Page 16 of Wedlocked

“Yes, of course.” She frowned. “Are you feeling okay? Wedding jitters are common, believe me, I see them all the time.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m all good. But thanks for asking.” I thrust my arms into a bathrobe “The date has just…come up so fast.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about a thing. Ethan has made sure all you need to do is sit back and relax, everything has been taken care of.”

I didn’t doubt that for one second. He controlled his world and everything in it, he wouldn’t have been made boss, otherwise.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” the couturier said with another flash of teeth behind her lipstick.

After I said goodbye and she hurried out with a whole lot of bags with the bridal fabrics inside, I sank onto the high-backed chair a few yards back from the mirror. I was staring blankly at my reflection when a tread sounded behind me. An intrinsic part of me knew it was Ethan even before I looked up to see his dark, commanding reflection behind me.

He smiled, his scar pulling tight. Yet it didn’t make him look gruesome by any means. Somehow it added to his shadowy, enigmatic aura. With his dark hair slicked back and wearing light gray chinos along with a white dress shirt, he was the embodiment of informal affluence.

He cocked a dark brow. “I guess you heard our wedding is tomorrow?”

“I did.” My voice cracked and I cleared my throat and asked, “Why so soon?”

He shrugged. “The sooner the better. But don’t worry, it will be a small service with just a few guests.”

“And what about my family? Will they be invited?”

His jaw tightened, as though I’d asked him to fly me to the moon and back again. “I might consider one. Did you have someone in my mind?”

“Yes. My brother, Salvatore.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “The future Costa don?”

I nodded. “Is that a problem?”

He exhaled heavily. “I guess not. Who knows, it might work to my advantage.”

“Of course that is all you care about,” I sniped, then bit my lip when his dark eyes glittered as though he was already planning retribution. But it was too late to stop my tirade now. I lifted my chin and added, “Maybe one day you’ll care more about your bride than whatever leverage I can give you.”

“Who said I don’t care about you?”

I dropped my eyes and muttered, “If you did you’d keep me alive.”

He stepped closer, his fingers flexing as he slid his hands over my shoulders, his touch making me shiver despite the sparks of heat he induced. His stare recaptured mine. “I want you to promise me one thing.”

I swallowed. “Yes?”

“No more talking about your death.”

My stomach wrenched. It was all too clear he wasn’t going to spare my life. All I could hope for was to draw out my time, extend it by doing as he asked. I nodded, then said tightly, “Of course. I wouldn’t want to upset your status quo and destabilize your perfectly balanced life.”

Shit. I was seriously deranged testing his limits. But as usual I couldn’t help myself. I had to have the last dig.

That he didn’t react this time didn’t mean he wouldn’t the next. My heartbeat accelerated, a flush of hot and then cold going through me. My life, my fate, was really in Ethan’s hands. I had to stay focused and do whatever he asked, and for once, not defy his authority.

He stepped back. “I’ll go and make arrangements to have your brother come here tomorrow as our wedding guest.”

I forced myself to stay calm when I said, “I want Salvatore to walk me down the aisle in the place of my father.” Despite my little self-pep talk about not pushing, this was the one and only request I had for my own wedding. Everything else had been decided by Ethan.

His face stayed impassive, whatever he was thinking concealed behind his inscrutable gaze. “That will be up to him.”

I managed a relieved smile. Despite the fact Salvatore would hate me marrying into the Agostino family, he wouldn’t deny my one request, I was sure of it.

Ethan stared at me for another minute, as though deciphering my thoughts, then he pivoted and was gone, leaving me alone in the dressing room to sort through the complicated mess inside my head.

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