Page 113 of Forced Vows

I pet the Maine Coon and her deep purr rumbles over my thighs. "Since when did you become Pusheen's other human?"

"When we adopted her."

"I adopted her, not us."

"Really? Because I signed the paperwork just like you did."

"No…" Did he? "Why would you?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You don't want a cat."

"I don't particularly want a wife either, but I've got both now."

I don't particularly want a wife. Sheesh. Talk about being blunt.

"Well, I don't want a husband either and newsflash, we aren't married yet."

"Not conventionally no."

"We are not having this discussion again. Until we say our vows in front of family, friends and enemies, we are not married."

"Just remember who you belong to and the semantics don't matter."

"Semantics do matter. And ditto." Why did I say that?

He already promised not to cheat. Why harp on the issue? But then why is he?

It's kind of an issue with him, isn't it?

As if I'd deliberately put someone in his crosshairs. When he says he'll kill a man for touching me, Miceli is speaking his own deadly truth.

"Pusheen is fine."

"So, she didn't jump from the top of a display cabinet in the hall and knock over one of your uncle's guards?"

Allessio or Zoey must have told him about that. "She's a lot more playful than I expected."

"He didn't hurt her in retaliation." It's not a question.

I still reassure him fast. "No. He was a good sport even though he ended up with a few scratches."

"As one of the family bodyguards, he's going to have to learn to watch out for cat antics now." Miceli sounds really pleased by that.

"Troy isn't a bodyguard."

"Then what the fuck was he doing in the hallway outside yours and Fiona's bedroom?"

"You drop the F-bomb a lot for a man taught to speak like he's royalty, or something."

"Not around my mother and that's not important. Answer my question. What was this Troy doing in that hallway?"

"How should I know. He's one of my uncle's men. They don't answer to me."

"None of his men that are not part of the security detail should be in the halls leading to family bedrooms." He says it like it's a rule.

"Is that how you do it in the Cosa Nostra?" I ask without a lot of interest.

---