Page 35 of Promised Vows

“Yeah, he did. Demanded my butt in his office and then threw it out there. Oh, sorry, he asked how I’d been. Like that fixed it.”

Rolling her eyes, she replied, “Men.”

“Right?”

She took a couple of steps and then asked, “Have you thought about what sort of look you want for the invitations?”

“I want something unique. That’s a tall order on this short notice, but I’d like modern with a belly wrap—the little strip of paper that goes around the middle. I checked out a few styles last night and found some that I liked. For RSVP, I’m sending out a QR code instead of having people return it through the mail. I figured it’d be easier to get a count that way.”

“I’m impressed. This is being forced on you, so I half expected you to say that you’d be winging it.”

Shrugging, I replied, “I didn’t until about ten last night, but I figured if I was doing this, then I wanted to do it right.”

Silence fell between us for a moment and then Thea glanced at me. “I see the way Ari looks at you. He hasn’t looked at anyone like that since Lauran.”

“Was that Juliet?”

“Lauran Summers. She broke him. He wasn’t the same for a long time after.” Her voice held a wistful tone.

That Lauran girl did a number on him. While he was recovering, he’d told me a few things about himself, including his relationship with Juliet—Lauran. It didn’t surprise me that Thea would make that observation. I could see the ghost of that relationship when he spoke like there was a deep ache still lingering below the surface. One he couldn’t shake. It’d broken my heart that someone had hurt him like that.

Thea waved her hand like she was brushing a bundle of sage over the conversation. “Anyway, we’re going to have fun today. Let’s see how expensive we can make these invitations. Not speaking to you for eight months and then demanding a marriage deserves some payback in my opinion.”

Oh, we’d definitely become best friends, unless she was joking earlier. I hoped she wasn’t because like Claire said, everyone needed a Thea in their life.

We reached the invitation shop, and Thea held the door for me. The bell chimed and the woman at the counter smiled as she lifted her head. “You must be Anna Georgiou.”

“That’s me.”

My phone chimed and I looked at the screen. Papa?

Do you think you can slip away from your escort after you leave that shop? I need to speak with you.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight. He was following me? And talking about Thea like I was her prisoner or something? That was weird. The whole text hit me wrong.

The shopkeeper smiled. “If you’ll follow me, I have a table set up with samples that we can go through.”

“Sure. One sec,” I said as I made eye contact. “I’ve got a designer asking if I have time for a show.” I didn’t like lying, but this thing with my father was throwing me. I was an untethered buoy set afloat in a sea of emotions, and I struggled to find my balance.

His behavior was bugging me, but at the same time, maybe he was as off balance as I was after spending three years away. Was it wrong to wish that my family wasn’t broken?

Thea beamed a smile like she was proud of me, which was cool. “Nice.”

I returned my attention to the screen as another text popped up before I could even return the last one.

I’d prefer to speak in person.

I’m getting married and I need to get the details worked out. It’s two weeks from now so I can’t push it off.

Will you be at your apartment this afternoon?

I stared at the screen. I’d just told him I’m getting married, and this was his response? Then I realized just how small my world was. It was likely one of his men had told him.

Anna? May we meet at your apartment?

And leave Ari? We hadn’t even discussed it yet. I was staying in the guest room on the comfiest bed ever; we were spending time together, and I liked it. I wasn’t alone anymore. I got joy out of taking care of him and seeing him smile when I cooked dinner.

No, it’ll be a few more days.

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