He sat up slightly at my words. Was it my imagination or did he actually look a little worried? “About what?”
“About your heart being made out of gallium. I just did a pretty thorough analysis, and you seemed to be in an entirely solid state.”
He grinned at me and then said, “You lied, too.”
My heart seized in my chest. He knew. “What did I lie about?”
“You said you weren’t seductive.”
His words made my limbs feel heavy and thick with desire, and if I didn’t leave the room right now, I was going to make a big mistake. “And I didn’t even have to take my shirt off,” I said primly and then left the room to the sound of his laughter.
I practically sprinted upstairs into our bathroom. My lips definitely looked swollen, the skin along my jaw reddened from his stubble. My hair was a total mess. I brushed through it quickly and realized I didn’t have a good strategy on how to tell Marco. Talking it out always helped me process my thoughts.
I grabbed my phone and went into his old bedroom. Somehow, it was comforting to be surrounded by his favorite childhood things. I sat on his bed and called Catalina and told her almost everything—just not about my feelings. Because I knew what her reply would be.
When I said we’d made out a little, she gasped. “Where?”
“In the library.”
“No, I mean where on your body?” she asked.
“The facial region mostly.”
“Aw.” She sounded personally disappointed.
And even without knowing that I was in love with Marco, she repeatedly urged me to talk to him, telling me that he wouldn’t make out with me surrounded by his entire family unless there was something more there.
“Trust your gut, Anna.”
That seemed like bad advice. “You mean the one that can’t even tolerate dairy?” It shouldn’t be the judge of anything.
I glanced up and saw that it had started to get dark. I told her I had to go and then went back into the room I shared with Marco. I heard him humming a song to himself in the bathroom and the sound of a buzzing razor. I knocked on the door.
“I’m going downstairs,” I told him.
“I’m right behind you,” he said.
I went down to the first floor, my head still a muddled mess, and faltered on the last step. Marco’s entire family stood there, and despite Craig’s assurance, no one was dressed casual. The women were in nice dresses, and the men had button-down shirts and sports coats on.
I was woefully underdressed and couldn’t even go and change because I hadn’t had the foresight to pack anything for this kind of occasion. I thought it was going to be a regular dinner. I didn’t know they were planning on having the queen of England join us.
They all turned to stare at me, and I felt incredibly self-conscious.
Marco came to the top of the stairs, dressed appropriately and looking dashing, but stopped short when he saw me. His expression changed, and he turned around and left.
Great. I had embarrassed him so badly, he was now fleeing the scene. I had the urge to follow him, but I stayed put. I could do this. Leighton came up to me with a kind look in her eyes and said sweetly, “I think I have a dress you can borrow.”
Unless she had two dresses I could tear apart and stitch back together, that wouldn’t be happening. “Thanks. I’m okay.”
Tracie began to talk loudly about a vacation they’d taken with people named Bud and Mitzy who had been ridiculously drunk, and that sounded like a pretty great idea. I’d drink, and then maybe I wouldn’t remember any of this.
Although I never wanted to forget the way Marco had kissed me.
I had walked over to the man standing by the bar and asked him for whatever he had that would make me drunkest the fastest. Then Marco’s arms were stealing around me, and he kissed me on the cheek. “Sorry, everyone,” he announced. “Should we go in?”
When he took a step back from me, I realized that he had changed into a T-shirt and jeans.
If his heart wasn’t gallium, mine was, because it completely melted. He had done that for me. So I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
How could I not be in love with him?
And how could I not tell him?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Marco, there’s something—” But I was cut off by everyone else leaving to go into the dining room.
He smiled at me and took me by the hand to lead me into dinner. I was seated between him and Lindy, and that was a pretty great place to be. Talk of Ken and Tracie’s recent vacation continued as the first course was brought out. It was a cold, spicy soup, and although I didn’t normally do well with a lot of heat, it was delicious. That was followed by a salad, which felt familiar, but it reminded me of Chinese food, given the ingredients.
“My mom is doing a theme,” Lindy said as they cleared the plates. “Places she and my dad have traveled in the last year. So Mexico, China.”
Servers came out with the next course, and Lindy said, “Here’s France.”
Snails. They put a plate of cooked snails down in front of me. I gaped at Marco, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Maybe I could skip this course. But everybody else was diving in, and I didn’t want to be the odd person out. Plus, I had always followed my grandpa’s rule about trying everything put in front of me.
“You don’t have to eat it,” Marco said, but it was okay. I could do this.
I tried it. It was chewy, rubbery, and salty. I leaned over to Marco after I managed to swallow some and said, “At the very least, I should get a superpower after eating that.”
He smiled and said, “I don’t think it has radiation, but with my stepmom, you never know.” Then he added, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the dress code.”
“It’s fine. Thanks for changing.”
“You’re welcome.”
I took a very big drink of water and started pushing the shells around my plate. Marco’s dad addressed Marco and said, “Janine just confirmed that I had a cancellation five days from now, so I’ll be able to fit you and Anna into my schedule.”
Five days. That was both exciting and scary.
“Thanks, Dad,” Marco said.
Ken folded his hands and pointed his gaze at me. “You should tell me a little about yourself, Anna.”
“Oh. I’m not really sure what to say.” I hated being put on the spot.
“Anna is brilliant,” Marco interjected. “Very talented. Very sweet and kind.”
His words were warming me, sparking through the air toward me. I was sure he was just being nice, but I was ready to buy into whatever he was selling.
“She’s funny, too,” Lindy said.
“She is?” Tracie interjected. “Such as?”
I never thought of myself as funny, and I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to prove it. Other than telling one of my dad’s jokes. “A man walks into a bar and says, ‘I’ll have H20.’ His friend says, ‘I’ll have H2O, too.’ The second man died.”
Marco laughed, but he was the only one, and I felt like I had to explain. “H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide, and if you drank it . . .” My voice died off as the next course was brought in.