Chapter Twenty Seven
Carly
After a long night spent hibernating in Vince’s old room, we go to the in-house gym together. Breakfast time has already passed by the time we go to the kitchen, so Vince makes sausage while I scramble us some eggs and we eat breakfast together.
I feel bad literally babysitting him, but the man cannot be left alone. Not here. I never worry about him at home, I know that away from this house of horrors he can be a good boyfriend—he has been, for six months—but with better-hair-having Lex Luthor using every play in his villain playbook to knock him off balance, Vince needs all the help he can get to make it through this week.
To be honest, I thought he was being dramatic about his family until I encountered them. Now I feel like he didn’t prepare me adequately enough. He always made Mateo sound sometimes pointlessly evil, but he’s not. He’s smart and deliberate.
Back when Laurel and I watched Smallville, I also had the teeniest of crushes on Lex Luthor. For obvious reasons, I’m glad I never told Vince that.
Although my beloved is about 90 percent emotion, 7 percent scar tissue, and maybe 3 percent logic, so he might not even know Mateo is totally his super villain arch nemesis.
It’s a good thing he’s pretty.
We head back to our room after breakfast. I figure if we leave our safe haven, Vince will encounter Mia somewhere. While I assured him I will go with him so he can see Dom if she allows it today, I’m not eager to put myself in that position. I sympathize with Vince’s weakness for Mia; I don’t resent him for it. Mia is his Lana, but I’m his Lois. She may be his first love, but I’m his end game. I know that. Knowing that will not make it any more fun for me if he starts visibly longing for her while they play with his son. That’s going to suck sweaty balls, whether I show it or not.
I also don’t think it’s good for Vince to spend more time with the son he’ll never be allowed to know. Dom is cute as hell, and the more time he spends with him, the more he’ll have to miss.
I’m trying to remind him we can have our own someday, but I don’t want to remind him so well that he starts bugging me to procreate now. When we have a baby together, I want it to be because we’re ready to start a family of our own, not because I need to replace the one he doesn’t get to raise.
It’s a process. I have my hands full inside the safety of the bedroom, so I prefer to spend as little time as possible outside.
The maid comes to the door come evening. I’m planning on skipping the family dinner. It’s Friday and from what I’ve gathered, only Sunday dinner is absolutely mandatory. Once they’ve cleared out and gone to bed, we can sneak downstairs and have some food.
It’s ridiculous, but I’m taking this hiding away strategy very seriously.
“Hey, Maria,” Vince says, pushing up off the bed to go greet the maid.
Apparently it’s not a social visit. She doesn’t attempt to catch up and ask how he’s doing. She merely clasps her hands together and tells Vince, “Mateo wants to know if you’re coming to dinner tonight. Some of the guests have arrived early so we need an accurate head count to make seating arrangements.”
I’m already shaking my head no when Vince looks back at me.
Vince looks back at Maria. “I think we’re gonna sit this one out.”
Maria looks past Vince at me. Somehow her gaze is disapproving, but I don’t know why. Now she looks back at Vince and tells him, “Mateo advises against it.”
“He advises against it?” Vince repeats.
“Some of the guests are expecting Miss Price to be there.”
I scowl. “What?” Now I’m up, pushing off the bed. “Me? I don’t know anyone in his family.”
Oh no, except Sal. Did he invite Sal to dinner tonight? Well, that’s even more incentive not to go. I’d really prefer the majority of Vince’s relatives not know that tidbit about my past.
Maria steps past Vince, reaching into her apron and handing me an envelope. I frown, confused, but she doesn’t explain. I slide my finger under the seal and open it up, drawing out what appears to be a business card. Instead of business information, however, the cream-colored card has a handwritten message:
I can’t stop the grin that steals across my face. It’s totally inappropriate—and horrible, since Vince is watching—but damn, at least Vince’s super villain has a sense of humor.
Also, he’s blatantly telling me he was listening to us last night. I issued a challenge, and now he’s answering it. If Mateo is inviting me to the table, he thinks he has a winning hand.
I don’t see what could have on me, though. Sure, he has one of my secrets left, but he’s not going to tell it. Vince already knows I was an escort, but he doesn’t know Mateo sent me to him in the first place. He doesn’t want Vince to know, and while Mateo might be cocky, I can’t imagine he’s petty enough to out a secret he wants to keep just to spite me. Confident, successful people know when to let it go. They don’t obsess over the opinions of others. Avenging every perceived slight takes a lot of time and wasted effort. Lame, insecure people do things like that, and whatever Mateo is, he’s not lame, and he’s damn sure not insecure.
He’s not inviting me to the table because I insulted him and got under skin. He thinks he’s a cat and I’m a mouse, and he wants to bat at me, to give me a little peek behind the curtain, seeing as I understand his game.
I can feel myself being amused and impressed by him. Even worse, I’m intensely curious. I know he’s a bastard, I know my relationship depends heavily on my not liking him, but damn, he’s interesting. If not for him blackmailing me and emotionally tormenting my boyfriend, I would totally kick back and have a drink with Mateo so I could pick the hell out of his brain.
Vince is watching. Vince is unimpressed. Vince walks over and rips the card out of my hand to read it, scowling.
“What the fuck?”
I shake my head, resting a reassuring hand on Vince’s shoulder. “It’s fine.” My curiosity is sufficiently piqued, though, so I tell Maria, “All right, we’ll come to dinner.”
“We will?” Vince questions. “But we agreed—”
“I know, but we’ll stick together. We’ll be okay.”
“Carly… This is what he wants.”
I know he’s right, but now I need to know why. If we stay locked away in this room, I’m going to wonder what trick he had up his sleeve, what we missed. I’m confident enough in my own steadfastness. Mateo interests me on an academic level, but he doesn’t mean anything to me. He can’t get to me the same way he gets to Vince, because I’m not led around by my emotions. People who are controlled by their emotions are very easy to control.
I’m not run by my emotions, and I’m damn sure not easy to control.
I can survive one dinner and keep Vince from drowning. These may be rough waters, but I’m a strong swimmer.
---
I clutch Vince’s hand as we head for the dining room. He skipped pre-dinner drinks again. We’re only here for the main event.
Despite knowing Vince may suffer tonight, I can’t get to the dining room fast enough. I wonder where he’s seating us all tonight. He’ll probably put me next to Mia again. He probably thinks I’m bluffing about not resenting her, but knowing what I know, I can’t bring myself to. I completely sympathize with the poor girl. I’m sure I have a solid 30 IQ points on her and even I can see how she could get swept up in Mateo’s current. The man is a force of nature. I can see how he operates and he still intrigues me. As easily as he wields and manipulates her, I doubt she sees behind the curtain. He’s probably pure magic to her.
I’m feeling quite capable of taking on the Wizard when we enter the dining room, but it takes about three seconds for me to click my heels three times, desperate to go home.
Laurel is sitting at the table.
“What are you doing here?” I demand, walking over to the table and staring across at her.
Laurel smiles brightly, unaware of the hellscape, seeing only the pretty façade. “Well, hello to you, too.” She gestures to Vince. “His cousin was polite enough to invite me for Easter since my own sister didn’t even bother telling me she was in town.”
“It’s not Easter,” I state.
“I know.” Laurel shrugs. “He said they have a bunch of guest rooms and I was welcome to stay the weekend along with the rest of his relatives. I thought it was really nice. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
My stomach sinks as I hear footsteps approaching from down the hall. The men are coming. Among those men, Alec Morelli.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I don’t have time to say anything. I can’t say anything in front of Vince, but if I had another minute, I could run around the table and whisper to her not to respond, and I could explain later.
I don’t have that time, so I can only step aside and grimace as the stable of Morelli men pour into the room. Mateo comes first. He looks back at me over his shoulder with a slow smile and winks.
Damn that man.
This is my own fault. I should have known he’d play the Laurel card. It’s the one that worked the first time, so why wouldn’t he play it again? And yes, he wants me to survive this week with Vince so his wife is content that we’re happy, but he can obviously survive if we don’t, because otherwise he wouldn’t have sent that picture last night and tried to throw me.
As soon as Alec enters the room, Laurel’s curious expression turns into a scowl. “What is he doing here?”
Vince is watching Mateo with suspicion so he doesn’t see where her attention is. I catch her attention, shaking my head firmly, wide-eyed, even chopping my hands so she understands to drop it. She frowns, confused, but Vince is looking at us now, so I force a little smile.
“If you haven’t met him already, this one is Vince’s cousin, Mateo.”
Mateo nods his head in acknowledgement.
“His other cousin, Alec.” I don’t even breathe before pointing to Adrian, “And this guy, this is Mateo’s… brother husband? Friend? I don’t know. Oh, no brother husband jokes in front of his actual wife. She’s blonde. Actually, they’re all blonde, so that’s not helpful.”
“You’re rambling,” Laurel states.
“I’m not rambling.” I grimace. My voice came out high-pitched, there. I glance at Mateo and he smirks, settling his napkin in his lap. “Where should we sit, puppetmaster?”
Mateo glances at the empty chairs between him and Laurel, then indicates the two chairs on the other side of the table, beside Mia. “Vince can sit by Mia so you’re closer to your sister.”
“Your altruism really knows no bounds. Actually, Vince and Laurel have already met and they get along, so I can just sit by Mia. No biggie.”
“Suit yourself,” he says, unconcerned.
As I lower myself into the empty seat, I murmur, “Nice hand.”
Mateo smiles, baring just a hint of gleaming white teeth. “Oh, that wasn’t my hand, Lois. The dealer’s still doling out cards.”
I frown, unsettled by that response, then the door opens and the ladies pour in. Mia is dressed all in white again, her blonde hair half back and adorned with diamond-encrusted pins. She settles a hand naturally on Mateo’s shoulder as she comes in and he gazes up at her with open affection. She leans down to give him a kiss, then takes her seat beside him.
She casts me a tentative look as she sits. “Hi, Carly.”
With unrestrained friendliness to let her know we’re cool, I say, “Hi. I love your dress. You look so pretty.”
Her gaze jumps past me to Vince, like he can help explain, then back to Mateo, to see if he can answer her question. Poor Mia, she’s probably so accustomed to taking blame for all the bullshit these ill-behaving men pile on her. I can’t help myself from giving her hand a supportive pat. I really wish I could be her friend without her husband ruining all our lives, but that’s obviously not possible.
Mia is confused, but apparently relieved. Her gaze catches on the token brunette at the table and she frowns. “Did Alec bring a girl?”
Laurel leans forward to glare at Alec, and he neatly avoids her gaze.
“No,” I say quickly, shaking my head. “Nope, this is my sister Laurel. Your husband was… gracious enough to invite her for Easter so we could spend some time together while we’re in the city.”
Mia lights up, placing her hand over his on the table. “Aw, that was nice.”
He shrugs modestly. “The mood hits me every now and then.”
I roll my eyes, hard.
Mia reaches across the table to shake Laurel’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mia, Mateo’s wife. I just love your sister.”
“I’m pretty fond of her myself,” Laurel offers back.
The table slowly fills up, men and women finding their seats. Adrian is still across from Mia tonight, but the seat between him and Laurel is empty.
“No wife tonight?” I ask Adrian.
He shakes his head. “Nope. Candace has to eat every half hour right now, so it’s just easier for Elise to stay home.”
“Why don’t you stay home with her?” I ask, before adding quickly, “Not that we don’t enjoy your company, of course.”
Adrian nods his head in Mateo’s direction. “Gotta make sure no one kills this asshole.”
“That’s a hard job, I bet.”
Adrian smirks. “You have no idea.”
I sense movement behind me again and then suddenly someone is leaning down next to me, looping a strong arm around Mia’s shoulders and pressing an affectionate kiss to the crown of her head.
“Hello, little one.”
Mia looks up at him, smiling warmly. “What are you doing here? I thought your flight wasn’t until tomorrow.”
“Your husband asked me to come a day early. Don’t we all exist to serve Mateo’s whims?”
He and Mateo exchange dry smiles. The golden-haired Adonis is dressed sharply in a navy blue suit with a black dress shirt open at the throat. He walks around the table and pulls back the chair between Laurel and Adrian, but halts before sitting.
His attention catches on Laurel and offers her a charming smile. “I don’t recognize this lovely face. Oh, I would definitely remember those lips. We haven’t met.” He takes her limp hand from the table and brings it to his lips. He kisses her knuckles and I can see Laurel struggling to breathe as she stares up at him, awestruck.
Oh no.
“I’m Rafe Morelli,” he offers.
She continues to stare, mouth slightly agape.
Now he cocks a golden eyebrow. “You have a name?”
“L—Laurel.” She shakes her head, trying to shake off her sudden paralysis, but her gaze rakes over him again and I can see the cogs in her poor brain failing. “I’m Laurel. Carly’s sister.”
“Who’s Carly?”
“I’m Carly,” I offer, though I’m none too friendly. This is Rafe? This is Vince’s cousin who possibly date-raped Mia in Vegas? He shouldn’t look like this! And he needs to stay far away from my sister.
Rafe is unshaken by my unfriendliness. He releases my sister’s hand and takes a seat beside her, telling me it’s a pleasure to meet me. I do not echo the sentiment.
“Carly is Vince’s girlfriend,” Mia explains, almost proudly.
Rafe cocks an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Nice work, little cousin.”
“Yes, it’s a great achievement to have a girlfriend,” Vince shoots back.
Rafe offers a smile, tinged with something unpleasant I can’t quite put a name to. “Well, you didn’t have to kidnap this one, right? So we’ll call it an achievement.”
Okay, so they’re probably not great friends.
“Wait, what?” Laurel looks so confused. Oh, this is so bad. Poor Laurel. She’s going to have so many questions, and she obviously does not know about Vince’s questionable past. She doesn’t even know about my questionable past.
This is a fucking disaster.
Before I can come up with a way to tell her “we’ll have to talk about it later” without alarming her, Rafe settles a hand over hers on the table and leans in. “Will you do me a favor?”
“Yes,” Laurel replies, rather adamantly, without finding out what it might be first.
Rafe rewards her with a warm smile. Laurel sighs like a cartoon bimbo in Beauty and the Beast, fawning over Gaston. “These inconsiderate assholes served the wine before I got here. Go grab the bottle from the kitchen and pour me a glass.”
“Okay.”
I gape in mild horror as my brilliant sister rises like a Stepford Wife and heads to a kitchen she’s never been to in search of a wine bottle she hasn’t seen.
Mia pushes back her chair, shaking her head at Rafe. “Use your powers for good, not evil.”
“I am,” he objects, innocently.
Mia shakes her head again and heads for the kitchen to help Laurel find the wine.
Mateo waits until his wife is out of sight to grin at Rafe. “I’m so glad you could make it, Rafe.”