Coming Home (Morelli Family 6)

Chapter Eighteen

Mia

I’m completely drained.

Thank God, Rafe took charge after Vince and I melted down. Vince wanted me to stay with him, and I was so weak with guilt that I was ready to, but Rafe put his foot down and said that wasn’t a good idea for anyone. He took Vince aside for a few minutes and talked with him calmly, then came back to the lounge chair where he’d left me and hauled me back to his house.

I guess it’s his bed I wake up in the next day. I’m still in the bikini I wore last night, but there’s a blanket draped over me. I feel empty. Last night was so horrible in every single way, and I am just depleted. I have nothing left to give anyone, and there’s nothing to fill me back up.

Eventually, Rafe comes in. He brings me coffee and I sit up, bunching the blankets up around me. I eye him seated on the edge of the bed as I make myself drink it.

“You look like hell,” he informs me.

Weirdly, crying all night long while drunk and vaguely traumatized doesn’t result in looking my best. I don’t bother to respond. I just want to curl up in bed and never come out.

“Do you remember much of last night?”

Nodding like my head weighs a million pounds, I say heavily, “Every horrible moment.”

He nods now, glancing down at his hands folded in his lap, then he says, “Mateo’s fucked around plenty in his time, Mia.”

“I don’t care,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t care what he’s done. I love him, and I…”

“You were drunk,” he states. “And you were sad. And you were telling me how much I reminded you of him. I took advantage.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” I inform him.

“Well, I have something that might. You still want to go home?”

I stare at him, somewhat skeptical. “Of course.”

“I’ll take you.”

My head can’t catch up with his words. My stomach is a mess and I feel a little like throwing up. My head is foggy. My heart is heavy. His words are what I want more than anything, but I’m too afraid to trust them. “You’ll take me home? To Mateo?”

He nods once. “And last night? It never happened. Only you and I know it did, and as long as he never knows it doesn’t matter. Remember, he fucked my girlfriend once. I owed him that.”

I don’t care about his girlfriend. My heart is hammering in my chest now, and I’m afraid to believe him. “You promise? This isn’t a trick?”

Rafe shakes his head. “Nope. I’m not terribly tricky. Just bossy. Now, stop being sad. I’m going to call your fiancé.” Holding a finger up, as if just remembering something, he reaches into his pocket and draws something out.

My heart fills up when I see my ring. I grab it like a lifeline, sliding it back on my finger and staring at it. It makes me want to cry again, but I don’t.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Vince gave it to me. I think it’s best you don’t say goodbye to him, though. I think it’s best you two stay far, far away from each other.”

I nod. “If Mateo doesn’t kill me, I’m never going to be allowed around anyone ever again. He’s going to lock me in the bedroom and never let me out except to eat.”

“Sounds like a good time.”

“I can’t wait.”

He cracks a smile. “I bet you’re a lot of fun in your natural environment. I’ve enjoyed bossing you around. You’re a sub, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

He shakes his head. “Never mind. Want me to call him now, or do you need—”

“Call him now,” I say, excitement bubbling up inside me. “Oh, please. Call him now.”

Rafe draws his cell out of his pocket and scrolls through his contacts. I’m so nervous I feel a little shaky as I wait. Finally he says, “Hey, cousin.”

I set the coffee aside and climb across the bed, perching by him with all the eagerness of a puppy.

“It’s Rafe. I’ve heard talk you lost one of your belongings.” He gives me a little wink at that. I don’t even care. I’m totally his belonging. I just want to talk to him. “Uh huh. Well, just so happens I found her.” His eyebrows rise as he listens to the response. “Yep, safe and sound… Yeah, that’s the plan. I want to escort her back myself just in case there’s any trouble. I figured I’d give you a heads-up, though. She seems to think you might have all your guard dogs on the look-out for her. Kinda don’t want to get shot.”

“Can I talk to him?” I whisper. I don’t care about any of this. I don’t care about them making arrangements or calling off soldiers or whatever else. All I want is to hear Mateo’s voice on the other end of that phone and know that this is real, and it’s over, and I’m going home.