Page 18 of Brutal Vows

“If I may have a word with you, however. Alone.”

“Certainly!”

In his rush to get Lili and me out the door, Gianni gives us both a shove. He regrets it when I growl at him, but not enough to dampen his excitement.

“Go. Go!” he hisses, waving us out. The moment we cross the threshold, he slams the door behind us, rattling the picture frames on the walls.

Kieran looks at my livid face and chuckles.

“I’ll give ye lasses a wee bit of space. There’s a painting of the baby Jesus ’round the corner that I’m dyin’ to have a gander at.” Whistling, he strolls away down the hall.

As soon as he’s out of sight, I turn to Lili, give her a hug, and start apologizing.

“Are you okay,tesoro? I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I should’ve prepared you better for this moment. If only I’dknown he was coming, we could’ve talked first. I could’ve given you some support—”

“I’m fine,” she interrupts, pulling away. “It wasn’t that bad, I promise.”

I look at her in disbelief. “I know you’re only saying that so I don’t worry.”

“No, I’m not. He was actually nice.”

I almost topple sideways and fall to the floor.“Nice?”

She shrugs.

“Well, what did he say to you?”

“He asked me about my hobbies, what kind of music I like, my favorite food. Stuff like that. Oh, and college. He seemed really interested in what I wanted to study. When I told him criminal law, he laughed.”

“He mocked you!” I say, heated.

“I don’t think so. He said he liked the irony of it. He said he thought I’d make a good attorney.”

Someone is going to have to assist me with getting my jaw off the floor.

“If he was so nice, why did you skitter over to me like a scared baby mouse?”

She pauses. “I mean… have you seen him? The guy’s totally intimidating. Like big and… I don’t know…all that. I thought I might get pregnant just sitting next to him.”

Horrified, I make the sign of the cross on my chest. “Don’t even say that word out loud.”

“I know you have it handled, anyway. You have the final word about this, right?”

“Right.”

“And it’s obvious you hate him and you’re not going to let Papa marry me off to him, right?”

“Right.”

“So why are you so worked up?”

That is a very, very good question.

“I’m… not.” I smooth a hand over my hair and smile at her reassuringly.

She rolls her eyes. “Zia,please. You’re foaming at the mouth.”

Dismissing that, I lower my voice and say, “Did you take care of the situation in the wardrobe?”