Page 35 of Devious Vows

“Don’t leave me.” It’s not what I meant to say, I meant to say not to leave without telling me, but I let it be, pulling him down onto me.

If he catches my slipup, he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he just presses a kiss to my ear.

Chapter FOurteen

We’ve all been invited to Sunday dinner at the Luciano estate. By all, I mean myself, Julian, and my parents. When I was younger we used to eat dinner there all of the time, but it’s been a few years now, and I find myself growing nervous as I apply a layer of gloss on my lips. My hands smooth down the sides of my fitted dress, adjusting the way it fits over my stomach as I look over my outfit in the mirror. Dinners at the Lucianos’ are always black tie, and as such, I’ve pulled one of my nicer gowns from the back of my closet.

My hair falls around my shoulders when I lean to re-buckle the small clasp on my heel, and I run my fingers through it when I straighten, reshaping the waves that took me nearly two hours to blow out. Looking at my reflection, I sigh. Tomorrow is my twenty-first birthday.A week from then is my wedding.Although twelve-year-old me was devastated about even the thought of this moment, I think I’ve finally come to terms with it. The Remy I knew back then isn’t the same Remy I know now.

Hearing a quiet knock on my door, I hurry from my bedroom to open it, knowing it’ll be a driver sent from the Lucianos to get me. Smiling, I greet the man at my door.

“Ms. Esposito, I’m here to take you to the Lucianos’. Are you ready?”

Shutting the door behind me, I let out a breath. “I am, let’s go.”

I find I’m one of the last to arrive.

Walking into the Lucianos’ I’m welcomed by a gathering of faces that I’ve never seen lounging about the front room with drinks in hand. Smiling my thanks at the man who opened the door for me, my heels click along the polished dark wood floors as I walk, my eyes scanning for either my parents or Remy. Instead, I find Francesca. With a smile, I move to join her, but she quickly pardons herself before I’m close, bustling off into another direction the second we make eye contact.

Odd.

I don’t have long to dwell on it because soon after, we’re all being called into the dining room. My heart thumps as I trail behind, my gut churning the longer I don’t see anyone I recognize. My parents come into view as soon as I’m in the dining room, and I let out a sigh of relief. Remy catches my eye from across the room as I look on the table for my name card, brows dipping when he sits at the opposite end of the table as me.

Taking my own seat, I lean close to my mother, “What’s going on?”

She reaches for her champagne, hazel eyes flicking around the room. “I’m not sure. Francesca has been weird tonight, though.”

I bite my lip, my eyes falling to Remy once more. Frowning, I watch a woman with long, golden hair pull out the seat next to Remy, her full lips shining with dark red lipstick, amber eyes blinking sweetly as she takes her seat.

“Who the hell is that?” my mother says, taking the words right out of my mouth.

My heart races beneath my ribs, confusion making my throat feel tight. Gaze flicking between everyone, I don’t even see Delaney or Julian here. “Do you know any of these other people?”

She shakes her head, throwing back the rest of her champagne. “No.”

The blonde places her hand on Remy’s arm and he frowns, shaking her touch away. The sight stings my lungs, boils my blood.What the hell is going on?

Capo Famiglia stands from the table and we all fall silent. “I invited you all here today to make an announcement.” My eyes flick to Remy but he isn’t looking, instead he’s watching his father. I can’t help but stare at the blonde as she smiles up at Capo Famiglia, the look on her face making me nauseous with anxiety. “Beverly Esposito is no longer the best match for Remy, and therefore the marriage arrangement is being terminated from this moment on.” My mother’s gasp rings in my hears. “Viva Delfino will be taking her place three weeks from now.”

My chair crashes back onto the floor, my glass of champagne spilling as I jolt from my seat.

This can’t be happening.

My throat burns as my eyes meet Remy’s, the cool indifference burning within them making my vision watery as I whisper a rough, “Excuse me,” before rushing toward the door. Pure chaos ensues, angry voices yelling as I get into the hallway, the sound of glass breaking.

“Beverly.” Remy’s voice stops me in the hall, his footsteps loud as he stomps his way over to me. With a hand on my shoulder, he spins me to face him.

Remy’s fingers come up to skim across my lips and I lightly knock them away, meeting the dip of his brow with a nasty scowl. “You want me to believe you didn’t know this was happening? That you’re just as surprised as I am?” I huff, swallowing the tightness gathering in my throat. Letting my anger unleash on him because there is no one else to vent to. “Go, Remy. Be with Viva, she’s the one who needs comfort, left in the room with those monsters, not me.” The long breath he lets out brushes along my face and I blink away the sudden want to step into him, to have him be in my space like always.

“Cuore mio, stop.” He meets my unspoken wants, booted toes bumping into mine as he invades my space, inked hand brushing through the dark strands of my hair to thumb my tattoo. I raise my hand to throw his arm away but end up just grabbing his wrist, fingers wrapping around it instead.

I squeeze hard, grounding myself, but Remy ignores it, thumb stroking the ink behind my ear. Feeling myself lean against him, I quickly rip his hand away from me, throwing his arm aside and releasing his wrist as if it burned my palm.

I glare at the slight narrowing of his dark gaze at having me toss him aside like that. “Don’t touch me.” I swallow past my words, lungs burning with each shallow breath. “Why didn’t you tell me? I look like an idiot being here.” His honey eyes shift between my own but he remains silent, letting me lash out at him. His silence paired with the screaming of my heart spur me into asking, “Is it because you think I’m an unsuitable match also?” Although it’s quieter than before, slightly harder to get out.

Remy grabs the sides of my face, palms hot on my cheeks as he tugs my body against his the second the words leave my mouth. I grip his wrists in my hands to tug him off but he doesn’t let me, not even budging with my hard yank. “Don’t start with me, Beverly.” He lightly shakes my head like he’s trying to get the words to sink into my brain, and I tighten my hands on his wrists. “You are the single most irritating woman I’ve ever met in my life, you know that?” I try to shake my face from his grip but his hold is strong. “I don’t want this marriage. I don’t want that woman. The only woman I want isyou. It has only ever been you.”

He gives me another shake, like he’s making sure I heard him, honey browns frowning down at me. My heart is beating in my ears, my gut tight as his words sink into my skin. They’re somehow reassuring and wounding at the same time, digging into a cut in my heart I didn’t know I had. Salt on the sore flesh. It doesn’t matter anymore that I’m the one he wants, because I’ve been replaced like an old hat.

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