Page 6 of Promised Vows

“Such the cynic.”

I laughed. “I’m… Thea, you are a bouquet of mixed signals and venom. Half the time, I don’t know what to think when it comes to you.”

Her shoulders drew back, and she palmed her chest. “Oh, Ari, you say the sweetest things.”

All I could do was roll my eyes. Seriously, this woman had never made sense to me. If a man ever won her heart, he’d deserve a medal.

“Okay, I have a few more errands to run before I drop in on Claire and tell her about the party. Give my best to Anna.” In a blink, she’d unhooked her arm from mine, and then she was gone.

Uh, yeah. I doubted I’d be doing that.

After a few more blocks, Anna stopped at a lingerie store and stepped inside. Lingerie? How could she buy something for Claire without the woman’s size? Unless it wasn’t for Claire.

Fury burned in my belly. Exactly who was my bride getting this stuff for? Was she secretly seeing someone? I quickly checked the store and found a few people milling about. Taking a chance, I slipped inside and took a sharp left. If Anna heard the door, it wasn’t immediately obvious. She seemed too focused on the rack of skimpy bras and matching panties.

The longer I stood there, the angrier I got. Her past relationships were hers, but now that she was promised to me, she was mine—teeth, claws, and whatever else she might have as weapons.

She finally settled on a devilish red number, and I swear it was a flag in front of a bull. Instead of charging though, I strode back outside to wait for her. As much as I wanted to confront her, I was more interested in where she was going next. I stepped around the side of the building and waited for her.

When she exited, she surprised me by going back the way we came. I quickly realized she was returning to her apartment. As she got closer to her home, I pulled out my phone and started typing out a text. I wanted to see what response, if any, I’d get back. What better time to poke the bear but when they couldn’t attack back?

I was caught off guard when I saw one of Moretti’s henchmen propped against a wall in front of her apartment complex. Talk about piquing my interest. I stashed my phone back in my pocket and slowed my pace. Was that who she was meeting?

I received my answer as Anna passed. He shoved off the wall and knocked into her. This was a fake chance meeting. He smiled, dipped down, and picked up her bag. They chatted a moment and she shook her head. Man, I wanted to be closer so I could hear what was being said. I wasn’t comfortable with the exchange in the first place and became less so when he handed her his phone.

I could barely contain my rage. She knew she was promised to me and still gave a guy her number. That was not going to fly with me. She’d quickly learn that I didn’t share.

She handed his phone back to him, smiled, and continued walking, a newfound spring in her step. What was this woman doing? Did she not realize she’d given her number to a Moretti family thug? She might have been oblivious.

He’d been waiting for her though. I knew enough about that family to be certain of that. Why though? Were they informed of our meeting with Anna’s family? Could she be in danger?

I planned to… Well, to be honest, I didn’t have a plan, or at least not a well-thought-out one. I started the day with the hopes I’d slake a little more of my curiosity.

I quickly caught up with Anna right before she could slip inside her apartment building and said, “Hello.” Before she could react, I took her by the elbow and led her off to the side so we could chat privately.

She gasped. “You? What are you doing?” She yanked her arm away from me. “Who are you?”

“Ari Kalantzis.” I dropped my name like a lit firework and watched it explode in her eyes.

Her jaw clamped down as her lips pressed into a thin line. “Creep.”

Me? “If you’ll recall, you were the one trying to pick me up.” I smiled.

Seriously, I was pouring gasoline on this fire, and I knew it.

Anna’s mouth dropped open. “I was not.”

I leveled my eyes at her. “Really? Did I come from a modeling shoot? If I wanted, you could put me in touch with designers.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she grumbled something inaudible under her breath. “I was being polite, you jerk.”

“Were you being polite when you gave your number to that thug who bumped into you?”

“Who I?—”

“Let me stop you right there. Everything you do is now my business. That man is not a good guy.”

Her head tilted as she cocked her hip. “And you are? Following me? Not being upfront with who you are?”

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