Page 85 of A Fine Line

“Well, it’s about time you showed up,” I snark, thoroughly annoyed I almost ended up shackled to another idiot just because this guy doesn’t own a watch.

He gives me an impatient look, walking closer with an obvious limp, and Agatha moves closer to him, letting him lean on her a bit. “My apologies, Carolina. Between securing your wedding wear and attempting to locate an appropriate suit, I was set upon by thugs and left in an alleyway.”

Lilith pipes in from behind him, “Fucking moron thinks he can walk around the city on his own without even one person watching his back. He’s lucky he’s not fucking dead.”

“No one asked you, Lilith,” he sneers over his shoulder. They glare at each other for a moment, and then he turns back to me and says, “As I was saying, I was set upon by thugs and incapacitated, and once I came to, I realized how late I was, so I called Lilith. Luckily, she was close by, and here we are.”

“And who the fuck are you?” Antoinette asks from beside me.

He turns his gaze to her, his eyes lighting up as he says, “Antoinette, darling. What a pleasure to finally meet you.”

She gives him a dirty look, then looks over at Lilith with a stony expression. “Do we know this yahoo?”

Lilith sighs heavily, making a face as she mutters, “This is Antonio Rossi. Your father.”

Antoinette’s mouth falls open in shock, but then quickly snaps it shut as her eyes spark with anger. “Excuse me?”

Lilith sighs again, looking anywhere but at Antoinette as she says more clearly, “This man is responsible for half your DNA. Whether or not he ever has a future role as your father is entirely your decision.”

You could hear a pin drop in this church right now. I look at Tony, who’s staring at Antonio intently. Dare has moved closer to Antoinette but says nothing as we all wait to see what will happen next.

After a few long moments, Antoinette’s mouth twists, and she murmurs, “Of course you are,” then turns her focus back to me and asks, “So, are we having a wedding or what?”

I blink at her for a few beats, then look at Tony, who’s also staring at her like she’s lost her mind. Tony recovers first and says, “Sure. I don’t see any reason to wait.” He turns to Antonio and asks, “Do you think there’s a decent chance whoever thinks they’re going to steal her away for the power they’ll gain will rethink their plan?”

“Yes,” Antonio says with a nod. “Otherwise, I would’ve put someone else on that marriage license.”

I gape at him, but Tony laughs again and says, “Well, thanks for that, I guess,” before turning back to me with a questioning look.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask seriously. “You don’t have to. There’s really no rush; everything will work out regardless.”

“I’m sure,” he replies easily. “And if you’re having second thoughts, I’m going to warn you now that I am all for Nettie’s forced marriage trope.”

Nettie laughs beside me, and I give him my best-unimpressed look, though I have a good idea that he’s likely not entirely joking.

“I’ll go get the priest,” Dare states helpfully, then turns and walks off in search of the man responsible for making this a done deal.

“I’m not Catholic,” I say awkwardly.

Tony smiles down at me. “I am,” he says nonchalantly. “And if the priest asks, which I doubt he will, lie to him.”

“You want me to lie to a priest?” I exclaim. “In a church!”

“Sweetheart. After the events of these past few days, I think lying to a priest is the least of your worries. Actually, you should maybe consider taking a spin in one of those confessionals to get it out of the way. Start our wedded union with a clean slate.”

I roll my eyes at his teasing, but I’m saved from having to reply by the arrival of Dare and the priest, who appears a bit flustered but mostly ready to get on with the show.

He smiles at me and then at Tony and asks, “Would you like the traditional vows, or would you like to say your own?”

I open my mouth to tell him traditional is fine, but Tony beats me to it and says, “I’m ready with my own.”

I grimace, not because I’m worried about what he’ll say but because I have no fucking idea what to say, given this entire scenario was sprung on me, and my tendency to speak nonsense when nervous is a real problem.

Tony takes both of my hands in his, and the priest rambles on about God, marriage, and holy stuff, and then, before I know it, he turns to me and asks, “Would you like to start?”

I freeze, my eyes wide and mouth open, gaping like a goddamn fish out of water, and after a few beats, Tony saves me. “I’ll go first. Don’t want to put the lady on the spot or anything.”

I smile at him gratefully, but then my stomach knots up in anticipation of what he could possibly say at a ceremony that is one step down from a shotgun wedding.

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