When She Loves (The Fallen, #4)(110)

“Why’s that?” I drawl. After what happened with Nero, my opinion of the fucker has marginally improved, but maybe that was premature.

“You’re here alone and defenseless.”

“Defenseless? I could take you down with this butter knife if I wanted to.”

Ras snickers. “What are you waiting for then?”

“For the mood to strike.”

Cleo clears her throat. “Okay, enough.”

“He started it,” I mutter, shoving some eggs in my mouth.

“What are you, five?” Ras asks.

This fucker. “Put your dog back on his leash, De Rossi.”

Gemma reaches over and places her hand on his forearm. “Ras.”

He grins. “Look, I’m just making sure he can handle the heat if he’s really joining the family.”

“I am most certainly not joining your family.”

Cleo gives me a pointed look. “You are, Rafe. This is my family. So you’ve just acquired three annoying brothers.”

“I would prefer not to be included in that unflattering category,” Giorgio says, methodically cutting into a piece of tomato.

Cleo gives him an amused look. “Okay, two annoying brothers and Giorgio.”

I sigh. Fuck me. I really am stuck with these Casalesi idiots now, aren’t I? Not only because of Cleo, but because of Nero too.

After all, few things bring people closer than a secret.

“I suppose I’ll have to get used to it,” I say with a resigned shrug. “As I once told my accountant, whatever my wife wants, my wife gets.”

“Oh?” Valentina peers at me over her cappuccino. “Do I sense a good story?”

“You never told them?” I ask Cleo.

Her cheeks turn an alluring shade of pink. It reminds me of another part of her body that’s an alluring shade of pink. “No,” she answers.

“Ah.” I dab my napkin against the corner of my mouth. “It all starts with this list.”

Cleo’s eyes widen. “You know about the list?”

“I know about everything, my darling. I found it just the other day.”

“I’m lost,” Gemma says, her arms resting on her protruding belly. “What list?”

“Cleo’s plan for ruining Rafaele’s life,” Cleo and I say at the same time.

There’s a beat, and then everyone bursts out laughing.

“Seriously?” Valentina asks. “We’re going to need to hear the rest of it.”

Cleo giggles as she recites the rest of the list before jumping into the story about her attempt to bankrupt me. I sip on coffee and observe my stunning wife for a long moment before glancing at the rest of the people around the table. The mood is light, and laughter filters through the air. A warm feeling settles inside my chest.

Maybe this family isn’t so bad after all. One day Cleo and I will have our own family. This time, there is no fear accompanying that thought. No panic. No hesitation. Only breathless joy.











CLEO


The list story distracts Ras from egging on Rafe any further, and we manage to wrap up brunch without anyone’s blood being spilled.

Phew. I was getting worried for a hot second there.

Even now, as everyone settles in the living room, I observe the Casalesi men. For all their bickering with Rafe, they’ve got more in common than they realize. For one, they’re all huge, handsome, and hardheaded. They’re all extremely protective of their women, of course. And despite being who they are, they’ve got a moral code they follow. Their word means something, and they don’t hurt people just for the sake of it.

None of them are like my father or Rafaele’s father, and that gives me hope. Hope that under their leadership, this world we’re all in might not be so bad after all.

Who knows, maybe with time, these four mobsters might actually become friends.

“Tesoro?”

I blink, snapping out of my reverie. Rafaele is standing in front of me holding two mimosas. He hands one to me. “Care for a walk around the property?”

I take the glass from him. “What are we celebrating?”

He gives me a crooked smile. “Us.”

We tap our glasses together, our gazes locked on one another. Something vulnerable flickers in Rafaele’s eyes before he blinks it away.

I still haven’t told him that I loved him. A mass of tangled emotion pulses through my chest at the thought of trying to say those words again after what happened last time. But things are different now. Rafe’s changed, and so have I. We’ve both realized what’s important to us and what we’re willing to do for the people we love. I have more faith in us than ever.

We step outside and make our way toward the trees at the back of the property. The backyard slopes downward, so when we reach the lawn behind the tree line, no one inside the house can see us.

A light breeze brushes over my skin. It’s a gorgeous summer day. I lie down on the grass, and Rafe does the same beside me. Above us, a flock of birds peppers the clear blue sky.

I find his hand and tangle our fingers together. His skin is warm and rough, and suddenly, I want nothing more than to feel that roughness elsewhere. When he turns to his side to face me, I can tell he’s trying to disguise his hunger, his need, but it’s no use. Not when that same need pulses deep inside of me.