Page 172 of Savior
Fuck. No. NO. NO. This isn’t happening… Not her damn sister!
I don’t respond, attempting to get by her, but she steps closer to me, blocking my departure.
“You haven’t said a word about what you think of my gown.” She adds, lifting a shoulder in a little shrug, as if she wants me to notice how thin and fragile the glittery black straps of her dress are.
“You clean up nice.” I throw her own words back at her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to hit the head and get back to your sister. She’s expecting me.”
Giuliana doesn’t move, she reaches her hand out, her fingers trailing up the cuff of my jacket, toying with the little bracelet Vanna made me. Not wanting to make a huge issue of this, even though, it fucking is, I fight the inclination to jerk my arm away from her. Instead, I raise my hand to run it through my hair, forcing her hand off of me as I move with my back pressed against the wall to get by her. Once I do, I head straight for the stairs, the click of her heels trailing behind me.
“Oh, she’s certainly expecting, isn’t she?”
Giuliana’s words halt me at the top of the staircase. I glance back at her to find her frowning. How could she know? Was she listening in on us?
“Looks and integrity. Is that how my sister got so lucky, landing a guy like you? So handsome. So fit. So… Dangerous… Are you only marrying her because you got her pregnant?”
“I’m the lucky one, sweetheart.” I tell her.
“You could be.” Her hand moves to the slit in her dress as she pulls it open a little wider, exposing her slender thigh.
I can only shake my head. “I was rooting for you. Clearly, I had you pegged wrong, sis. I felt pity for you, the first time I met you. Did you know that?” She looks as if I just insulted her, frowning at me again as she straightens her posture and crosses her arms. “This whole seeking validation thing you got going on here. I’d be pissed at you for putting me in this situation, if I didn’t feel so bad for you. But don’t worry, I don’t fully blame you. I think this shit falls squarely on your mother.”
“You’re an asshole!” she raises her voice at me, but not loud enough to draw attention from anyone downstairs. She looks flustered by my assessment. “How do you know I’m not testing you to see if you’reworthy of marrying my sister?”
“I’m willing to pretend that’s true, if you behave yourself from this moment forward.”
She scowls back at me, but says nothing. I guess we’ll see where the chips fall on this one.
“What the hell took so long?” Vanna asks as I make my way up to her. I had detoured to the bathroom down stairs, which added a few minutes to the five she’s already been waiting. Standing just outside the ballroom doors, she looks up at me curiously. “Did you get lost?”
“Not exactly.” I reply, noticing Vanna glancing past me. She spots her sister walking down the stairs.
“What happened?” she asks again, catching the glare her sister shoots me as she storms past us. I’m not sure how to even approach this with her. Giuliana shoves the ballroom doors open, nearly knocking her mother back into the room.
“Giuliana!” their mother scolds her. “Where are your manners?”
Giuliana shoots a contemptuous look over her shoulder at me, wearing a sinister little smile now. “Vanna’s pregnant.”
Fuck me.
At least she opted for the truth. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about being accused of something I didn’t do, in front of their whole damn clan at that.
“What?!” Vanna and her mother demand at the exact same moment, but my focus lands on Vanna.
“You told her?” she asks, as if I’d betray her like that.
“She must have overheard us, doll. I didn’t tell her anything.” I say, catching Giuliana’s glare again. I hope she’s at least got enough integrity herself, not to escalate this situation with a fucking lie about our encounter upstairs.
“You’re pregnant?” her mother practically hisses at Vanna now. She hurriedly shoves Giuliana aside to shut the ballroom doors, as if it really is embarrassing news that she doesn’t want anyone to know. But not before Mr. Vettriano spots us out here. The curious expression on his face tells me that he’ll be joining this fucking fiasco, momentarily.
“Why would you do this to us?” Vanna asks her sister, sadness mingled with disappointment in her tone. I keep my mouth shut, waiting to see what the little bitch comes up with. All Giuliana does is cross her arms and glare back at me, in turn drawing Vanna’s attention to me as well.
“You better come up with an answer before I do, sis.” I shake my head at Giuliana. “Time’s about up.”
Vanna’s brows furrow together as she looks from me, back to her sister. “What happened upstairs?”
“Nothing.” The little brat shrugs, though the haughty expression on her face tells a different story. “I just overheard you talking about it. That’s all.”
“So, you lied to us. Your mother and father. You’ve just been lying to us?” Her mother asks, incredulously.
