Page 21 of Sinister Engagement

Slowing to a stop, we waited for the officiant to ask my father for his permission to have me marry Gaven.

“I do,” my father agreed proudly, giving my cheek a kiss. With a final squeeze of my hand on his arm and passing off the bouquet, he stepped away. Now, it was only Gaven and me. As the officiant ran through the obligatory lines, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Gaven’s intense stare, and I wasveryaware of his hands holding mine.

“Please repeat after me, Gaven,” the officiant prompted.

Gaven echoed each line with confidence, the words searing onto my soul. “I, Gaven Belmonte, take you, Evangeline Price, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.”

I was frozen in place by the time he finished, everything was finally coming to fruition. This wasn’t some sham or a simple business deal like my father had planned. It wasreal,and I knew that as Gaven said the vow, it was binding the two of us together. No matter for how long, no matter how far apart. I would forever belong to Gaven Belmonte.

“Now for you, Evangeline.” The officiant looked at me, a reassuring smile on his weathered face, and I nodded, echoing his words each time until I got to the ending.

“From this day forward until death do us part.” The words sounded weird, steady and smooth despite the slight tremble radiating through my body.

“Then I proudly pronounce you, Gaven and Evangeline, man and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Price. You may now kiss your bride.”

Gaven didn’t need any more encouragement to do so, closing the distance between us in the blink of an eye. Cupping my head with one hand and pulling me into him with the other, he ensured I was looking him in the eye for a long moment before finally pressing his lips to mine. Possessive and intense, I felt the significance of that single kiss all the way to the tips of my toes and in the deepest recesses of my heart.

I was officially Gaven’s.

Until death do us part.

* * *

Cocktail hourand photography blew by in a flurry of activity. Posing this way and that with my new husband, greeting every single one of the hundreds of guests, until finally we arrived at the reception.

“Here,” Gaven instructed, holding out a flute of champagne he’d snagged from a passing waiter’s silver tray. “You look a bit nervous, my love.”

“Can’t imagine why,” I murmured behind the lip of the glass, sipping the tart liquid. Gaven only chuckled at my response, his grip on my hand tightening slightly.

“Why don’t we sit for a moment? I can’t imagine those heels are very comfortable,” he stated, eyeing the white stilettos I’d been wearing for the last few hours. Not trusting myself to speak with the whirlwind of emotions I’d experienced through the day, I let him guide me to our designated seats at the head table.

I didn’t want to admit to him or myself that despite the heavy weight I felt solidified during our ceremony, I was feeling freer, happier, than I expected … even with his promise about what he was going to do after the reception was over. I wanted it, I had realized, almost craving to feel more, experience what he could give me, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to end the reception early and finally tread those new uncharted waters. With myhusband, a distinction I still hadn’t wrapped my head around.

As Gaven pulled out my chair for me, I scanned the room, taking in the talking, dancing, and crowd milling about. Everyone seemed to be having fun, or was at least occupied, except two. Jackie and my father stood off to the side of the room, my father’s frown hard as he glared at my sister. There was no way to know what Jackie was saying, but whatever it was, I could tell my father was nearing the end of his rope.

Well, that’s unfortunate for her,I thought, brushing it off. It was my wedding day, so instead of going over to smooth their argument out, I took another sip of my champagne and looked to Gaven.

“Staring isn’t very polite, you know,” he murmured, not looking at me. Chuckling, I shrugged.

“You stare at me all the time, so I thought it was only fair I could do the same,husband.”

His gaze sliced to me, sparking. “That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days.” Heat laced his words, but instead of cowering back from the intensity of his presence, I smiled.

“Is that so?” I challenged in a soft whisper, earning a deep guttural growl from him as he leaned into me.

We were married now, and maybe I should have still walked on eggshells for fear of what might happen, but I couldn’t stop myself. Before the wedding, I had held on to a non-existent sliver of hope that it wouldn’t happen. That I’d be cut free from this arrangement. But I wasn’t, I was now tied to him and my family’s life of crime and somehow, that fear of him had lessened. This was my life now and I couldn’t let it consist of biting my tongue despite what Jackie had advised.

“Oh, absolutely,” he whispered, “and I’m going to enjoy every moment of punishing you for it. As will you. But as much as I would love to fold you over my lap and paint that ass red for everyone to see, now is not the time for that.”

Fire licked my veins, wetness pooling in my core, but before he could continue, a waiter came by with another set of champagne flutes to replace our empty ones.

“So,Mrs. Price,” Gaven started, redirecting the conversation, “tell me... What was little Evangeline Price planning to do before being married to a hit man?” I sighed, taking a large gulp of the bubbly liquid and settled back into my chair.

“Go to college, actually,” I revealed, no longer looking at him. I didn’t want him to see that it was still my hope despite my new reality of a boss’s wife. Knowing what I did of Gaven though, he probably could see right through me anyway.

“For?”

“Not sure, honestly. I thought about accounting—I’m good with numbers—but I also considered computer science, but I just wanted out,” I ground out, this new found fire refusing to let me keep my thoughts to myself. “And yet here I am, tied to it for the rest of my life.” I tried not to sound bitter, not wanting to ruin the day with the thoughts and hopes of what could have been, but it was difficult.

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