Page 11 of Promised Vows

“To the car. It’s parked around the corner.”

All lines of communication between my brain and my body were shut down. I realized that as I slipped my arm through his without so much as a raised eyebrow. “Okay.” Now, my mouth too?

The thought occurred that my mouth going rogue could work to my advantage, but I shut that down quickly. I wasn’t kissing Ari Kalantzis, no matter how tantalizing those lips were.

“How was your evening?” Sheesh, that velvety voice.

I needed to show him I wasn’t some hot-headed child. That way when I talked to him about our arranged marriage situation, he’d listen. At least that was my hope. “It was fine. Claire had to leave early.”

A subtle tensing in his muscles made me look at him, and our eyes connected. I got the impression he already knew about the entire situation, and asking for more information would be met with silence.

“And Thea asked me to be one of Claire’s bridesmaids.”

The tension in his body melted away. “Oh, well, then I guess my text about the rehearsal dinner was on point.” He chuckled. “A little shocked Thea asked.”

Holding in a grumble, I let the text remark go and replied, “Yeah, I was surprised too. I always thought she hated me.”

Ari grunted a laugh and glanced at me. “She did, but don’t take it personally. She hates all women. She’s an enigma wrapped in poison and manicured nails.”

I gasped. “I’m totally going to tell her you said that.”

“Go ahead. I’m not telling you anything I wouldn’t tell her.” He shot me a grin as we reached the car. The man standing next to it pulled the door open.

“A limo? Are you trying to impress me?”

A smirk played on his lips as he stepped into me. “I’ve been using this car for years. I also use the same driver my father did.” He paused and then added, “And before you ask, I used the taxi because a limo would have been too conspicuous.”

Okay, so he had a point there. “Oh.”

He turned to the man holding the door. “Ares Bouras, this is Anna Georgiou.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

Ari returned his attention to me and brushed my hair back over my shoulder as his gaze raked over my face. “I have a feeling a limo wouldn’t impress you anyway.”

His scent drifted around me, and my breath caught. I wanted to bury my face in this man’s neck, breathe him in, and be held by him. The thought of being pressed against that hard body and held by those massive arms made me tingle in uncharted places.

“After you,” he said, maintaining eye contact.

Our gazes remained locked as I passed him, only breaking when I got in the car. I plopped down on the seat behind the driver.

Ari gracefully maneuvered his body into the car, finding a spot on the opposite seat from where I was sitting. Yeah, this wasn’t a flashy show for me. He’d been in and out of this limo many times. Once Ares was back in the driver’s seat, the car pulled away from the curb.

I could feel his gaze on me, and I did everything I could to pretend I didn’t notice. By the time I was close to pulling out my hair, he sighed. I couldn’t stop myself from giving him attention.

Finally, I broke the silence. “You can’t tell me you’re okay with this.”

“It doesn’t matter what I’m okay with. Lucas needs this, my family needs this. I knew what I was signing up for a long time ago.”

Tilting my head, I studied him. Well, the best I could in the dim light of the limo. “Did you want to be what you are?”

Ari bowed his head. “If you’re fishing for my virtue, don’t. I don’t have any.” His voice was so quiet, if there had been any noise at all, I wouldn’t have heard him.

I swallowed hard. “Okay.”

Silence filled the vehicle, ripping the air away. Other than not telling me who he was in the cab, he’d been honest up to this point. I knew nothing about the Moretti family, but I’d been fearful of that man. He was bad news. I’d also suspected he’d followed me, which made it smart to let Ari take me home. So far, he’d been a gentleman. Kind and protective.

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