Page 38 of Vengeful Vows

Patrick shrugs. “No.”

I sigh, turning to Lara and Paige. “Fine. What do I pack?”

Paige squeals. “Da, can I be excused?”

“Not yet. You’ve barely taken a bite of the lasagna that Marisol slaved over a hot stove for. Sit down and eat. And stop your bouncing.”

Paige pouts but relaxes into her chair, sullenly starting to eat.

Declan and Patrick talk about Vegas, where we’ll be staying, when he’s supposed to meet Renno. I listen just enough to put some details away with Renno’s name.

Maybe, in Las Vegas, there will be an opportunity for me to escape. I may have accepted my lot in life to some degree for now, but I don’t accept it forever.

I’m going to make my own choice about who I marry, dammit. This is just a deviation from the plan.

I finish eating, and then Paige asks again if she can be excused, and Patrick nods. Lara stands, too, and we go up the stairs to my bedroom.

Paige bounds ahead of us, giggling.

“Vegas is so fun, Bree, you have to try the slot machines!”

“Declan will love that.” Lara laughs, and I smile, unable to help myself.

The girls don’t have that much to do with why I’m here, even though they seem to accept it, and so I can let loose a little bit with them.

When we get into the bedroom, Lara grabs her purse and brings out a little fifth of vodka, top shelf.

I stare at her. “Lara?”

She shrugs. “Hey, the guys get to drink after dinner, why not us? Besides, they’ll be busy for a couple of hours while we pack.”

Paige gasps. “This is why you’re my favorite big sister.”

“I’m your only big sister.”

“Still.”

Paige grabs the fifth and takes a swig, passing it to me.

I shrug and drink a little, grimacing, before handing it to Lara.

Paige is already rifling through my closet, throwing all my shorts and dresses onto the bed. “You’ll need something formal for a dinner or two, and of course, that killer string bikini you picked out.”

“Don’t forget regular clothes, Paige, she can’t wear a bikini or an evening gown to everything.” Lara gets up and puts a large suitcase on the bed, folding my clothes and putting them inside, leaving the evening gowns out to be stored separately.

“You should pick out your own lingerie.” Paige wrinkles her nose. “I don’t want to think about that.”

I chuckle and stand up, digging through my dresser drawers and picking out a few things—including a teddy that I haven’t worn yet.

“Keep Declan away from the Blackjack table,” Lara warns. “He always loses way too much money.”

“Not always,” Paige pipes up. “There was that one time he came home with thirty grand.”

“He left with fifty grand,” Lara points out, and Paige snorts out a laugh.

Fifty thousand dollars?

Just for gambling?

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