For the last six weeks, I have thrown myself into wedding plans. Dresses. Flowers. Cake. The church. The guest list, even though nobody I know is on it. It consists entirely of Dante’s family and friends, which is fine with me. I don’t have any friends. The only family I did invite was Mia, but she’d couldn’t come all the way from Boston because her husband, Brad, is kind of a dick who never lets her go anywhere.
The irony of that is not lost on me – I mean my husband to be is kind of an asshole who kidnapped me, and who doesn’t let me go anywhere either. But it feels different with Brad. He’s so mean to her, cruel even. I have never even seen him so much as hold her hand affectionately. Mia is a warm ball of sunshine and I have no idea how a grumpy dick like Brad ever managed to snag her. I guess he must have been charming once.
“Are you ready?” Joey’s voice startles me, and I realize I’m staring into space.
I look down at my beautiful white gown and smile. “Yes.”
“You look amazing. I know I told you that a million times already, but you do,” she says with a grin as she links her arm through mine.
“So do you. That green really suits your coloring. I have a feeling Max is not going to be able to take his eyes off you.” I give her a nudge in the ribs.
“Kat!” she shrieks with laughter. “You know you would get both Max and me killed if Dante or Lorenzo heard you say that.”
“Well, they’re not here,” I say with a shrug. “They’re on their way to the church. And I’ve seen the way you look at him.”
“Yeah, so he’s hot.” She rolls her eyes, and we head for the door. “But he’s my brothers’ best friend and you know how crazy close they all are. He would never breach their trust like that.”
“I suppose,” I admit.
“Anyway, this is your day. Let’s get you hitched.” She laughs as we go outside to the sleek black limousine that’s waiting for us to take us to the church. Anya is my bridesmaid too, but she’s been feeling a little unwell and so she went ahead with Lorenzo. So it’s just Joey and me and our security.
I lean back against the seat, one hand resting on my bump and one under my chin as I stare out of the window. It’s rare I get to leave the house and whilst I understand why, it’s nice to be out and I will enjoy every single moment of it. But I have memorized the route to the church and this isn’t it.
“Hey, we’re going the wrong way,” I turn to Joey and frown.
“No, we’re not,” she says with a dismissive shake of her head.
“We are. He should have turned left back there.”
“It’s fine, Kat,” she says with a sigh, but suddenly something feels off.
I look at one of the guards. “Can you ask the driver why he’s not going directly to the church, please?” I ask him.
“We’re going the right way, ma’am,” he replies coolly.
My heart rate kicks up a gear, and I swallow hard as I look back to Joey who now seems to be acting a little shady. “Joey, they’re going the wrong way.”
“Relax, Kat,” is all she says, paying more attention to her manicure than to me.
Has she just been pretending to like me all this time, while secretly plotting my demise? And super villain that she is, she’s chosen my wedding day to do it.
“I’ll relax when we get to the church. Everyone is waiting for us.”
“I know. We’ll be there soon.” She looks out of the window.
“Joey, please? Tell me what’s going on.”
It must be the tone of my voice that makes her take pity on me. “Dante has a little surprise for you. Relax.” She places her hand over mine reassuringly.
But my brain is already in overdrive. What kind of surprise? Is this what happened to his last fiancée? Was she all happy thinking that she was about to spend the rest of her life with him before he killed her? Am I being driven out to the middle of nowhere? Will he do it himself or ask one of his minions to do it for him?
Holy shit! Breathe, Kat. Dante would never do that. He wouldn’t kill his own fiancée right before their wedding.
Except that he would. I place my hands over my stomach protectively. I wonder if Nicole was pregnant too?
“It’s just here on the left.” Joey sits forward in her seat and I realize she’s speaking into the intercom. A few seconds later, the car swings into the forecourt of a hotel.
I look out of the window and my racing heart almost bursts out of my chest. “Mia?” I shout as I see her waiting patiently. Dressed in a stunning yellow dress that makes her look like the Hollywood movie star that she was born to be.
One of the guards opens the door and she peers inside cautiously until she sees my smiling face and almost dives into the car to get to me.
“Kat!” she shrieks as she sits beside me and wraps me in a warm hug.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I sniff as tears well in my eyes.
“Don’t you cry and ruin that make-up, young lady,” Joey chides.
I wipe my eyes and hug Mia again before introducing her to Joey, and it appears the two of them have spoken numerous times while keeping their little surprise a secret from me.
“So how did you get here?” I ask her.
“Dante flew me out here on his jet. I landed about two hours ago. He wanted it to be a surprise so I stayed at the hotel instead of coming to you.”
I can’t believe he did that. I didn’t even know he had her number. But of course he did. He researched me well before he kidnapped me. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I tell her, squeezing her hand in mine.
“I couldn’t miss my favorite cousin’s wedding now, could I?” she says with a wink.
“Was Brad okay with you coming?”
“I can handle Brad,” she replies as she settles back in her seat. “Is Leo still not around?”
“No. I haven’t heard from him for almost a year now,” I say, and a wave of sadness washes over me. Leo might be a pain in my ass, but he’s still my brother.
“That’s such a shame he’s going to miss your big day.” she say, flashing me a look of sympathy.
I don’t tell her that Leo would be about as welcome at our wedding as a dose of gonorrhea.
