Page 42 of Dangerous Devotion

Fee noticed my discomfort and leaned in close. “Don’t mind them. They’re probably just jealous. You’re marrying the handsome boss, after all.”

I nodded. So I wasn’t the only one who caught the vibe? And I couldn’t shake the feeling of being an intruder. Was I just being oversensitive? Was the stress of what had happened yesterday, the wedding preparations, and the lingering threat of danger getting to me?

“So,” Fee said, pulling me from my thoughts. “Have you decided on a dress yet?”

I groaned—another decision to make. As I opened my mouth to respond, I caught myself wondering what Vince would like—I shut that train of thought down immediately.

As if that mattered. This wasn’t some kind of fairy tale wedding. This was a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less.

I suppressed the flash of annoyance. I wanted to talk to him yesterday, to tell him to stop acting so cold, and he didn’t even show up.

If he wanted to push me away, fine. I’d choose whatever dress I wanted.

But first, I needed a break from all this wedding madness. I got up. “Fee, Marianna, I’m going to step out for a bit. I need some fresh air.”

“Should I come with you?” Fee asked.

I shook my head. “It would be great if you helped Marianna decide on as much as possible. I don’t care about flowers, or music, or even what dress I’m wearing, so you decide for me.”

Wouldn’t that be easiest? If I just needed to show up for this farce of a wedding. Such irony. Weren’t those the exact thoughts I’d had that day when Vince and Matt Salvini came to visit to discuss my arranged marriage?

It had been a farce then, and it was still now.

And here I thought it all had changed.

Fee nodded understandingly, and I slipped away, grateful for the momentary escape. I wandered through the house without seeing a single soul. Where was Vince? And Vince’s guys? And Hawk? And all of Hawk’s guys? The size of this mansion was truly amazing and completely nuts.

I hadn’t even seen Isabella and Mirabella since yesterday. Though I desperately wanted a chance to talk to Iset—privately.

I searched room after room, finally spotting her through the window. She was lounging by the pool, buried beneath a big blanket and a puffer jacket twice her size, staring into her laptop.

I went down, then hesitated. Given she was buried beneath layers, it was chilly outside, so I grabbed one of the jackets hanging by the door to the deck.

As I shrugged it on, a deep voice startled me. “Trying to make a break for it?”

I turned to see Dom, Vince’s friend. “Oh, hey. No, just looking for Isabella.” I pointed through the glass door in the general direction of the pool.

He nodded, his eyes never leaving me.

Was he studying me? Trying to find out what?

“So, what do you hate most about Vince?” he suddenly asked.

I froze, my muscles tensed, before I caught myself and snorted. What a weird question. “That’s quite the icebreaker.”

Dom cocked his head, his gaze on me, but remained silent.

He was the kind of man who was too good-looking, and he knew it, too.

Not many men would look good next to Vince Salvini, but this guy managed to hold his own. Buff, well groomed, fucking gorgeous. His whole demeanor screamed star athlete like someone who enjoyed being the center of the party, not like someone who was really interested in discussing the deep topics.

But he remained silent, waiting for my answer, so maybe I was wrong. “There are too many annoying things to pick just one,” I said, then paused, considering. “But if I had to choose, it’s probably his obsession with solving everything alone.”

Dom’s eyes lit up. “Interesting. And what do you think Vince hates most about you?”

I laughed. “Funny you’re asking me that. Probably that I never do what he tells me to.”

“Fair enough.” Dom chuckled. “So, thoughts on the wedding?”

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