Page 139 of Reckless Vow

She sighs. “Please, don’t… You cared when I showed you all the ugly pieces of me. You helped fix them all. And I wish I could somehow fix this for us. I’m worried about Dad, but he’s doing much better, and I’m sure with time he would grow to understand. Can you be patient?”

Chapter36

Brook

While Baldo reluctantly promised his patience, Uncle Rupert proved to be a very persistent bastard.

We put him off for a whole two weeks. Two weeks while we resumed some sort of existence in New York.

Me editing and arguing with the TV network.

Baldo mostly spending time on the phone, monitoring his business. Or in his club. He didn’t go to see Mom.

He came with me to visit Paris and her baby and, surrounded by all that love, I wanted to cuddle into his side.

Only, that’s not us. Not yet.

It’s like we were pretending to be a real couple, and now that we are one, we’re faking the make-believe.

What’s stopping us from taking the leap? For all his controlling tendencies, Baldo seems to have relinquished control in this case.

He’s left me to lead on when and how we tell the family.

While a part of me understands why he did that, I still find it an unfair burden. If we’re a genuine couple, shouldn’t we tackle this hurdle together?

I know I asked him for patience, but he abandoned the topic all together.

And my fear of losing either him or my family is too real, so I don’t act at all. Avoiding reality has always been my superpower.

“I’m nervous.” I wiggle my shoulders as if I could shake off the feeling.

Baldo helps me out of the car in front of Rupert Montgomery’s house. “It’s going to be fine.”

He snakes his fingers through mine, and we walk together to the large entrance.

We ring the bell.

“Have I told you how ravishing you look tonight?” Baldo wraps his arm around my waist, pulls me to him and kisses my neck.

“You’re trying to distract me.” I lean into his embrace.

“Is it working?” He grazes his teeth around the hem of my cleavage, and I sigh.

“Erm—” Rupert’s butler clears his throat, and we jump apart.

Baldo snickers and leads me inside. We’re ushered to a small, eclectic dining room. It’s an airy room with light furnishings, and at such odds with the rest of the stuffy house.

Though the entry hall has changed somewhat as well. Modern art has replaced the heavy paintings.

Rupert has different tastes than his sister, and he didn’t wait long to apply them here.

The man who greets us looks very different from the man I met two months ago. He is wearing a light blue shirt and brown slacks.

His skin is smoother, more radiant. There is an air of lightness around him. I guess this is the less grieving version of him.

Even his creepy smirk is gone, though as I look at him closely, his facial muscles don’t move. Did he get Botox?

The evening flows with idle chitchat, mostly between Rupert and Baldo, focusing on business. And I’m happy I can just chew and count down the minutes till this ends.

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