Page 14 of The Vow

“What is the problem?” Jovan was starting to look annoyed now. He clearly thought his ‘gift’ of his daughter would cause a wave of gratitude and immediate acquiescence. Ha, no such luck, Carmelo thought, watching Colt and Jovan get increasingly animated over the table at each other.

“There is no problem, is there Colt?” Mayor Harris pressed. Her eyes were steel. Oh, Carmelo was not jealous of Colt right now, the poor guy looked as though he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

“What about that ex-military guy, the big, burly one?” Mayor Harris suggested.

Colt shook his head. “Jared is nearly forty, he left half his leg behind in the Gulf and definitely has something going on with his mental health right now, he’s… not often around-”

Jovan’s lips turned white as he pursed them tightly. “No.”

“Okay, that young new guy, Max is it?”

Colt almost laughed out loud. “He is not yet eighteen, he’s hanging onto his role of Prospect by his fingernails, and the furthest thing from the town’s golden boy you could get. He’s the fucking black mark on the sole of my shoe-”

“Alright, Colt,” Mayor Harris snapped.

Carmelo piped up. “Perhaps the MC could have some time to talk about it-”

“No, I want this arranged today,” Jovan snapped back, looking at Carmelo for the first time.

Colt and Harris both turned to Carmelo.

Carmelo did a double take between them both.

“Er… the boys at my precinct are mainly married already, I’d have to check who might be available…” he began babbling. But Colt’s eyes were wide, burning bronze, causing him to pause. He read the look on Colt’s face. Begging and commanding at the same time. As if Colt was telling him to… Carmelo barked out a single, loud laugh.

“You don’t mean…” he laughed again at the absurdity of it. “You can’t mean… I’m not…”

Colt closed his eyes slowly. Major Harris quirked up an eyebrow. “Yes, you.”

“I’m not going to marry a twenty-one year old mafia princess. That’s fucking absurd!”

Harris continued, as if she hadn’t heard his reaction. “Carmelo is the town’s police Sergeant and a huge asset and ally. He’s single, a good age, mid thirties, time to be settling down, not bad looking-”

“Right, thank you for that introduction,” Carmelo spat sarcastically.

“You’d be a perfect candidate.”

“Except Carmelo’s never met her and doesn’t love her,” Colt pointed out with a finger in the air.

“Yes, well, there is that hurdle to overcome, but marriages take work, and commitment, and compromise-”

“I shouldn’t have to fucking compromise! I don’t want commitment! Not to some spoiled brat I’ve never met!”

Jovan raised his eyebrows at Carmelo like he was a naughty toddler, not deigning to respond. He cleared his throat. “It has to be an MC member, I need the peace of mind-”

“Carmelo is a member.” Colt bluffed quickly.

Harris and Carmelo were united in staring at Colt for a shocked second.

Jovan flicked his chin up. “Prove it. Strip down, let me see your colors.”

Carmelo blanched a whiter shade of pale.

Colt laughed convivially. “He doesn’t have the colors on his back because he’s a cop, dummy. He has them somewhere else. Somewhere where the sun don’t shine. You want him to get that out, man, here and now? In front of your wife? Because I sure as fuck wouldn’t want the Sergeant getting his-”

“Fine!” Jovan relented with a grunt. “I want a golden boy-”

Carmelo had to hand it to him, Colt was good at bluffing.

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