Page 25 of Reckless Promises

“You. Are. Stunning.” Her jaw goes slack as she starts to walk closer. “My brother isn’t smart enough to land a girl like you, which I guess is how those auctions work. But holy wow, I’m in shock. No wonder he blew a million dollars. Now I get it.”

She’s talking so fast that one thought rolls into another until she props herself up on the counter in front of me and looks me over.

“Nice to meet you…” I’m not really sure what else to say, given this girl fills the silence with her looks alone.

“Fallon. Sorry.” She slaps her forehead with her hand. “I’m Fallon Cross, Cill’s sister.”

“His sister?”

“Hard to believe, right? I’ll take that as a compliment.” She winks, smiling brightly.

It’s so genuine that I smile back, and it might be my first one in a week. “It’s definitely a compliment. Cillian’s not as… friendly—as you seem to be.” Among other things.

“Friendly.” She tips her head back and laughs. “You probably won’t believe me when I tell you that he used to be the funniest Cross sibling. But that all changed after Dad died. You know how those things go.”

Fallon shrugs, her eyes darting off as she lets her thoughts trail away. And I know exactly what she’s talking about because I’ve seen it myself.

Death has a way of tearing seams in families. I was young, but I remember seeing it with my dad. He wasn’t always as cruel as he is now. But when his mom died, his sense of family dissolved. That’s when his verbal abuse turned physical, and Mom lost whatever little ounce of joy she had left.

“Guess I should have met Cillian years ago.”

Fallon blinks back at me. “Sorry, I know this probably isn’t how you saw your wedding day.”

“Would you believe me if I said it actually is?”

There’s no use lying. From the moment I was of age, I was trained to be a wife. And I was reminded love wouldn’t be factored into this.

“I actually do believe that.” She frowns. “And I know nothing is going to make you feel better right now, but I did bring you something.”

Fallon hops off the counter and waves at the staff. “Enough primping. Odette looks perfect enough as is. I need some time alone with my new sister.”

Sister.

My head throbs at the reminder, and I can’t help but wonder what Genevieve is up to.

We used to talk about our weddings. We might not have had a choice in our groom, but we could pick the flowers and decorations. We said we’d spend the night before in bed watching movies and eating popcorn. We would be in it together.

But that was before our father’s enemy walked into the picture. Now I’m surrounded by people, and none of them are Genevieve.

The room empties, and Fallon follows them out to grab something from the hallway, returning with a giant dress bag in her hands.

“I hear you didn’t like the white dress.”

I glance over at the elaborate lace wedding dress hanging in the bathroom. “It’s fine…”

“It’s just not you,” Fallon says, her gaze moving to my black robe.

“I didn’t think Cillian would actually have you bring another one. I was irritated and being difficult. I can wear it.”

She shakes her head. “No, you won’t. If my brother’s going to force you to marry his uptight ass, you better waste his money with all the dresses you want.”

Once again, I find myself smiling, and even if my mom and sister aren’t here, it feels comforting to have a sense of real human contact after spending hours surrounded by Cillian’s staff.

“Besides…” Fallon walks over to the wall and hangs the dress bag on the hook, slowly unzipping it. “I think you’ll like this one much better.”

She peels open the bag, and hanging inside is a stunning black wedding gown. It’s solid lace, with an intricate pattern that weaves from the sweetheart neckline down the bust to where it hugs around the hips. The sleeves are long, and also lace, with nothing underneath, so it will showoff my arms.

“It’s beautiful.” I walk over, running my fingers over the design. “How did you have this on hand?”

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