Cruel Vows

I laugh as I join Mia over on a plush black sofa. “Thanks for this. I was going insane in that room.”

“Don’t mention it.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know why Massimo is doing what he’s doing to you, but he’s not a naturally cruel person, despite what you might think.”

It’s easy enough for her to say, but she’s his sister. “I can only go off how he’s treated me, and it’s been pretty shitty up to now.”

“I’m sorry,” she says.

I shove her in the arm. “It’s not your fault.” I snatch a spoon and open my pint of ice cream. “We better eat this before it melts.”

“Right,” Mia says, opening hers and spooning some into her mouth. “Do you really hate my brother?”

I look her in the eye. “Hate is a strong word. I don’t really know him, but I hate what he’s done to me.” I spoon the caramel ice cream into my mouth, groaning at how good it is. “How would you feel if some guy you’ve never met drags you away from your life and locks you away, telling you he’s going to marry you even if you don’t want to marry him?”

Mia shrugs. “Pretty shitty, I guess. Unless it’s a certain man.” A glint ignites in her eyes.

I raise a brow. “What man would that be?”

She shakes her head. “I couldn’t say. He’s off limits.”

“As in from another crime family?”

“Yeah. It sucks.” She sighs heavily. “I’ve liked him since I was younger, but we always had to stay away from each other.”

I’m curious now, wondering who exactly it could be. “Did you meet him at the academy you told me about?”

“Yeah, the same academy Camilla now attends. Although he’s a few years older than me.”

I nod in response. “And you’ve stayed in touch since?”

“No, we recently bumped into each other when he crashed my twenty-first birthday party and…” she trails off. “I really shouldn’t say.”

“Come on.” I spoon more ice cream into my mouth. “Who the hell am I going to tell?”

She glance over at her bodyguard and then nods, leaning toward me. “He got very forward with me in a dark corner and then invited me to go out on a date with him. It’s crazy, right? I can’t date a guy my family is supposed to be enemies with.”

I shrug. “Why the fuck not? How are they going to find out?”

“True.” She laughs. “I’m thinking, Paisley, that you are not a good influence on me.” She raises a brow.

I laugh at that, as we fall into companionable silence eating our ice cream together, the music playing in the background. I’m thankful she brought me down here. For the first time, my mind isn’t fixated on my looming nuptials.