He raised both of his eyebrows in response.
“You do! How can you of all people believe in that?”
“The men of our family fall hard and fall fast. There is a legend—my great-grandfather was kind to a group of traveling Romani. He granted them safe passage through Monterra and welcomed them to stay for as long as they wished.”
I must have looked confused, because he clarified. “People also call them gypsies, and it was at a time when many others were being cruel and enslaving them. And as a thank-you, the leader of the group granted him the desire of his heart—he had several possibilities for a queen and wasn’t sure which one to pick. The leader said that he and all the sons born in his line would know the very moment they met their true loves. And it happened. My great-grandfather met my great-grandmother at a ball, proposed later that night, and they were very much in love their entire lives.”
“That’s sweet. I still can’t believe that you believe in this sort of thing.”
“I didn’t. Until . . .” He trailed off. He did have a real-life example of it, though.
“Until Nico and Kat?” I tried to finish off his sentence.
He stayed still for a moment, and that feeling returned. The one that said something important was happening and that I better pay attention. The one that made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He looked at me. “No, I didn’t believe it until the first time I held you in my arms. Comforting you after Kat’s accident. That’s when I knew it was true.”
He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t. I waited for a wink, or one of those flirtatious smiles that would let me know it was all a joke. Ha-ha, so funny. Because I knew him, and this boy was so slick he could steal the sweet from sugar without touching a grain.
I waited. And I waited.
It didn’t happen.
I finally expelled a deep breath that I hadn’t even been aware of holding. This was too much. I became painfully aware of how fast my heart was beating, and of the camera crew standing ten feet away.
This was not real. Nothing that had happened since I’d been drafted into this situation had been real. Maybe the show had told him to manufacture a romance with me, too. If they had, I wished he had warned me first.
Because he was a little too convincing.
Despite what he’d said to me about wanting to get married, I wanted to laugh at the idea of it. The day that happened I would have to start ice-skating home from work because hell would have frozen over. It was that ridiculous.
So why was he doing this? Tormenting me? Had I actually hurt his feelings? It was probably more like a bruised ego.
“Say something,” he said, holding me with his gaze.
“I can’t do this with you. I just can’t.”
I got up and stormed off toward the house. I didn’t appreciate being toyed with, or how it would look on the show.
It wasn’t hard for him to catch up with me. He grabbed my upper arm, turning me around. Even when I was angry and hurt by him, his touch still managed to make my knees go floppy. “Just tell me this one thing. Is it like this with him? Does he make you laugh?”
I stared up at him, my eyes glassy and full of unshed tears. “Maybe not. But at least he doesn’t make me cry.”
He looked stricken when he let me go, and I walked inside without looking back.
Chapter 14
I think once we have our first fight we should definitely kiss and make up.
Dante found me at breakfast and asked to speak with me. I couldn’t say no because every other girl was gaping at us, and two camera crews stood nearby, capturing every word.
I didn’t want this preserved for posterity. So I took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom, locking the door shut behind us. Someone banged on the door loudly, and a man’s voice said, “Come on, Lemon! This is the kind of stuff the audience eats up! Let us in!”
The knocking continued as Dante took both of my hands. He looked so sad. “I hate when you’re upset with me, Limone. You’re my best friend. What can I do to apologize and make this right? I’ll do anything.”
My mouth literally dropped open. I was his best friend? I’d always considered us friends, but best friends?