Page 90 of Sweet Deception

At the doorway, Darren’s arm floats around my waist and tugs me close.

I peer up at him as a hush settles over the dining room and several sets of eyes fall on our faces.

When I glance around the room, I find that almost everyone is staring at Darren and me.

The glow of a chandelier as tall as I am warms the space, which is dominated by an immense table with two dozen people, mostly men, stuffing their faces with mashed potatoes, roast beef, and cooked greens.

Surprisingly, the few women in attendance appear happy rather than endangered. The only face in here I recognize is Kiara’s. She’s the one who’s been caring for Piro, and—there’s my little baby, curled up and asleep in her lap. She probably stuffed him full of treats.

Another enforcer-type, with burnt sienna hair and melty brown eyes, sits next to her. When he sees us, he immediately stands and marches straight up to me with a smile on his face. “So, you’re the one.”

“Huh?”

“The one we’ve been hearing so much about lately.” He folds his arms over his chest and tosses a smug smile at Darren, whose mouth tightens into a grumpy line.

Darren tips his chin at the guy in front of us, then glances at me. “This is Rory.”

A faraway bell rings in the back of my mind. This guy came up in my research. He’s the spymaster. He’s also…way more handsome in person. Wow. “I’m Veronika.”

His smile widens into a grin. “I hear you’re something of a hacker.”

“One could say the same about you.”

“Touché.” Rory offers me his hand, and I shake it. “You’re also the owner of the orange cat, right?”

I nod.

“The one who’s replaced me.” He laughs and throws a glance at Kiara, who does seem to only have eyes for my snoozing kitty.

Wait. “Kiara’s your…”

“Fiancée, yes.” Rory beams like he never tires of announcing that.

Darren groans. “Give it a rest, lover boy. Can we let the girl eat? Nika’s probably starving.”

My stomach perks up at the statement. The food does smell incredible in here, and the spread looks divine. Despite being in the presence of all these scary mafia men, I could dig in.

Darren lets me go as I float toward the food, grabbing a glass plate off the stack. Before I can decide on a single thing to eat—there’s a giant shank of carving-board roast beef, several racks of braised lamb, pork tenderloin, and more side dishes than I can count—two women appear beside me.

I recognize their faces immediately.

The identical twins. The brides from the wedding I crashed.

They both have that newlywed glow as they give me friendly smiles.

“You’re Veronika, yeah?” The one on my right gently touches my arm. “I’m Riley.”

“Yes.”Wow, the twins are gorgeous up close.All clear blue eyes and blond waves for days. “You’re the one who married…Finn Gallagher?”

She nods.

I hope showing all the research I’ve done on their family isn’t weird.

Especially since I assume they all know what I did to end up in this situation.

“And I’m Harper.” The other twin smiles brightly while retrieving a plate of her own.

“It’s nice to meet both of you.” Am I really making pleasantries as if I’m a girlfriend Darren brought home to meet the family?