Once we’re all upstairs, seated around a couple of tables, I press my fingers to my temples and rub them, staring down at the grains of wood on the smooth, shiny surface.
It’s now or never.
“Almost a year and a half ago, I went to Paris for Fashion Week. I met a man named Javier while grabbing coffee one morning.” I make sure to keep my voice a little more raised than I normally speak, so they can hear me over the music. My heart hammers in my chest, not really wanting to recount these details. “He was charming, and the conversation flowed easily, so I didn’t hesitate when he asked me on a date. We must have gotten too drunk because everything went blank after a few hours. The next morning, I woke up in his hotel room and snuck out.” I shrug through the vivid images my mind conjures of what little details I remember from that morning. The cool tiles beneath my feet. The empty bottles of champagne. “I was clear about wanting nothing more than a fun fling in Paris.”
Glancing around the group, I inwardly groan as I see my friends hanging on my every word, anxious for me to continue. Beside me, Luciano shifts in his seat, and I don’t blame him for feeling uncomfortable. I do everything I can not to look at him, shame suddenly scorching within me.
My eyes meet Vinnie’s. “Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, Javier showed up in the lobby of my building telling me it’s time to follow him home to Spain and be his littlewife. Turns out the two of us exchanged a couple of ‘I do’s’.”
“Raina—” Vinnie interrupts, but Sly places his hand in her lap, and she doesn’t say more.
I swallow thickly. “My first instinct was to beg Luciano to represent me in the divorce, but Javier isn’t letting me off the hook that easily. His family somehow found out he’s married, and he asked me to join him for his father’s funeral and the succession of his title.”
“Succession of title?” Sully interjects, scooting closer to the edge of his seat. He leans forward, giving me his full attention. Clearly, my story has captivated him.
I’m about to answer him when Luce clears his throat and answers for me. “Turns out the asshole’s a baron.”
“What the hell is a baron?” Nixon grunts, scrubbing his chin. It’s in that moment that I glance around the lounge and realize his date, Carly, isn’t up here with us. I’m not sure why my thoughts drift to the girl he must have abandoned down on the dance floor, but I can’t say I’m upset about it. The less people who know about my mess, the better. The last thing I need is for this to end up in the papers.
“Spanish nobility. It’s irrelevant,” Luciano finishes, waving his hand around.
“Whydoes he need you there? Why can’t he just tell his family it’s just a paper marriage?” Cecilia asks, ever the mother hen.
“And why did that man refer to my brother as your fiancé?” Vinnie adds, the thought obviously popping into her mind.
A nervous bout of laughter bubbles up my sternum, hurling itself past my lips. Luciano and I share a fleeting glance, and I squeeze my eyes together.
I’m caught between fiction and reality. A fake relationship and a brand new one. The truth and the lie.
“Well, I tried to come up with a reason not to give in to Javier's demands.” I lift my chin, giving my friends a more confident version of myself than I’m feeling. “I made up anengagement and said I couldn’t go to Spain because I love my fiancé and it wouldn’t be fair to him.”
“But you’re not engaged,” Nixon says slowly, like he’s trying to comprehend, while at the same time, Vinnie says, “Wait, what?”
“Let me guess.” Enzo laughs. This is the first time I’ve heard him speak all evening. He juts his chin toward Luciano. “Lover boy over here volunteered for the position.”
“I did what I had to do for my client,” Luciano growls, and I wince at his words. My heart pummels into my stomach, wrecked from the constant whiplash this man gives me—especially in the last hour.
He must have seen or felt my recoil because he whips his head to me, giving me his attention as he meets my eyes. The rest of the room fades away as he searches them for a moment, and while I know everyone is waiting with bated breath and staring at us, all I see is him. A whimper catches in my chest as his gaze softens.
My heart beats wildly, like a new band member learning to drum, going off on their own solo performance.
A look washes over his face that’s unlike any other I’ve ever seen. Then, it’s like something clicks for him.
Reaching over, he laces our fingers together and pulls my hand to his mouth, kissing it softly like he did earlier. “I did what I had to do for the woman who crawled under my skin more than a decade ago and refuses to leave my mind. I did it for the woman I’ve fallen in love with.”
My eyes widen at his admission, and mayhem breaks out around us. Our friends begin to talk all at once.
“Oh, shit,” Nixon blurts, then leans back in his chair, spreading his legs to relax his posture.
“The woman you LOVE?” Vinnie leaps from her seat, her hands clapping together.
“Called that one.” Sully chuckles.
“I knew it, too, amico.” Sly grins, and he reaches up to grab onto Vinnie’s hand.
Their voices are like background noise as I stay locked in Luciano’s gaze, neither one of us willing to look away. Questions race through my mind, but only one sentence makes it into my vocal cords. “You are the most confusing man on the planet.”
He smirks. “I don’t even make sense in my own head, trust me. But I mean it, Raina.”
