He turned to Tessa’s sisters. “I know you’re afraid we’re doing this for the wrong reasons. And it’s going to be a shock to our families. But we wanted to do this before they could object. And we’ll have a real wedding…next year.”

“You’re going to have a real wedding?” Juliet asked in a surprised tone.

“Yes, of course,” Tessa said. “And you’ll both be my bridesmaids.”

“In the church?” Vivienne asked. “With the whole family?”

“Yes, Viv,” Tessa said, looking at Leo. “In church.”

He got what she was trying to do. Well, the part about family and helping each other to achieve their dreams—that was something he could hang his hat on. And it made this whole fiasco seem not quite so bad.

“All right then.” Tessa gave him a nod as they lined up again in front of Jack. “No more distractions; let’s do it.”

“Repeat after me,” Jack said. “‘I, Leonides Leonardo Castorini.’”

“I, Leo,” he repeated, “take you, Tessa Elizabeth Montgomery, to be my wife…”

And the rest, he didn’t really remember, because his mind was wandering as he repeated the words. To her sisters, crying, but not from happiness, and to Tessa herself, who managed to get through the vows without crying but was looking a little green again.

Which really hit a guy’s ego where it hurts—the realization that marrying him was so terrifying to his new wife that she pukes.

Then Jack handed over the rings.

Tessa caught sight of some sparkles, her eyes widening. “That’s it?” she asked, her voice hoarse and barely audible.

“You don’t like it?” he asked, his heart accelerating. He cleared his throat—damn frog.

She stared at the ring, which was platinum, surrounded by tiny diamonds alternating with sapphires. “I was expecting—something different.”

She didn’t care for it. Which disappointed him more than it should have. “We can exchange it for something that’s more to your liking. More modern.”

“It’s beautiful. But expensive.”

Wait a minute. She was objecting because she thought it cost too much? “We sort of skipped the engagement, so I wanted to make sure you had a nice ring, and there was no time to discuss it. Like I said, if you don’t like it—”

Jack was standing there, his eyes darting from Tessa to him and back again, not sure what to make of the fact that they’d essentially stopped the ceremony to have a discussion about rings.

“I really like it,” she said, her deep blue eyes looking big and maybe a little frightened. “It’s stunning.”

Leo nodded. “Great.”

She was contradicting everything he knew about her. Nothing about her was passionless. Or wily. Or deceitful. Which was a shame, because it made him want to like her. A lot.

Meanwhile, Juliet and Vivienne were standing there, their expressions alternating between shock and disbelief.