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I sighed in relief. “At least I don’t have to be angry about that.”
“As far as I could see, it was a marriage proposal based on real love,” my father said softly.
I gaped at him, my eyes wide. “What are you talking about, Papa?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “I think you should talk to Rocco about this.”
“No, you tell me,” I said, my heart racing. “Because as far as I know—”
“I don’t interfere in your love life, Allegra, I told you this,” my father said firmly. “You need to go and talk to him, because he didn’t say anything to me about a marriage of convenience.”
I huffed out a breath, confused. What could that mean? I wanted to believe Rocco had told my father he loved me, but clearly neither of the two men were going to tell me the truth.
I exited my father’s office in a rush, banging on Rocco’s door. Rocco answered with a frown, his shirt off. He’d clearly been getting ready for bed. I struggled not to look at his body. “Allegra? What’s wrong? Is it Matteo?”
“No, nothing like that,” I said, pushing past him to get into the room. “I need to talk to you.”
Rocco ran a hand through his hair, which was damp from the shower. “Have you reconsidered?”
“No,” I barked. “But mostly because my father told me that he didn’t know anything about a marriage of convenience.”
Rocco sighed. “Stellina—”
“Don’t youstelliname,” I snapped. “What the hell is going on here and why am I so out of the loop?”
Rocco stared at me for the longest time, his green eyes searching my face. “I told your father that I wanted to marry you.”
“And?” I urged, my heart in my throat.
“And I told him it was because I loved you,” he said softly, so softly that I could barely hear him.
“Rocco, you’re going to have to say that again,” I said, because my heartbeat was pounding in my ears.
“I said, I told him it was because I loved you,” he said again firmly.
My mouth dropped open. “So you lied to my father?”
Rocco groaned. “No, Allegra, goddamnit, I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you since the first moment I saw you. Surely you know that?”
“You can’t do this to me, Rocco,” I said, my voice shaking. “You can’t say things like that and not expect me to—”
“I expect you to believe me,” he said, stepping closer to me and putting a hand on my face. He stroked my injured cheekbone with his thumb. “When I almost lost you and Matteo, I thought my life was over,” he explained, and every word he spoke made my heart ache. Hope was rising in me so quickly I was afraid it would all be dashed away.
“You…you really want to marry me? For love?”
Rocco reached into his back pocket and pulled out a ring box, and I clapped my hands to my mouth, shocked. He knelt down on one knee and held the ring box up. It was a beautiful, full-carat diamond with sapphires inlaid around it. It was perfect. “You’re not serious,” I whispered.
“I’m dead serious,” he said, looking up at me with something pleading in his sea-green eyes. “I love you, Allegra. I’ve never stopped loving you, and I can’t stand the idea of us not being together. Will you marry me?”
I was close to hyperventilating. “Not a marriage of convenience?”
Rocco scoffed. “I don’t think there’s anything convenient about the way I feel. You drive me crazy,stellina. You make me feel so much, I can hardly stand it.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped, still unable to believe what was happening. Was this what I wanted? I knew my feelings for Rocco were complicated, but I also knew I loved him. I knew I didn’t want to live my life without him.
“Stellina, you’re killing me,” he pleaded. “I need you to tell me how you’re feeling.”
“I’m feeling confused,” I admitted. “I had no idea…”
