Page 32 of Dangerous Devotion

That gave me pause. Since my father had never blinked an eye or mentioned it, I really thought he hadn’t noticed. “I did… Apparently, I was wrong.”

“Yes, you were,” Fee said, “now tell us what happened.”

I shook my head. “Everything’s happened so fast.”

Fee leaned forward, her eyes soft with concern. “Start with why you’re here with Vince. Last time we talked—which was yesterday morning—you two couldn’t stand each other. And now you’re marrying him instead of Matt? When the hell did all of this happen?”

Mirabella gasped softly beside me. “You were supposed to marry Matt, and now you’re getting married to Vince?” She glared at Isa. “Why don’t I know about any of this?”

Isa sighed. “Because you were otherwise engaged”—Isa paused, and there was some kind of silent communication going on between the sisters”—and you told me absolutely not, and under no circumstances, to contact you if it’s not a life-or-death situation.”

“Ahhh,” was all Mirabella said and nodded.

“I didn’t think Vince falling in love counts as a life-or-death situation.”

Mirabella smirked. “The way he’s acted, though, I thought he might die of an allergic shock once he falls in love.”

“Nobody’s talking about love here,” Fee said. “This is still an arranged marriage, right?”

I nodded halfheartedly. Because, in all honesty, right now, my relationship with Vince felt like so much more.

“So, how? And when? And what happened,” Fee said, repeating her question.

“Well,” I said, the reality of our crazy timeline and the depth of my feelings for him still sinking in. “It’s all happened really fast. One minute, we’re at each other’s throats; the next…” I let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, well, things change.” I paused, considering how much to reveal. These women were my family, or soon would be, but old habits died hard, and none of the three women knew the whole story. “Vince…he found out about some things I’ve been involved in. Things that caused some trouble…”

“So, Vince and her father arranged a marriage between Jemma and Matt,” Isa said.

Mirabella’s eyebrows shot up. “What the hell? That’s fucked up.”

I nodded. “Among other things. But instead of Matt, I ended up?—”

“In Vince’s bed?” Fee finished, a hint of amusement in her voice.

I felt my cheeks heat up. “It’s not like that. Well, not entirely.” I sighed, frustrated with my inability to explain. “He’s a little commanding, and it’s complicated.”

“With Vince, it always is,” Isa said with a sigh and an eye roll.

“That’s Vince. He’s always bossing everyone around. It’s how he shows his love,” Mirabella said.

“He never told me he loves me, though,” I snapped before I could shut myself up.

And now all three of them stared at me.

Shit. Mirabella didn’t say he loved me; she just mentioned the way Vince showed his love. And just because he didn’t say it, didn’t mean he didn’t love me, right? He’d told me repeatedly I was the perfect woman for him; didn’t that mean he loved me? And could you even talk about love if you’d only known each other for less than a week? “He’s just very protective,” I murmured…which…Oh, just shut it, Jemma Donnelly.

Mirabella and Isa exchanged a look that made me squirm.

“Sure he is,” Fee said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just be careful, okay?” She squeezed my arm while her eyes conveyed what she really wanted to say. Which was probably “Girl, run, he’s a walking red flag.”

And she wouldn’t be entirely wrong, either. I nodded, feeling the weight of the meaning behind her words. The gravity of what I’d gotten myself into was starting to sink in.

This was likely very unhealthy behavior.

The door swung open, and I was almost glad for the interruption of our conversation.

A woman I didn’t recognize strode in, followed by one whose face I would never forget.

“Birdie,” I whispered. She was with Hawk when they brought us home from Italy.

---