Page 31 of Cruelest Contract (Storm’s Eye Ranch)

CECILIA

“ B lot,” commands Alice and shoves a tissue between my lips whether I’m ready or not.

I pick the tissue from my mouth and inspect my reflection. “I think the lip color might be a little too vivid.”

“No way,” Alice says and winds another piece of my hair around a curling wand. “You look dramatic.”

“I look like I’ve been gobbling red popsicles.”

“Same thing.” She cheerfully unravels a long, perfect curl.

“Maybe we could just take it down half a level,” I say and hope I didn’t accidentally hurt her feelings.

Alice arrived yesterday with two large hardshell suitcases. One held her clothes. The other contained every cosmetic item in her vast collection. Since I insisted on keeping this wedding low key and refused to hire a makeup artist, Alice is intent on filling the void.

“As you wish,” Alice says, not insulted in the slightest.

She selects a soft pink lipstick shade that looks far more natural and quickly makes the adjustment.

“My BFF is so freaking beautiful,” she declares, bouncing with excitement.

My lips no longer look like they’re bleeding. “I guess I’m acceptable.”

“Stop. You are exquisite, Cecilia. The groom is the luckiest guy on earth.” She kneels on the bathroom floor to rummage through the piles of makeup and hair products. “The flowers were an excellent idea. Let me pin some more in.”

“Sure.” I run my fingers through the temporary spiral curls, careful not to disturb the small pink flower buds. Alice brilliantly fashioned short stems from floral wire and weaved over a dozen of them into my hair.

My ring snags on a rosebud and I carefully pull it free. The oval diamond is set in rose gold and surrounded by diamond chips and filagree designs in the shape of a flower. The ring was sold with a companion band that I’ll be receiving today.

The morning after I accepted Julian Tempesta’s proposal, he took me on a shopping spree to choose our rings. I found a dress too; a non-traditional light blush empire waist gown with delicate floral patterned lace sewn into the bust.

My dress hangs on the back of the bathroom door, so very pink and dreamy.

I was drawn to it immediately. Every time I try it on, I think of my mother and her pink sweaters and the pink bathroom soaps and the pink cushion on her bathroom vanity stool as she sat at the mirror, perfecting her makeup.

I’d give anything for her to see me today but that option doesn’t exist.

The day Julian and I went shopping for rings and a dress, I was still giddy from a post-orgasm high after the most intense sexual experience of my life.

Julian was more relaxed than usual and told funny stories about growing up on the ranch with his wild brothers.

That whole day was perfect. We were on our own and went out to lunch, just like an ordinary couple.

I thought we’d have more time to be alone together but when we returned to the ranch, Julian’s father called. The only explanation I received was that Julian was needed to handle some issue in Las Vegas. He took Getty with him, probably to ensure I wouldn’t be tormented in his absence.

In the ten days since, I’ve barely seen Julian.

He returned from his Vegas trip and immediately left the next morning to deal with some other problem.

He did call every night. Our conversations were polite and short.

He asked about the wedding plans and told me to let him know if there was anything else I needed.

No, I had everything I needed. Sort of. I would have liked to spend more time with the man I’m about to marry but overall I can’t complain. When Julian isn’t around to grant my every whim, he makes sure someone else does.

He came home yesterday afternoon but Alice had just arrived. Anyway, he was distracted and busy. He spent the evening behind closed doors with his father.

As for Cassio Tempesta, he’s always polite to me but he holes up in his study most of the time.

I’ve passed by the room and heard him murmuring in a hushed, gentle voice that’s at odds with his usual booming baritone.

Sometimes I hear music too. Old pop ballads that are meant for slow dancing.

I wouldn’t have expected him to be a fan of such music.

It gave me the creeps.

Alice quits rummaging and returns to the mirror to finish curling my hair. “Hold still.” She teeters on her bare tiptoes. “I’ll never forgive myself if I burn the bride. I like the flowers but why did you decide on no veil?”

She unfurls a curl and carefully adds another flower bud.

“I’m keeping it simple,” I say to my best friend, although a sudden flashback flips my stomach over.

I’m thinking of another girl on her wedding day. I remember the long satin train of her elaborate white wedding dress and the lacy veil framing her hopeful face as she lovingly stared up at my brother.

Then I force the pictures to go dark because I don’t want to see what happened to her next.

“Cecilia?” Alice follows me when I leave the bathroom mirror and move to the bed, sinking down on the mattress. She immediately hops up on the bed beside me in a pastel turquoise swing dress that’s doubling as her maid of honor gown because I told her not to bother getting something new.

This breathless feeling will pass. I know it’s in my head. All I’m wearing is a slip and a silky, comfortable robe. There’s nothing constricting my chest, no reason to feel like my air supply is being squeezed. If I breathe in and out a few times I’ll be fine.

Alice hooks her arm through my elbow and examines me with serious eyes. “You’re upset. Have you changed your mind? We can tie the sheets together and rappel out the window. Anyone who tries to stop us will get The Treatment.”

She’s completely sincere. Today there’s more security patrolling the ranch than there is protecting the White House. It’s hilarious that Alice thinks we can climb out the window and escape without detection.

Anyway, I don’t have the slightest desire to escape. I just find myself wishing for Julian. Being in his arms always chases away the shadows.

I haven’t told him this. I don’t know if I should.

For now, I lean on Alice’s shoulder. “I just felt dizzy for a second. Too much excitement.”

She suddenly gasps and grips my shoulders. “Maybe you’re pregnant!”

I roll my eyes. “Why don’t you believe me when I say we haven’t had sex yet?”

True, we haven’t had sex. But Julian did push his cum-drenched fingers inside me, which is about as sex-adjacent as it gets.

And that encounter was so freaking hot that I literally can’t stop thinking about it.

Even now, my thighs involuntarily clench, just remembering.

“Anyway,” I say to Alice, “I just finished my period.” It was good timing to get my period while Julian was away and have it finished before the wedding.

“Right.” Alice has the most expressive mouth. Her pouty lips gather into a frown while she scrutinizes me for any evidence of wedding jitters.

A dark suspicion crosses my mind.

“Alice,” I say. “You didn’t bring your flamethrower, did you?”

She tosses a mass of honey-blonde curls over one shoulder. “Of course not. I would never have gotten it through the TSA inspection.”

“How comforting,” I deadpan.

She sighs and kicks her bare feet as they dangle a few inches above the floor. “I’m sorry Gabriel couldn’t make it today. That’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

I swallow and taste bitterness. “My grandfather hasn’t been well. He couldn’t travel. And he thought it was a bad idea for Gabe to attend an event like this, given all the recent trouble. So they sent Angelo here alone.”

“Hmmm,” Alice says, her tone full of disapproval.

I can’t even muster a defense for Gabe. When I received his phone call yesterday the disappointment was intense. I really needed him here. Plus I thought he and Julian could talk. I’m still determined to pry my twin brother away from our grandfather.

“Speaking of Angelo,” Alice says, “he’s a hell of a piece of work. The second he starts talking, I forget how hot he is. That takes talent.”

I pretend to gag. “Bite your tongue. You are not allowed to think Angelo is hot. Angelo is a demon with good hair.”

She laughs. “Like I said, his personality ruins the effect. Anyway, he’s got nothing on those Tempesta boys.” She fans herself. “Holy testosterone. I’m barely able to restrain myself from climbing one like a tree. How are they all single?”

“I think they’re too attached to their fun.”

“I like fun,” Alice reminds me with a naughty grin.

“I know you do. But be careful around them.”

“You mean because of the…” She pauses and drops her voice. “Mafia?”

“Something like that.”

“I didn’t know Mafia cowboys even existed.”

“I think these might be the only ones.”

Alice suddenly turns serious. She pushes a curl away from my forehead. My hair is the exact same shade as my mother’s. Medium brown with hints of red in the sunlight.

“How do you feel about him?” she asks.

“Who, Julian?”

“No, the guy in that viral TikTok who ate an entire bag of Doritos in thirty seconds. Yes, Julian .”

I try to avoid chewing my lip and wrecking Alice’s careful makeup job. “I like him far more than any other guy I’ve ever been with. We have incredible chemistry. And I trust him. I know he’d never do anything to hurt me.”

“But are you sure you want to marry him, Cecilia? I’m not judging. I’m just asking.”

The idea of returning to my solitary apartment and hunting for another dead end office job feels unthinkable now.

Anyway, I’d be on borrowed time.

Sooner or later, my grandfather would discover another use for me. The next one would likely be far more unpleasant than marriage to Julian Tempesta.

“I want to marry him, Alice,” I assure her.