Page 48 of Promised Vows

“I’m Anna Georgiou, Ari’s fiancée. It’s nice to meet you.” It was as if she could sense the shift in my mood. She palmed my chest, displaying the ring on her finger, and pressed herself against me.

Gabriele kept his eyes pinned on her. “What a lucky, lucky man.”

“That’s what I keep telling him.” She chuckled and touched her lips to mine, holding my gaze.

I covered her hand with mine. “I’m very aware of how lucky I am.”

“I don’t remember receiving an invitation,” Gabriele finally peeled his gaze from Anna and pierced me with a look. Because we didn’t send one and I’d offended him, which wouldn’t typically bother me. Until I was ready to go to war with him though, I would keep the peace.

“I’m sure that was a simple oversight due to the rushed nature of the wedding. Please accept my apologies. Let me offer a personal invitation with the hope that you’ll attend. It’s Saturday at two.”

“Thank you. I would be honored. I’ll see you then.” Gabriele gave a slight bow and returned to the group surrounding Jim Dwyer.

Anna put her back to him, acting as though she was fixing my tie. “What happened to his granddaughter?”

I placed my hands on her hips and kissed the tip of her nose. “He said she was molested by Marco.”

She brushed her lips across mine and whispered, “That man wears a crown of broken souls and leaves destruction in his wake.”

A chill raced down my spine with the way she described him. I couldn’t have said it better myself. “I know, sweetheart.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. “I’m sorry I had to invite him. For now, I need to hold my cards close to my chest.”

She lifted her gaze to mine. “You think he’ll come to the wedding?”

“Probably, but I’ll keep him away from you.” If the man so much as shuffled a toe in her direction, I’d break it. The threat of war be damned.

Anna pressed her body against my side and faced the people in attendance again, smiling. She was playing her part, and I appreciated her willingness to do so.

Jason strode over. “Dwyer is too eager for approval. If he’s already licking shoes, what will he do when he wants more? I won’t back him.”

“No. My family won’t either.”

Anna’s brother looked at her and smiled. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

“See you then.”

He was only a few feet away when Anna glanced at me. “I’ll be right back.”

She hurried to catch up to him before he landed inside the mass of people. They spoke for a moment. Jason nodded and smiled. When she returned, she was glowing. Her eyes were glossy, and she chewed her thumb.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she responded. “I asked him to give me away, and he agreed.”

I was a bit surprised by that. “Really?”

Her gaze dipped to the floor. “I’d thought about asking my father, but something’s stopping me. Jason and I used to be close, and I don’t know him as well as I used to, but for some unknown reason, I feel like he should be the one. I don’t have a reasonable explanation why…you must…”

“Think things are stressful right now, and sometimes we have to rely on intuition in matters like these.”

Anna lifted her head, her eyes connecting with mine. “Thank you.”

My faith in Jason was still on shaky ground, but if I went with my gut, I got the impression that he loved her, and I was glad that they were moving towards some sort of reconciliation.

“He loves you.”

With a heavy sigh, she nodded. “I’ve missed him so much. We used to be best friends.”

If I could I’d tell her I would, but it wasn’t my place. Plus, I didn’t have all the details. Giving her partial information could potentially put her in danger. “Would you like to go home?” I asked.

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