Chapter Thirty Five
Mia
Mateo and I are making the rounds, chatting up friends and relatives I’ve never met before. My feet are killing me, and we’ve only been doing this for two hours. Mateo wasn’t joking when he said Morelli weddings are long. People have already eaten, but I’m pretty sure they’re going be here long enough to eat again. The open bar has people already getting a little rowdy. I’m tired of talking to people; I just want to dance with, talk to, and kiss my brand new husband.
That’s still weird. The best kind of weird, but definitely something to get used to. Mateo Morelli, my husband.
His hand tightens around my waist and he leans in. “What are you smiling about?”
I grin up at him. “We’re married.”
He smiles and leans down to give me a kiss. It’s cut short, however, when a semi-familiar face approaches.
The dark-haired PI with the Superman jaw who tried to warn me off all those years ago glances at our guests, then looks to Mateo, his blue eyes serious. “Can I see you for a minute?”
Mateo’s tone is instantly business-like. “Everything all right?”
“There’s a potential situation.” He glances at me, like he doesn’t want to say anymore.
Mateo nods brusquely and lets his arm fall from around my waist. “You stay here,” Mateo says. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait.” I tag along anyway, casting an apologetic smile back at the guests we were talking to and following after him. “Is it Vince? Sal said—”
“I don’t know, Mia. Just…” He looks briefly annoyed with me, but he attempts to garner more patience. “Let me find out and I’ll be back.” Instead of leaving though, he looks around. “Go find Adrian.”
“Adrian’s with us,” Ethan tells him.
Mateo is looking over my head, I assume just because he’s thinking what to do with me, but then he lifts his hand and beckons someone over.
A moment later Rafe strides up in a tan suit, his golden hair curling around his collar, hands tucked casually into his pockets. “You rang?”
“Watch her,” Mateo says. “I have to go check something out. Don’t let her out of your sight. If anything feels off, take her inside the house.”
“Yes, sir,” Rafe says easily.
“Really?” I demand as Mateo turns and walks away with Ethan.
“I’m the one who should be offended,” Rafe tells me, lightly enough. “He knows I’ve had my hands all over you and he’s still not worried.”
“He’s obnoxiously sure of himself,” I tell Rafe, sighing as I turn around. “Have you talked to Vince? He’s not here, right? I really don’t want him to get murdered at my wedding.”
As if I haven’t spoken, Rafe puts a hand at the small of my back and ushers me out onto the dance floor.
“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be guarding me.”
“Can’t get much closer than this,” Rafe points out, grabbing me around the waist and taking my much smaller hand in his. “How have you been?”
He’s exasperating. “I’m fabulous. Stop distracting me and tell me what’s going on.”
“I have no idea what’s going on,” he states, calmly. “I don’t work for your husband, remember? I’m here as a guest.”
I smile, melting with pleasure. “My husband. That’s nice.”
“I have to be honest, once I realized he had two of you, I thought you were bullshitting me with that fiancé thing. But here we are, so I guess not.”
I don’t know if he’s still making an effort to distract me or if this really is just conversation, but whatever his motivation, this does distract me effectively. After Rafe left, Meg told me they had gone out the night Mateo proposed to me. I made a bigger deal of it than she did, apparently, but since Rafe was gone, I never did get his side of things.
“Speaking of my ex-sister wife, I hear you two went out last time you were in town. How was that?”
“She’s not what I expected of Mateo’s girlfriend—even if she was just half of a set.” I poke him in the chest for that one and he flashes me a grin. “Hey, it wasn’t a put-down. I would’ve been very interested in playing with that set. Mateo’s a lucky bastard.”
“I stand just fine on my own, thank you very much.”
“I’m not arguing with that. I just can’t play with you now; you’re married to my cousin and he gets homicidal when his wives stray. I’m stunned that you came out of Vegas so unscathed, to be honest. I wasn’t suggesting you keep quiet to cover my ass, I thought I was covering yours. I know he fucked someone else on the regular, so technically he didn’t have a right to get mad at you, but he’s not generally all that worried about fairness and equality in his relationships.”
“We have a unique relationship, but he values and respects me. I know it probably doesn’t always look that way from the outside, but we keep each other safe and make each other happy.”
Nodding, he says, “You don’t have to convince me; I get it. It takes an enormous amount of trust to surrender your power to your partner. If I’d have found you first, you’d know these things and understand yourself a little better. Seems like Mateo’s such a control freak, he didn’t properly educate you about your own interests. Probably makes him seem that much more irreplaceable to you.”
“He’s super irreplaceable. There’s no on in the world like Mateo,” I assure Rafe.
This causes him to smirk. “See? Like I said.”
“You just don’t understand.”
“I completely understand. It’s possible to have what you have and also have consent, that’s all I’m saying.”
I roll my eyes. “He has my consent. I signed a waiver and everything.”
“Did he really make you sign something?”
“No! That was a joke.” It’s halfway off the tip of my tongue to tell him Mateo designated him as my back-up husband, but I nix the urge and redirect. “Anyway, we were talking about Meg.”
He cocks a questioning eyebrow. “Were we?”
I give him what I assume is a convincing nod. “How’d your date go?”
“It wasn’t a date. It was a kidnapping. She made plans and dragged me along for the ride.”
I nod, smiling fondly. “That sounds right. But you had fun?”
Frowning slightly, he says, “I don’t know. She’s not really my type. Guards herself like the Hope diamond. Hell of a lot of work to crack a nut like that. Could be fun, but with her I think it would be more a battle than a thrill. Anyway, I’m not into long distance relationships or potential step-children.”
“Oh, come on. Step outside your comfort zone. You’re a big, strong man; don’t tell me you can’t handle a challenge.”
Smiling, Rafe shakes his head at me, his brown eyes dancing with amusement. “It’s adorable that you think you can goad me into dating your friend.” He pulls me closer, our hips brushing as we move. “If you were mine, little one, I’d discipline you for attempting things like that.”
I hold up my hand to flash him not only my engagement ring, but now my wedding band. “Sorry. Only one man gets to discipline me from here on out.”
Rafe nods once in acknowledgement. “Like I said, he’s a lucky bastard.”