Page 28 of Reckless Vow

“I’m trying to tell you I need saving because the situation has made me insane. The man is hot, but also infuriating. And there is so much history, we wouldn’t even finish discussing it by the time the year is over and he’ll return to his normal life. Besides, he’s my brother.”

“Whatever you say.” Saar raises her hands, but she sounds as sure about my determination as I am. Which isn’t much.

“Let’s go clubbing tonight.” I huff and take another olive.

Because apparently I now love olives.

* * *

“Celeste Delacroix?” Saar squeals the minute we enter the studio.

“Merde, that’s an unexpected surprise.” Celeste, the dance teacher, claps her hands. “Saar. How long has it been?”

“Too long.” My two friends hug each other, giggling.

“Apparently, no introductions are needed.” I grin.

“Years ago, Celeste choreographed a fashion show I was in. She gave me a Snickers bar and we became friends.”

“And I almost lost the job. It’s frowned upon to feed a model.” Celeste's eyes gleam with mischief. “But we fell out of touch after this one—” she bumps her hip against Saar’s, winking, “…became famous and moved to Europe.”

“Or because you opened your own dance school and got a gazillion gigs in clubs across Manhattan,” Saar teases.

The years of being overbooked came to an abrupt end because of Finn’s—and Saar’s—father. Shit, I don’t think the two of them made the connection yet.

Celeste’s face falls, but she recovers quickly. The truth will come out, eventually. I only hope it won’t impact this little circle of friends I forged unexpectedly.

“We better start the class.” Celeste looks over her shoulder at the full room of eager dancers.

“Before we do—” Saar gives me a devilish smile. “Brook got married today,” she announces.

“Mon Dieu!” Celeste looks at me wide-eyed. “Tell us everything. And what are you doing here on such a special day?”

I glare at Saar, who shrugs and whispers, “What? You need to practice faking it.” She grins, having way too much fun with this.

Before I can wipe that grin from her face, Celeste grabs my hand. “Look at that ring. How original. Truly special.”

The other women gather around and gush over my ruby.

“Who is the man?” Celeste asks in that soft, lyrical intonation of her French accent. “Why did you never say anything?”

Oh god, lying to Rupert Montgomery was easy because he’s been kind of an asshole in all of this, but selling the story to my friends, people I like and respect, that’s a different ball game.

“His name is Baldo.”

I swallow, but then I lean into the story. I’m a decent storyteller, after all. “We’ve known each other for years and we’ve been dating back in Europe. He came here to be with me and we just…” I smile and it’s not even that fake, which should concern me. “We eloped.”

A communal “oh” echoes through the room when all the ladies swoon over the romance.

Celeste narrows her eyes. “Okay, let’s start the class.” Her accent is slightly more pronounced than usual.

Everyone scatters to their spots, and I find Saar’s eyes. She shrugs, but we both know that Celeste didn’t buy my story.

Not such a good storyteller after all.

The music starts, and while usually I love this class I can’t get into it, lost in my thoughts.

For one, Celeste’s reaction is worrisome. How will Rupert believe me if I gave my best performance here and failed to sell it?

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