“I feel like you used too much makeup. My skin itches.” I glance at the mirror on the wall. “And I hate it.”
Evie just smiles sweetly, a glistening tear in her eye. “Thanks!”
Mom’s fragile grin falters. “You’re beautiful.” She grabs my arm and squeezes. “I— I love you, my girl.” Her voice gets choked, which makes my chest ache. Snagging my younger brother’s arm, she nods at the intricately carved double doors leading into the nave. “Let’s go.”
Bo leads her inside, a shimmer of the stained glass raining down upon them.
“You’re marryingApollo fucking Griffin, Scout,” Lan busts out, shifting from foot to foot and running his hands through his hair. It was tied back in a low ponytail, but that’s come loose now. He won’t look directly at me.
“Yeah, I know. You hate that?”
“Yes. He’sDelta’spresident. And probably has some disease you won’t get rid of.”
He shoves a finger into Dad’s chest, who hasn’t let go of me since we walked into the limestone narthex of the cathedral.
“She’s marrying into amafiafamily, you know that, right, Dad?”
Oh!Nowhe’sDad.
“He’snotmafia,” I grit out. Maybe if he were, I’d get Johns Hopkins more assuredly. That would be quite convenient.
Dad only squeezes my hand and tugs me closer to his side.
Landon is sweating. Like,profusely.
“Do you need another shower?” I ask him.
Evie gives him a casual glance, a tiny smile curling her ruby-stained lips. “Come on, stud. Let’s go out there and show them how a real couple walks down the aisle. It’ll be good preparation for us.”
As if he’s seen a ghost, Landon pales from his red flush. He turns to Dad and opens his mouth, but no words come out. Evie yanks him forward through the cathedral doors as they open.
“What wasthatabout?” I mutter, knowing Dad won’t say anything.
It’s not that my dad is uncaring. He just knows when to speak and when not to.
Having him next to me is a bigger anchor than I realized. My world seems to crumble around me, the floor tilting. Vision blurry. Dad holds me up. Will he still when I’m a married woman?
“I don’t even know where I’m living… We haven’t discussed it. What am Idoinghere?”
I just wanted to pretend this wasn’t actually going to happen. Like if I ignored it, it would all go away. It’s the least prepared I’ve been in my life.
Dad clutches me tight, my dress almost making me stumble. It’s nothing fancy. And was quickly tailored. Unsentimental. Something I’ll toss into the back of the closet once this is done.
But the fierce stare in my dad’s blue eyes makes me want to shed the costume like a skin I don’t fit in. I feel every bit of the little girl I was just a few years ago when I gaze up at him.
Tears line his lower lids.
“I’ll take you away from here. We’ll go somewhere. Do you hear me?”
“What about Mom? Bo? Landon?” I choke out as terror overtakes me. This is more frightening than anything I’ve faced before. I’ve always thought of myself as strong, but this? There’s zero preparation for something like marrying a stranger.
“Your mom’s too afraid after”—Dad’s neck bulges as he swallows—“they killed my brother. And they’ll send people for everyone.”
That’s new. I should’ve figured out that Landon’s father, my uncle, didn’t justdie.
It clicks into place. My parents are alums. The Cardells. The Josephs. The Dawsons... As us kids got older, our parents received urgent letters, even visits from the board at NU,pressuringeveryone to send their children here. What if my parents were threatened? What if they have had to protect us more than we realize?
I press a palm to my dad’s heated cheek. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. He’sniceand respectful.”
