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“You accepted an arrangement to marry a guy before you even met him! That’s not normal, Sienna! Please, be reasonable and call off the engagement. Please.”
“I’ll send you pictures. Love you,” I chirp into the phone and end the call.
It starts ringing again moments later, so I turn on “do not disturb,” snuggle under the blanket, and then peer out the window without actually seeing anything at all.
Can I pull this off? Live the rest of my life with a man I know nothing about? Pretend innocence while secretly collecting info and relaying it to my don?
Probably.
I’ve been pretending most of my life.
Chapter 5
“Dear God,” Filip chokes out, staring at something behind me. “What the hell is that thing she’s wearing?”
I turn around just in time to see my bride exiting the car. She’s got on what some may call a puffy faux fur jacket. It might look rather nice if it was in another color, but hers is yolk yellow. And she’s wearing silk pants that are the same shade.
Sienna catches my eye, says something to Arturo, then rushes toward us, expertly jumping over the rain puddles in her sky-high heels. And those are the same color as the rest of her outfit. She reminds me of a baby chick on LSD.
My bride stops in front of me, speaking while she searches in her purse, but with her head bent, I can’t read her lips. She finally finds whatever she was looking for and looks up at me with a big grin. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Yes,” I reply with no idea what she said.
Her smile widens. “Perfect.” She leans her back on my chest, raising her phone in front of us. “Say cheese.”
She looks toward the phone and snaps a selfie.
“What are you doing?” I ask, staring at her yellow-painted nails as her fingers fly over the keyboard.
“Sending the photo to my sister. She asked why I accepted an arranged marriage to a stranger.”
I reach out and take her chin between my fingers, tilting her head up. “And why did you accept, Sienna?”
She blinks at me and, for a quick moment, a smidge of panic flashes across her face, but the next second it’s gone, replaced with a grin. “Because you’re hot. And rich.”
Her smile seems genuine and her tone sounds sincere, but as I focus on her eyes, I notice something else. Something she’s trying her best to hide with her sunny performance. It looks very much like hurt.
I move my thumb to trace the curve of her lower lip. It trembles slightly under my touch.
“Come. Let’s get this over with.” I turn to Filip. “You can go. Call Keva and let her know I’m bringing Sienna home with me.”
Sienna doesn’t say anything when I take her phone from her and drop it back into her purse. She stays silent as I take her hand and lead her up the wide stone steps to the city hall entrance, Arturo following a few paces behind. We are at the top when Sienna suddenly turns around toward the parking lot. I follow her gaze, spotting a heavily muscled man exiting a car, and immediately push Sienna behind me. I’m reaching for my gun when Sienna pulls her hand from mine and dashes around me down the steps toward the ripped bastard.
Rage sparks inside me until I notice the guy is helping a woman out of the vehicle. I release the hold on my gun as I watch the spitting image of my bride, minus the crazy outfit, make her way toward Sienna.
“It’s my sister and her husband,” Arturo’s deep voice penetrates my momentary daze.
He comes up to stand beside me. For just a moment, the ever-present lines of worry on his face ease as he looks at his sisters and gives a brief nod to his brother-in-law.
Well, shit . . .
I knew Arturo had two sisters, but I wasn’t aware they are twins. My heart squeezes and bleeds as I behold the two women falling into each other’s arms. Sienna says something and hugs her sister again. Then, she leans and drops a kiss on her twin’s cheek before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her sister does the exact same thing to Sienna. Even their mannerisms are identical. I forgot how twins can be sometimes.
It hurts to watch them, so I turn away from the sight and open the door to the building.
I regard my new husband from the corner of my eye while he drives. He was very closed-off during the quick wedding ceremony, and also after, when everyone was leaving city hall. We’ve been on the road for almost two hours, and he hasn’t said a word to me. I spent the time sorting through my photos and posting them on social media, but I finished that five minutes ago.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
