Page 23 of Sinful Lies

I knew lying to everyone would be hard, but the excitement on Emily’s face as I showed her the ring has me close to tears.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“Knowing Zara, it’s already done.” Bianca laughs, nudging me with her shoulder.

Dimitri and his brothers sit opposite us, and I haven’t once been able to look Alexei in the eye because I know the guilt is written all over my face.

He knows.

“She is the queen of Pinterest boards.” Emily laughs. “I swear, she’s had her wedding planned since sixth grade.”

I glance at Dimitri and wince at the deep frown that’s appeared between his eyebrows.

“That was a long time ago…” I mutter.

Alexei nods. “If this is the real deal, then you deserve to have a big wedding. Consider it your present from Bianca and me.”

“What?” I stare at Alexei. Is he being for real?

“You’ve been planning your wedding since you were five.” Bianca shrugs. “You’ve always wanted a huge wedding.”

I look from Alexei to Dimitri, my eyes wide. “No really, I’m perfectly fine with somethingsmall?—”

“Nonsense.” Alexei sips his drink. “This is the biggest day of your life, Zara. It should be perfect.”

I know he’s baiting me.

It’s true, this will be the biggest day of my life, and I’m throwing it away for some stupid deal with Dimitri.

But I made a promise, and I don’t break my promises. So, I swallow the lump in my throat and nod. “Thank you.”

“Then it’s settled.” Dimitri flashes me a grin. “A big wedding it is.”

I look at Dimitri and scowl. The asshole is enjoying this.

Emily sets her hand on mine. “Can I be a bridesmaid?”

This is a losing battle. And besides, it’s not like I have any prospects to get married any time soon. Or at all. So, why not have my dream wedding? “Sure.”

“Yay!” Emily squeals, clapping her hands together. “This is going to be so much fun.”

I turn to face Bianca. “You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”

“Of course!” Bianca throws her arms around my neck.

I sigh and smile. “I guess we’ve got a wedding to plan.”

To sayI’m freaking out is an understatement. Pretending to be in love with Dimitri and signing a piece of paper is one thing. Throwing a huge wedding in front of two hundred people is an entirely different story.

But it’s clear that Alexei is suspicious of my relationship with his brother, and I don’t want to give him any reason to doubt us.

I need to make this work not only for Dimitri, but for myself too. If I want to finally get Giovanni off my back, I’m going to need to go all in.

So, I agree and let Bianca and Emily take full reins in planning my wedding.

A wedding that I will no longer be able to hide from my parents. So, the next day, Dimitri convinces me to make the trip out to Queens to tell them our happy news.

“We’re really doing this.” I stare at the blue front door of my parents’ house.

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