. Last month, Enzo had stocked up on everything she’s been craving and had packages delivered to all of our places, so that if Robyn ever just happened to be there, then she would have them.

My brother may be an unhinged psycho, but he’s one damn attentive husband.

I’m just about to text Luca and ask him where the fuck he is when him and Izzy walk through the door, Luca carrying Izzy’s laptop under his arm.

“What the fuck took you so long?” I grunt in greeting. Izzy rolls her eyes as they both take a seat on the sofa opposite me while Enzo stands in the corner where he can keep an eye on the door, probably hoping to catch a glimpse of Robyn, and Dad sits in the other armchair.

“I found the guy who placed a hit on your meeting and hired the guy to leave Sloane the notes,” Izzy says with a triumphant glint in her eye and I award her with a rare smile.

When I didn’t have Sloane in my life, my smiles were few and far between. Now, though, I can’t help the twitch in my lips as I think about her. As I think about going home to an apartment filled with her things, with her scent, withher.

Though I’d much prefer it if she didn’t have to leave for twelve goddamn hours a day three days a week for work.

It’s been a week since I managed to persuade her to stay with me, and I feel like I’ve hardly seen her. Though I’d never complain about having her in my space, especially since four out of seven nights in the last week, she’s ended up in bed with me. She did good the first three nights, managing to stay stubborn and hold onto the fact that she was staying in the guest room, only it didn’t last longer than that.

One heated moment was all it took for us break that rule and fall into each other.

The sound of Enzo’s cackle brings me to the present and I tune in to the conversation. “He can’t say shit about me and you anymore, brother. He’s in his head thinking about his girl,” he says, and I don’t bother to suppress my eye roll.

“Where is Sloane, anyway? And am I ever going to get a thank you for talking some sense into her?” Izzy asks.

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