Page 108 of Matteo
She sat on the armrest of the couch, crossing her legs. The living room was empty, yet I wasn’t stupid enough to think we were truly alone. All Hannah had to do was raise her voice and her brothers and father would appear.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She stared at me expectantly, a smile pulling at her lips as if she couldn’t help herself. It was really remarkable how the twins looked so alike yet were so different. “We need to discuss this engagement.”
“Mom said you want a long engagement to come to terms with… everything.” She waved her hand nonchalantly, her fingernails painted dark green like it was St. Patrick’s Day and not Labor Day around the corner. “That suits me fine.”
“No, it’s this engagement that doesn’t suitme,” I stated firmly. “At all.”
“Then why was the marriage arrangement put in place?” Her delicate brows furrowed. “Kind of late to play hard to get again, no?”
I drew a deep breath into my lungs, praying for the first time in a long time.Do. Not. Lose. Your. Fucking. Temper.
“Hannah, I was never playing hard to get,” I said slowly, holding her studious gaze. “I never wanted to marryyou.”
There was no chance she could have misinterpreted those words.
“That’s okay. But it’s all arranged now, so… yeah. Let’s not rock the boat.”
“Rock the boat?” I repeated.
She flashed me a smile. “Yeah. You and I… It’s just perfect.”
Okay, one twin was delusional and the other sat firmly in denial.
“No, we’re not perfect.”
She smiled, rolling her eyes. “I didn’t sayweare perfect. I saiditis perfect.”
“Meaning?”
She jumped to her feet and closed the distance between us. She pretended to remove a speck of nonexistent lint off my shoulder.
“It means I’m not letting you off the hook, Matteo.”
Why wasn’t I surprised one fucking bit?
CHAPTER FORTY
ARIANNA
How was it possible for a boy you’d known for decades to suddenly become the center of your universe?
If I knew the answer, maybe I’d be able to cut it out. Instead, I feigned a brave face while my eyes burned with tears until it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
In our dorm room, I listened to Gianna and Hannah bicker while my heart wreaked havoc from the inside out. Each day I told myself it would get easier, but instead, it got harder. It’d been two weeks since the engagement was announced. One week since Matteo appeared at our family dinner.
One week since he snuck inside my room and vowed he’d never give up on me—on us.
“You can’t be here,” I hissed when he appeared in my bedroom. The crazy man had pretended to leave after dinner, only to climb up like some acrobat—in a suit, at that—and appear on my balcony, looking like the latest version of James Bond.
“Wrong, baby,” he drawled, tugging on his cuffs. “Wherever you are is where I need to be.”
I shook my head. “Matteo, it’s no good. I’m not changing my mind and?—”
“You’re not happy. A blind man could see it.”
“Irrelevant.”
