Page 40 of Vengeful Union

A sandwich a day and bottled water really hasn’t been doing it for me.

I take the wine first, taking a huge gulp and then setting the glass down on the nightstand.

Rory chuckles at my exuberance as I sit down on the bed, crossing my legs under me and balancing the plate on them.

I dig in without a word, shoveling food into my mouth and making a moaning noise as the taste hits my tongue.

“This is almost as good as Marisol’s shepherd's pie.”

Rory smiles, shutting the door behind him. “I’ll let Kristina know that you like it.”

I never thought that I’d be in Niall Murphy's house, complimenting his chef and marrying his son, but here I am.

“Did you try on the dress?”

I nod. “It’s a little tight around the hips, but not enough to need an alteration. How did you guess my size?”

Rory looks away and then back at me. “I’m kind of an expert on women’s figures.”

I stare up at him for a long moment before I realize that he’s making a joke.

I bark out a surprised laugh. “That wasn’t smooth at all.”

“It wasn’t? I guess being an accountant has taken away all of my game.”

I keep eating, smiling around the fork.

My head starts to feel less heavy on my shoulders as I get some food down and continue drinking the wine.

I’m almost feeling back to normal, and I’m grateful.

“Thank you for the food and wine.”

Rory smiles thinly. “It’s the least I can do. You know that eventually, you’ll have to come down for dinner.”

And meet Niall Murphy, my father’s arch-nemesis.

I swallow hard. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“Fair enough.”

I finish eating, placing the plate beside me and putting a hand on my stomach.

“I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight,” Rory says, and I look over at him, surprised.

“You are?”

He nods. “You need time to get used to all of this. Just until the wedding, though, because I don’t want anyone getting suspicious.”

“Okay,” I say quietly, a little touched that he’s allowing me some time to myself. Part of me also wonders if I’ll have more nightmares when I fall asleep. I think I’ll be up for a long while tonight, after that nap.

Rory pulls his phone out of his pocket and sits next to me, showing me engagement and wedding rings on his phone.

“Pick one.”

I frown. “I told you I don’t care about any of this. It’s not like it’s real.”

“It has to look real, Lara. If my father gets wind of what we’re planning...”

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