Page 81 of Lie to Me

She pulls away from me, too quickly for me to stop her before maneuvering herself until she’s straddling me and takes my face in her hands.

“You did everything you could, Marco. You couldn’t have stopped my father that night. You couldn’t have saved her, but I know that you would have if you could. I know you’ve probably carried the guilt of that for the last ten years, but now you have me to tell you to let it go. I know it’s hard, and I know you’ve done everything you can to try and make up for what happened, but you need to let that part of the past go.” Her thumb caresses my cheek as she stares into my eyes. “You’re an amazing man, Marco Romano, and I’m so freaking lucky that I get to call you mine.”

My throat bobs as I swallow. My hands find her hips to move her closer to me, as close as I can get her.

I never want to let her go. I never want to go another day without her again.

She’s the one thing in the world that could destroy me, and I’d happily let her.

If it made her smile, if it made her happy? I’d let her destroy me. I’d let her shatter me into a million goddamn pieces as long as the light shined in her eyes as she did it.

“I’m the lucky one, little warrior.”

Chapter Forty

Sloane

Present

“This is so freaking weird when I really think about it,” I mutter and Marco chuckles.

“Did you ever really think that one day it could be like this?”

Did I ever think that we would actually be able to have a public relationship? I mean… I had hoped, but it also felt like a silly little dream that would never actually happen.

Only it has.

And we’re on our way to his family estate to have dinner and meet the newest addition to the Romano family, since Enzo didn’t want to overwhelm Robyn at the hospital.

Robyn had the baby last week, and the entire family has been giving them space to get used to being parents, but we’re finally getting the chance to meet little Lilliana.

And here we are, heading there like it’s the most normal thing in the world when ten years ago, the prospect of anyone knowing about our relationship would send a bone chilling terror through me. It’s been over two months since we stayed in the Hamptons, and other than me staying at my brother’s—or more like our family estate—for Christmas, we haven’t spent a night without each other since unless I was working the night shift.

We’ve completely fallen back into each other, and I can’t say I don’t love it.

“No,” I say with a laugh. “Yet here we are.”

“We’re gonna be okay?” he asks, a sliver of vulnerability in his tone.

“Of course,” I murmur reassuringly and reach over to take his free hand. “That is, if whoever the hell was after us doesn’t—” The car is suddenly flung sideways, and I turn my head slightly to see that a van ran straight into Marco’s side of the car.

Everything around me shifts as my body is flung from one side to the other, my head rattling around, and it isn’t until silence descends that I realize that we’re in a ditch.

“Marco,” I croak as I turn to face him, my voice is drowned out by my pulse thudding in my ears.

Marco is unconscious next to me, his head resting on the steering wheel as blood drips down his face. The image of him starts to blur and I try saying his name again, but everything seems static, like my eyes and body and mouth aren’t really connecting with anything.

Please be okay.

I need you to be okay.

I love you.

I wish I had told you how much I love you.

Why the hell did I wait so long to tell you?

The sounds of clattering chains is what wakes me from a dreamless sleep. I blink my eyes open, expecting to find myself in Marco’s bed.

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