Page 66 of Ruthless Vow

“Denver,” I repeat, frowning. “Is that where Sofia is, maybe?”

“That’s the theory.” Damian says.

My heart kicks up a notch. It’s nothing definite, nothing certain. But it’s something.

“On another topic—”

“Urgent?” Leo cuts him off.

“I wouldn’t say extremely urgent.”

“Then it can wait till later. Let’s give Sabina our undivided attention for an hour before we all fuck off.”

“Fair enough,” Damian says. “Alina, I want to introduce you to a few people.”

“Sounds good,” she replies. As they move off, she gives me a nod of reassurance.

I accept it with gratitude. I’ll take what I can get.

“Thank you,” I say to Leo when they disappear into the crowd.

“For what?”

“Helping me with this. Helping me find my sister.”

“Thank me when we have her back. Not until then.”

I’m about to say something else, to find out everything I can about this whisper of hope, but I notice Sabina is approaching us. Her dark hair hangs in a sleek curtain to her shoulders. She wears a stunning silver and white gown and sky-high silver heels. Her arm is hooked into the arm of a man who looks to be in his mid-twenties. I haven’t seen him before, but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume it’s her fiancé.

Luciana Russo, Leo’s mother, had a beauty many said could take one’s breath away. I’d seen enough photos to confirm this. She’d been drop dead gorgeous. Sabina inherited her mother’s looks—from her glossy raven hair, to her flawless complexion, and her icy blue eyes. Full lips—almost too full, but they work on Sabina’s face, giving her an effortlessly sultry look.

When she meets my gaze, her smile disappears and she looks away.

“Leo,” she says in greeting.

“Sabina, you look lovely,” Leo says calmly, kissing both her cheeks. Then he extends a hand to her fiancé. “Roberto, it’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Roberto says, his gaze flicking away from Leo, darting along the crowd.

“Roberto, may I introduce Nicole Milano,” Leo says. “Nicole, this is Sabina’s fiancé Roberto Costa.”

“Congratulations on your engagement.” I shake his hand as confidently as I can. His hand is a little damp, his grip limp.

“Thank you.” Roberto glances at Sabina, who stands rigid and tense by his side, and frowns. “Are you all right?”

Sabina pushes a smile on her face, but it looks forced. “Never better,” she says. “Go and get me a lemon drop martini, okay?”

After a tiny hesitation, he says, “Of course.”

Something I can’t decipher flickers in his eyes, but he departs without further delay.

“I have a bone to pick with you,” Sabina says to Leo.

I’m one hundred percent certain she’s going to complain about my presence. Our paths have crossed in the last month many times, but she’d never engaged me in conversation. Never shared a meal with us. I’ve gotten the cold shoulder. Leo told me to give her time. He hadn’t specified how long she’d need.

Clearly, a month isn’t long enough.

As far as I’m concerned, she can take as long as she needs—knowing fully that the day might never come that she considers forgiving me for what happened on the yacht.

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