Page 34 of Unbreakable Vow

“What about it?” I pick up the copy of my grandmother’s will he left behind and slide it into a drawer.

“Well, I checked my account this morning and it wasn’t there.” She rolls her shoulders back and lifts her chin. “I’d rather it be in the bank before we go through with this.”

Smart woman.

I pick up a folder from my desk and open it, showing her the bank account I opened in her name.

“Ten thousand, like we agreed. If I had deposited it in your account, the amount could make the bank suspicious.”

She looks up from the statement, her eyes narrowing.

“Because where would a girl like me get ten thousand dollars?”

“Your bank account was in the negative. A sudden deposit of ten grand from an outside account without your name on it would have made them flag it,” I explain.

Before I let her go, I’ll have a financial expert go through her finances with her. She’s obviously been badly educated on it.

“Right.” She looks at the statement again. “Is this a joint account then?”

“It’s your account.” I close the folder and drop it to the desk. “If you’re ready, I’d like to get through with this. I have a meeting in an hour.” I look at my watch.

She laughs.

It’s a pretty sound.

Another strike against her.

“Just what every blushing bride wants to hear on their wedding day,” she says. “Not that I’m blushing, because there’s no reason. This is just a business arrangement. Nothing more.”

She’s rambling again.

“Mr. Petrov. Are you ready for me?” Judge Ramon darkens the doorway.

I lean down, brushing my lips across her ear. She smells of lavender. Mrs. Yugov must have given her a new bar of soap.

I inhale deeply.

“Don’t worry, Coraline. I’ll have you blushing by the end of the day.”

She gasps, but it’s hidden beneath my order for the judge to come in.

Behind him march my cousins and their women.

“I was afraid we’d miss it.” Viktor grins. “But we’re just in time.”

Bastards.

“We can stand here all day,”Sergei tells me as I stand next to him in front of the judge. Who doesn’t look anything like a judge should look. He’s not even wearing one of those black robes. He’s in a light gray suit with a pair of sunglasses tucked into the breast pocket.

Sergei moved us to the living room in front of the fireplace. His family sits on the couches behind us, and Mrs. Yugov took a seat in a chair in the corner.

“Do you need me to repeat the line?” Judge DeGrassi suggests as though I forgot the words.

“No.” I give a little shake of my head. It’s bad enough Sergei didn’t warn me his family would be here. If I’d known, I would have asked Krista to come. Not that this ceremony means anything, but it would be nice to have someone on my team.

I’m outnumbered six to one. Not exactly fair numbers. Especially when he’s determined to embarrass me.

And then the judge goes and says that. My cheeks flame with irritation. How long can I hold out?

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