Page 24 of Devious Vows

His laugh shakes the both of us, his warm hands running along my sides.“Molto meglio.”Much better.

Chapter Nine

With my twenty-first birthday fast approaching, the wedding planning has officially begun. Each day I’m bombarded with choices. Roses or lilies? Blush or beige? Tulle or chiffon? From picking out the venue to meeting with the priest, every detail is being taken care of by Francesca—with my approval, of course.As if I really have a say. She and my mother have had my wedding planned since the arrangement was announced. They just have to pretend to take my opinions into consideration.

For example, I didn’t pick out a single one of my bridesmaids. The only one I even would have picked for myself is Delaney. The rest I barely know.

Today we have a cake tasting scheduled. Although I’ve seen Remy several times since Donatello’s party, it’s always been around other people, mostly his mother. And no conversations are being had when she’s around. At least not any that don’t involve the wedding.

I’m currently alone in the bakery, having shown up fifteen minutes early after not being able to stand being at home with my anxiety any longer. Sipping the coffee I was offered upon arrival, I aimlessly flip through the menu book, waiting for the others to show up. So far, Francesca has attended every meeting, so I’m sure she’ll be here today as well.

As if on cue, she comes through the front door, the little bell above tinkling as she smiles at me in greeting. Pulling a seat out at the table I’m at, she sets her purse near her feet before getting settled. “Ah, you’re early today!” She notices the menu book in my hand and smiles, taking it when I slide it toward her on the table. “And you’re already scoping out the flavors, I see.”

“I haven’t seen much yet, I got here only a little before you,” I lie, forcing a smile as I watch her flip through it. I know she already has flavors she prefers picked out, so it’s pointless for me to pick anything out yet.

She nods, reaching out to pat my hand. “That’s no problem, I’ve already gone ahead and selected the best flavors for you to choose from.”

Right, just as I thought.

“Remy should be here any minute now.” Her eyes look out the window like she’s expecting him to walk in right then. “You know how he is with these kinds of things.” She smiles my way and I fake a small laugh. “Between us, I don’t think he’ll be much help.”

I give the side of her face a closed-mouth smile, nodding again, really doing whatever I think she’s expecting of me. “Men. Am I right?”

She laughs, her hand rising to smooth over her perfectly styled chignon before she stands. “Exactly. Now—” Her phone starts to ring inside of her purse and she bends to pull it out, checking the caller ID before saying, “One minute,” and wandering from the table to answer her call.

Now that I’m alone, a quiet humorless chuckle comes out, my fingers roughly rubbing my scalp as I resist the urge to completely lose it and walk out of here.

I’m still scrubbing my head when Remy walks in, his eyes sweeping the shop until they land on me. I have no idea what he’s been doing but his arms and hands are stained a dark black, same with his tee shirt. There are even black dots scattering along his denim jeans. He drops into the seat that was previously occupied by his mother, a dimple flashing at me.

I smile at him, propping my elbow on the table so I can lean my chin on my fist as Remy shifts in his seat so that his thigh is pressed to mine. “Why are you so dirty?”

He smiles at me, raising a hand to look at it like he didn’t even notice until I brought it up. “I cut some brakes.” He looks up at me, honey browns dropping to my smile. “It’s brake fluid.”

“You just set someone up to die and now you’re going to taste cakes? What a boring life you live.”

His mother hasn’t noticed him yet but I know the second she does, she’s going to have a fit over his appearance. Francesca is still on the phone, but she pulls it from her mouth to shout to us, “I need to go handle some things but I might be by later if you guys haven’t left yet. Oh good, Remy, you’re here.” She waves over her shoulder as she walks out the door, phone back to her ear.

Must have been something pretty important if she didn’t even notice how Remy looked.

One of the staff comes over to our table, her blonde ponytail swinging as she smiles at us. “Are you ready for the tasting?” At my nod she continues, “Great! Ms. Luciano narrowed it down to ten flavors already, so we’ll bring those out.”

Remy snorts and I cover it with a quick, “Thank you,” watching her nod and walk back toward the counter. Soon after, a tray of mini cakes is set in front of us, little tags with descriptions near each. I just sit there for a moment, completely out of my element. I look over at Remy, chewing my lip. “Uh, do we just, eat them all?”

Tucking his phone away, he chuckles, reaching for a pretty pink-and-white cake to set in front of me. “Your favorite is strawberry and champagne, isn’t it?” I just nod, not sure how he knew that. “Then we’ll just pick that.”

Staring at the cake in front of me, I pick up one of the forks that was left on the table for us. “How did you know that?”

He eyes me, leaning back in his seat. “Know what?”

Taking a bite of my cake, I hum.Oh, that’s pretty good.“My favorite kind of cake. How did you know?”

His big shoulders shrug, watching me eat. “I know a lot of things, Beverly.”

Setting my fork down I eye him. “About me?”

A dimple flashes with his nod.

“Okay.” My tongue runs over my teeth, settling back in my seat. “What’s my favorite color?”

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