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“Sorry. There were a lot of things to do today.” Like saying goodbye to him. But she wasn’t ready to do it. Not yet.
“You did a positively fabulous job. Not even my mother could find anything to complain about.”
“I know. She gave me both a compliment and a bonus. Can you believe it?”
Leo’s brown eyes widened. “You really impressed her. I am not surprised. Everyone is calling it the perfect wedding. And it’s all thanks to you.”
She couldn’t put on this “nice” show any longer. She had to know if it was true. Was Leo getting married? “And I heard about your engagement.” Her voice wobbled. “Congratulations.”
Confusion clouded his eyes. “How did you hear—wait, my mother, right?”
She nodded. “She’s very excited.”
“I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
“What way? The fact that I thought what we shared meant something and all of this time you were planning to marry someone else—”
“Bianca, stop.” He reached out, gently grasping her upper arms. “It isn’t like that.”
She yanked free. Her gaze narrowed in on him. “How is it?”
“It’s you.”
“What’s me?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “This isn’t how I meant for any of this to happen.”
“You aren’t maki
ng any sense. What about me?”
His gaze met hers. “It’s you I want to marry.”
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling as though the air had been sucked from her lungs. “Marry me?”
Leo nodded.
She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. Leo wanted to marry her but she was a wedding planner, not a fitting wife for the crown prince. She was a nobody, a commoner. The prince must marry someone of noble birth.
“No.” She took a step back. “You don’t mean this. It would be a mistake.”
“Bianca, I love you.”
She took another step away from him. Her heart was cracking and her vision blurred with unshed tears. “No, you don’t.”
He stepped up to her. His unwavering gaze met hers. “I don’t know where all of this doubt is coming from, but if you’re worried about my mother, don’t be. I’ll deal with her.”
“It’s not your mother.”
“Good. Then what is it?”
“Will you still feel the same way about me if the DNA results reveal that I’m not a Bartolini? What happens if I don’t know who my father is? For all I know, I could be the daughter of a criminal.” Her voice wobbled. She blinked repeatedly, struggling to keep her emotions at bay. “I can’t marry you with that hanging over our heads.”
Silence filled the air between them.
The silence was more painful than acknowledging that everything she thought she knew about herself might be wrong. Because Leo’s continued silence meant he agreed with her.
Unable to take the silence any longer, Bianca said, “My job is complete. Sylvie is inside and will oversee the cleanup. I need to go.”
