Page 6 of Vows of Blood

His fiancé leans in, red lips brushing his ear, and he nods at whatever she says, bending slightly so she doesn’t have to stretch up to speak to him. Her hand settles gently on his forearm, but as she speaks, her gaze glides around the room, and when he leans back to catch her eye, the smile she gives him is dazzling.

She’s beautiful. The type of woman I know his father would be pleased to see him with.

Rebecca appears at my side with a steadying hand, smiling politely at the guests giving me curious looks. She glances around, trying to work out what’s wrong, before bringing her head close to mine to whisper, “Sienna, what happened? Did one of these fuckers touch you?”

I drag my attention away from Luca’s glamorous bride-to-be and shake my head emphatically, knowing I need to rein Rebecca in before she does something we’ll both regret. “No, nothing like that.”

It feels like the walls are closing in. I gulp in some air, but it doesn’t help with the weird floating feeling that’s making my head heavy, and my vision swim.

Clinking cutlery in the background seems louder while the conversations happening right next to me sound muffled.

She looks at me with concern, holding my elbow more firmly now to keep me upright. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I’m fine.” I lie, giving myself a shake and turning my lips up in what I hope looks like a perfectly normal smile.

“You’re not fine. You’re shaking.” Her narrowed eyes dart between me and the entrance where my gaze is locked onto Luca’s large frame.

Here. Real, and not a figment of my imagination.

Rebecca runs her hands up and down my arms before catching my hands in hers. “Is it him? The owner? What did he say to you?”

Shaking my head, I tug my hands back from hers and wipe my clammy palms on my black apron.

“No. It doesn’t matter,” I say. “Come on. We need to keep working before David freaks out.”

I force myself to turn toward a high-top table beside me, to put one foot in front of the other, and ignore Rebecca’s hissed order to sit down and take a break.

My skin tingles, knowing Luca’s watching me, even with my back turned, but I focus on the task at hand. Fingers trembling as I load empty glasses onto my tray, I’m desperate for any kind of distraction from the nightmare unfolding around me.

For years, I dreamt of seeing him again. But right now, there’s nothing I want more than the ground to open up and swallow me. This isn’t how I wanted him to remember me.

The girl he left behind was vibrant, ambitious, and on her way to a successful career, all bright and bubbly. Not exhausted and struggling, still clawing her way out of the hole his family threw me into.

Humiliation and anger burns inside me. I’ve worked so hard to get back to where I should have been all along, and now Luca Calvano is back, standing in my restaurant, looking at me like I’m the one who wronged him rather than the other way around.

Turning away before he sees the heat rising up my neck, I’m reaching for another empty glass when a shadow falls over me.

“Miss.”

I look up to find one of Luca’s henchmen, the one with the neck tattoo, standing too close for comfort. His tone is polite, but his eyes are flat as I inch back, reclaiming my space.

“You need to leave,” he says simply.

I blink up at him. “Excuse me?”

“This is a private party. You should go.” The guard pushes back his shoulders, making himself look bigger and more intimidating, but keeps his voice quiet, no doubt, hoping to avoid a scene.

My stomach drops.

This isn’t a suggestion, it’s an order. From Luca.

He wants me gone.

As disbelief gives way to rage, I glance over the security guard’s shoulder to where Luca has moved further into the room, studiously avoiding looking in my direction as he’s greeted warmly by friends and family.

His beautiful fiancé, though, is watching me with interest.

Years of keeping my head down, of being pleasant and agreeable because that’s what survivors do, are pressing against my lungs, making it hard to get enough air. More eyes land on me as I fight the tremble in my lips.