Page 64 of How Not to Mess with a Millionaire

“Here.” Dante handed her his handkerchief. So that was why men carried them.

“Thank you.” She dabbed at her eyes, trying not to ruin her makeup even though that ship had probably sailed. If she had a mirror on her, she’d no doubt see her not-so-waterproof mascara running down her face. It had been an emotionally draining night all around.

“What did you think?” he asked, squeezing her hand, which he was still holding. “Better than your Freddie Mercury?”

“I stand by my opinion that Freddie is a musical genius, and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a masterpiece.” She stretched up to kiss his cheek. “But this was pretty great, too. Thank you for taking me. Even after—everything.”

He stood, pulling her up with him. “I have one more surprise for you.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hate surprises.”

“I know.” His hand went to the small of her back, steering her through the crowd toward the exit. “That’s what makes it so much fun.”

“The grumpy, reclusive millionaire who answers the door in his birthday suit knows what fun is?”

“Of course I know what fun is.” He guided her down the front steps of the opera house and off to one side, out of the flow of traffic, so he could stop and plant a soft, heart-tugging kiss on her forehead. “And I did not answer my door naked. You interrupted my morning swim.”

“Right,” she drawled. “You remember it your way, I’ll remember it mine.”

A Mercedes S-Class sedan was waiting for them, but Dante waved off the driver.

“It’s a nice night,” he said. “I thought we could walk some more.”

“As long as it’s not too far. I’m not sure I’ll last much longer in these heels. They’re beautiful, but you know what they say. Beauty is pain. Especially on cobblestones.”

“Don’t worry,carina.” He brushed her hair to one side and kissed her again, this time on her temple. “I’ll carry you if I have to.”

Okay, then. There went her ovaries. His pretty words. That damn accent. They never stood a chance.

She was half tempted to fake an injury just to hold him to his word, but she managed to stay upright for the entire fifteen minutes it took for them to reach their destination.

“Trevi Fountain,” she said. The immense structure loomed in front of them at the end of the Aqua Virgo, one of Rome’s earliest aqueducts. “I read about it in my guidebook.” But the book hadn’t done it justice. Normally crowded with tourists during the day, there were only a handful of people strolling the piazza in the moonlight. The marble statues glowed under the streetlamps, and the basin of the fountain reflected the night sky, setting the stage for the perfect romantic moment.

And she’d thought the opera had her all lovey-dovey and starry-eyed.

“Yes.” Dante reached into his pocket. “But did you read about the three coins?”

“Three coins?”

“Legend has it that if you turn your back to the fountain and toss in a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome.”

He pressed a euro into her palm.

“Throw a second coin”—he added another euro—“and you’ll fall in love with an Italian.”

A third euro landed in her hand with a clink. “The last coin guarantees that you and your new love will marry.”

She peered up at him through her lashes, fairly certain her heart had stopped beating and she was going to need CPR any minute. Was he saying—? Was he asking—?

“How many should I throw?” Her tongue felt thick and heavy, and her voice sounded far away and not at all like normal.

He lifted her hand, gently folding her fingers around the coins. A faint smile lifted the corners of his perfect mouth. “That’s up to you,carina.”

Zoe turned her back to the fountain and closed her eyes. Her heart, which she was sure had stopped a moment ago, was now beating like a hummingbird’s, fast and furious, threatening to break free from her rib cage.

She had so many questions. What was he trying to say? Was this his way of telling her he didn’t want things to end between them when she went back home? Or was she reading way too much into a silly superstition?

Eyes still closed, she felt Dante’s hot breath on her cheek. “Are you ready?”