Page 59 of Vows in Sin

“Wasn’t me. Team effort.”

I need to tell her. She’s the only person I’ve wanted to talk to since I stepped off that plane. I grab her hand underneath the cover of the table. “Listen.”

Her bright eyes snap to mine. “What?”

“That evacuation? That was all you.”

Her brow crinkles. “How?”

“I couldn’t figure out how the Morettis were doing what they did. Then, I remembered what you said on our coffee date.”

“So it was a date,” she muses.

“Two people who’ve kissed having coffee?” These young people love to complicate everything. “Of course it was.”

“Keep going.”

“We’d gotten some intel that I’d been mulling over. Then, what you said that day came back to me. In that moment, it clarified everything.” I shake my head, still bewildered by the whole thing. “I don’t know how to explain it. You were justthere.In my mind. The pieces came together.”

She nods, then looks away. “I wanted to run to you,” she whispers suddenly.

I turn to her, throat tight. “What?”

“The second I saw you. On the tarmac.” Her spoon clinks too loudly as she tries to cut into a piece of roasted carrot.

I move closer. “I wish you had.”

“Thank god I didn’t.”

We both think the same thing. Tabitha. We sit in silence.

She must mean after the club. Before coming here for Dame. I push some meat around on my plate. My throat feels tight, my mouth like sawdust.

“Does Tabitha know about us?” she finally asks.

“No. I don’t think so. I’ve not told her.”

“Thank God,” she breathes. “I haven’t either.”

“Then she doesn’t know,” I confirm.

“We have to tell her,” I say at the same exact time Seraphina’s saying, “We can’t tell her.”

Seraphina gives me her determined look. “We can’t tell her. We’re all staying together! It’ll be so awkward. And the last thinga bride needs on her wedding day is two women who are staying in her house at war with one another.”

“I can’t not tell her.” I take a sip of water. “She’s my daughter.”

“Exactly,” she hisses. Her eyes dart down the table to where Tabby sits, deep in conversation with Cleo. “Which is why no matter what you say, she’s going to want to kill me. Girl code.”

“But we didn’t know. And now we do. So if we tell her, no harm, no foul.” Isn’t that what Americans say?

“Youclearlyhave no idea, old timer. Things have changed since your time. It is not cool to mess around with women young enough to be your daughter. She is going to kill you. And then, she is going to kill me even harder.”

“Keep your voice down,” I hiss. “Please.”

“Pfft!” Huffing, she looks in the opposite direction from me. She goes to grab her water glass but misjudges the distance.

It tips. Ice water spills into my lap. I inhale sharply as the freezing liquid soaks through my pants.