Page 77 of The Proposal Pact
“Oh? So, no honeymoon? No dream vacation to Greece for you, Sophie?” Grace taunts with a smug look on her face. “And where is the dress you always wanted? Your mother’s, right? Oh, and for your brother to walk you down the aisle? If I recall you wanted a small version of a big, fat, Greek wedding.”
For just a fraction, Sophie stills next to me. It’s so fast and fleeting you’d miss it if you weren’t watching her like I am. Like I’ve been.
Everything Grace just said was the truth. Sophie wants all of that. And she’ll have it. One day, she’ll have her dream wedding, in her dream dress, with her brother at her side and a dreamy honeymoon afterward.
She’ll have it all. I know it.
And I shouldn’t care in the slightest. She can have whatever she wants after we’re done here.
I don’t care.I don’t.
Yet…that burning sensation inside my chest I’ve felt before, ignites once more and intensifies with every new image of her with someone else.
Someone whocangive it to her.
But that someone isn’t me and for some inexplicable reason, it bothers me.
Everything fucking bothers me. And Grace’s snide remarks bother me.
I’m about to interfere when Sophie shoots me a quick look, telling me to stay out of it.
“Dreams change, Gracie. You out of all people should know it.” She turns toward the counter, seemingly unperturbed as she makes her coffee.
“Sophie, come on, can you please stop with this already? We all know this isn’t real. Did you want to play a prank on us? It’s a damn good one, I’ll give you that, but now I want in on this action. So cut this crap, please.”
“It’s not a prank, Grace.”
“Uh-huh. Where is your ring then?” Sophie’s eyes flicker to her naked finger for a second before she shrugs.
“Rings are overrated.”
“Are they now? Does Vassar know about this? Kira? Your nieces and nephew? And why aren’t you looking at me, Sophie?”
Sophie sucks in a shaky breath, Grace’s each word hitting her exactly where she meant to land that punch. Fury like I’ve never known before envelops me. Okay, that’s it, there’s no way in fuck I’m staying out of it, sorry, little menace.
Without thinking, I loop my arm around Sophie’s waist and drag her small, pliable body into my side. Feeling desperate need to protect her from everything and everybody.
“Back. The. Fuck. Away. From my wife. I don’t care if you are her left kidney, I won’t have anyone talk to her like that,” I growl, and if I could I’d bite Grace too.
I may not be the guy to give her the dream wedding or the one to take her to Greece for a honeymoon, but I’ll be damned if I letanyone treat her like this. For the next year, Sophie is mine. And I’ll die protecting what’s mine this time around.
Grace gasps.
“And it’s Lovinski,” I grind out.
“Wh-what?” she stutters, her eyes two round saucers as she watches me with bewilderment.
“Earlier, you called her Sophia Levidis. It’s Lovinski now.”
Grace opens and closes her mouth a few times before she settles her shocked gaze on Sophie. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that this is the real deal?”
“Um, yes?” Sophie says, unsure, and I tighten my hold on her waist.
“You mean you really, really got married yesterday? It wasn’t a drunken mistake or a prank? You weren’t high or coerced?” She tilts her head closer to Sophie and whispers as if I can’t still hear her. “You know you can tell me if you were. I know that grumpy asshole can be scary but trust me, I’m scarier.”
I roll my eyes and Sophie lets out a girly laugh. “No, none of that.” She raises her gaze to mine. “I wanted this.”
I wanted this…the words ring in my chest, adding fuel to the fire that was already burning in there.
