Page 50 of Dangerous Devotion

I was basically made for him, and he was perfect for me.

A match made in Heaven; wasn’t that how the saying went?

We just needed to survive today.

“Let’s go,” Fee said, handed me my bridal bouquet, and fixed my veil. I took the arm my father offered, and together, we stepped out of the room and into the hallway.

I could feel the eyes of Vince’s staff on me. Some smiled encouragingly; others watched with thinly veiled skepticism.

Would that change over time?

The walk to the small chapel at the far end of the property felt endless, and freezing.

I stared and nodded at the higher-ups of the Salvini Organization who were gathered to witness this union, basically forming a path for us. I greeted the unfamiliar faces, a polite smile firmly in place, but with each step, my anxiety grew.

What if this plan backfired? What if Vince’s father made a move today? What if all those men turned on Vince? And even, if not, there was still one group out there. What if it happened today? The what-ifs threatened to overwhelm me, and I stumbled over a rock.

Numerous hands grabbed me and helped me stabilize myself while my father’s strong arm tightened.

I wasn’t alone. Everything was under control. Everything would work out just fine. But that damn veil was not helping. I lifted it out of the way, would’ve removed it completely, if I didn’t know Fee and Mira would kill me.

As we approached the chapel, I could hear the murmur of voices inside. My steps faltered for a moment, the reality of what I was walking into hitting me in full force.

I was getting married to Vincenzo Salvini, the infamous dark hero of New York’s Italian Mafia and shadow king of the Salvini family.

For some reason, I took a glance farther back to the edge of the small forest—which was part of the fenced-in property, and my eyes met Zotov’s gaze.

I sucked in air through my teeth. How was he out here again, roaming around completely alone?

Zotov nodded at me once, a fond smile on his face, then turned around and disappeared before I could even react or alert anyone.

I turned around, looking for Vince’s brothers, but before I could say a word, Matt squeezed my upper arm. “Remember, this is important. No weakness, no hesitation. We’ve got your back. You’re one of us now.”

He thought I was hesitating?

I looked back to where Zotov had disappeared.

If he wanted to sabotage this wedding, he wouldn’t have smiled at me, right?

If I blew up the ceremony now, would Vince’s plan fail? And if I didn’t, would Zotov do something to harm us?

Until now, he never had. Even though he’d had several chances, he never outright harmed us—the opposite, really.

Fee stepped up to me, gave me a soft smile, then lowered my veil again.

I couldn’t stop now.

I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders.

This was important. There was no turning back now. We needed Vince’s plan to succeed.

So I sent a prayer that Vince, our families, and I would make it through this day alive and stepped inside the small chapel.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

As Jemma entered the small chapel, my breath caught in my throat. She was a vision in white, her beauty radiating through the antique lace of…a dress that looked exactly like my nonna’s wedding dress.

The one she wore in my grandparent’s wedding picture that had been on my nonno’s desk for as long as I could remember.

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