Page 7 of Curse of the Bride Assassin

I’m impressed. She eats actual food and knows enough about wine that she pairs red with steak. She’s already better than the last six candidates, and we’ve only been together for a few minutes.

I order the same thing, but get the cauliflower au gratin instead of mashed potatoes. When the waiter leaves, we spend a moment eyeing each other, getting the true measure of the person in front of us. She smiles at me, like she doesn’t have a care in the world. It’s relaxing, refreshing.

“You seem extremely calm, considering what I do,” I say as I take a piece of bread and dip it in the spiced oil on the table.

“Again, I did my research. Knowledge is power, after all,” she quips.

“True, but the file on you wasn’t generous. Tell me about yourself, so I can get to know you better.”

I have a deep, insatiable need to know everything about this woman. What’s her favorite food? Where did she grow up? What does she do for fun?

“My family owns a waste management company, and I work for them. I take jiu jitsu, read, and cook in my spare time. I love watching thrillers on TV and my favorite color is red.”

Her surface level response leaves more to be desired, but it’s a start. There’s this…pull inside me to know who she truly is inside.

“I’m going to cut to the chase,” I say, leaning forward and crossing my arms on the table. “You’re a gorgeous girl who could have any man—paranormal or mortal—in this place. You have a good personality and seem normal. Why do you want to be with someone like me?”

She laughs loudly, and some of the other patrons glance our way.

“Sorry. My father is trying to arrange my marriage to a man old enough to be a second father to me, and we made a deal that if I could find a better option, I could choose my own husband. The man he wants to marry me off to isn’t taking my finding a new option well. You’re a man who can keep me safe...”

Oh so she needs protection? The fact that she feels unsafe enough to hitch herself to someone like me enrages me. The thought of someone hurting her makes me want to stab someone.

“Oh, so I’m the practical choice?” I quip, waggling my brows at her to keep things light. My emotions are out of control tonight, somehow springing from the box I keep them locked in.

If anything this should make me happy. We can both benefit from this arrangement, which will make it a more successful union.

“Maybe, but you’re also a better choice. You’re still older than me, but you’re handsome, seem nice, and you’re not some creep who’ll ruin my life.”

“There are things I’ll expect of you, safety precautions you’ll have to follow and events and dinners you’ll need to attend with me. Eventually I’ll want children. But I won’t try to ruin your life. I see this marriage as a partnership, not a prison sentence for us.”

She blushes, and the red tint to her cheeks is beautiful. A guy can get used to seeing that on the daily.

“So what now? Do you want to go on more dates and get to know each other?”

How do I tell her we should get married as soon as possible without sounding like a lunatic and scaring her off? I can’t lie to her. It feels wrong to do on every level. If anything, I have the urge to open myself up to her, despite just meeting her.

She's throwing me off kilter and for the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do about it.

“Honestly, the sooner we get married the better. Having a wife is a sign of stability and strength, and the Contifamiglianeeds that now.”

“I hope I don’t eventually regret this, but I wouldn’t mind a quick engagement,” she muses. She takes another sip of water.

“I wouldn’t mind getting married tomorrow. I’mundeadlyserious.” She laughs at my pun, her cute little canines peeking out from her lips, and I know I’ll enjoy making her laugh regularly.

Unfortunately, her laughter is cut short when a bullet whizzes past my head and lodges into the wall. I lunge across the table, throwing myself on top of Dana to block her from any bullets. Before my guard can cross the room from his vantage point near the door, I identify the threat, a man sitting a fewtables away from us. I take my gun from its holster under my suit coat and shoot him square in the hand.

It’s enough to disarm him and keep him alive for questioning later. He’s taken away, to the cell he’s earned in my warehouse.

I look down at Dana, who lays on her back beneath me. Her breasts are pressed into my chest as she breathes heavily. The glowing eyes that captured me from the first second we met glow an intense neon red, her hazel irises completely eclipsed. She runs her hands over my shoulders, cupping my face in her hands.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah…thanks to you. You saved me,” she says before smiling up at me.

We met less than a half hour ago, yet this strange, mysterious woman has taken my life by storm. I would have gladly taken a bullet for her. Traded my life for hers. Just to make sure she’s safe.

I breathe in her air, and we stare into each other’s eyes. Leaning down, I brush our lips together, the featherlight touch sending sparks of electricity throughout my entire body. Something inside me shifts, and it’s as if the entire black and white world I existed in exploded into technicolor.

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