Page 47 of Vengeful Vows

“It was fine. I was just relaying some messages, but James was not the most in the most attentive mood.”

I frown.

“Never mind. John’s friends left before I did, and John Renno and I were able to finally get everything sorted after a few more glasses of red.”

“Well, you’d better sober up. We’re going back to the casino. Plus, I’m hungry.”

“You can order room service,” he groans, but I shake my head, bouncing on the bed just to annoy him.

“No, it’s our honeymoon, and you’re going to take your wife to dinner and gambling. We leave tomorrow, right?”

“Tomorrow evening. And we’ve already switched hotels to Caesar’s Palace, what else do you want?”

“I want you to take me to dinner and the casino,” I repeat stubbornly, and he opens one eye, looking up at me.

“Okay.” He gives me a half-smile. “I’ll go wash my face.”

I cheer, going to the closet to bring out my other evening gown –a black one with a slit up the side.

I put it on while he’s in the bathroom, sliding on a pair of heels. I wince. My feet and ankles are starting to get sore from wearing heels, but it’s worth it for how good I look.

It’s worth it for the way that Declan looks at me when he gets back out of the bathroom.

He hums, putting a hand on the small of my back as we leave. He’s still wearing a suit, although he’s discarded the jacket so he’s just in a shirt and vest. He looks amazing, though, because it’s tailored tightly around his trim waist, showing off the broadness of his chest.

We head down to the restaurant, and they seat us right away.

I look over the menu, which has no prices, but at this point, I don’t care. I have enough money stashed in my purse from shopping to gamble all night.

Declan orders a chicken salad, and I raise an eyebrow at him while I order steak and lobster.

“Don’t want to overwhelm my stomach,” he admits. “I had quite a lot of wine.”

I laugh. “How drunk are you?”

“There’s not two of you, so I guess I’m doing okay.”

I smirk at him. “Well, I need to drink a bit to catch up, then.”

But Declan shakes his head. “One of us should be alert.”

I pout. “All right, fair enough.”

Declan doesn’t order a drink either, just water, and I order ginger beer, wishing I could have a Moscow Mule.

When the food arrives, he picks at his salad.

“Are you sure it went okay?”

“Yeah, it was fine.” He smiles. “I guess I was worried I’d come back and you’d still be mad at me.”

“Mad is kind of an understatement to how I feel about you, Declan.”

He shrugs. “Well, I thought we were making some progress.”

“We were.” What’s the point in pretending? I’m getting more comfortable in this whole situation. If you go along with something long enough, you can get used to anything.

“Then let’s not let it be ruined.” There’s an edge of pleading to his voice.

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