Page 6 of Forbidden Vows

“Thanks, friend.” I sigh. “Anyway, even if I was to go all baddie on Keith’s ass and call Blaze?—”

“Whoa there!” She raises a hand once more, playfully interrupting me, her curls bouncing with the movement. “Let's avoid that phrase, okay? I forgot how amusing it is when you try to cuss!”

“Rude, Seraphina.” I glance down at my clear nail polish, trying to picture long red acrylics in their place. Who am I kidding? A nude pink is as daring as I will ever go.

“Sorry, boo, but it’s true.” She beams that gorgeous grin at me, and I instantly forgive her. “I like you pure. You’re a good girl. Cursing doesn’t suit you.”

“Right. If good girls don’t cuss, they certainly don’t place hits on their ex-boyfriends. Besides, Blaze is currently in Italy. And I don’t believe in violence,” I remind myself.

I have my phone in my back pocket, and it goes off with my dad’s ringtone:Heartbreak Hotel.Groaning, I leave my phone where it is and sink further into the couch.

“Uh-oh. You’re usually one of those perky, answer-on-the-first-ring kinda girls,” she says. “Who is that?”

“My dad.” The last thing I need right now.

She raises a brow in question, “Falcon, the butcher?”

“Yeah.”

“Your family sure has some weird names.”

“Okay—Seraphina…”

She laughs.

Did my Dad see the video? I sit straight up. “Dear God in heaven, do not tell me my Dad’s seen me naked.” I grab my phone from my pocket and read the voicemail transcript.

Seraphina leans over my shoulder. “And what does the purveyor of fine meats have to say on this glorious morning?”

“Hang on. I’ll read it to. you.” I share the message with her. “Check your mail, sweetheart! An invitation should have arrived at your house. I’ve got a huge surprise for you?”

“What do you think it is?” she asks.

I don’t know, but knowing Dad, my life is about to get turned upside down even more.“No idea.”

She wrinkles her nose. “For a self-proclaimed ‘good girl,’ you got more drama in your life than one of those B-list porn-releasing celebrities.”

“You’re not kidding,” I agree. “The last time Dad sent me an invite was to his wedding to Sharon Harrison.”

“MMM, mmm, mmm,” she nods. “Bringing that fine-ass stepbrother of yours into our lives.”

My dad and I moved into her house in the Bronx, where I went through a confusing phase trying to avoid seeing my new brother come out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his chiseled waist.

“Ex-stepbrother,” I correct. “The marriage lasted as long as Keith did in bed.”

She laughs. “Good one.”

I give a weak, “Thanks.”

“He’s a real man. Tall, dark-haired, older than us, and with powerful people backing him up, he can clean this up for you.” She fixes her gaze on mine, so intense that I can see the gold flecks in her hazel irises. “Blaze is now a powerful member of the Bachman Brotherhood. He may be based in Italy, but he has ties. Strong ones. His people run this city. And he’s the only person in your life who can make this disappear. He can get this video down.”

“I still can’t believe they are real.” I had heard whispers about them in the city but viewed them as fairies or goblins—entities that could exist but seemed too fanciful. “Or that Blaze and his brother joined and now live in Italy.”

“People at work were always attempting photos of that compound with the brownstones and brick walls, saying it was their Village, a mini town hidden in plain sight, but I didn’t think it was real until Tabby confirmed it.” She takes a breath. “I would call Tabby’s dad, but I’m not supposed to know. She swore me to secrecy.” She studies my face and asks, “You haven’t told anyone what she said, right?”

“No,” I reach out, linking pinkies with her and shaking. “I have not spilled the beans that you informed yourfavoritebestie that the father of your childhood best friend is in the mob.”

“Good. Tabby would kill me. I’m not even supposed to know but she had one too many Moscato’s that night.”

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