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“Yes, please.” I wasted no time tearing the foil off and stuffing an empanada in my mouth. One bite and I melted in my seat. “How do you do this?”
He chuckled. “Cooking’s easy, darling. It’s the only time in your life you can do everything right and it turns out exactly the way you expect. No surprises. No mistakes. No wrong turns.”
“Hmm. I never thought of it that way.”
Rafael dropped next to me and picked up his beer. He was only a year older than me, but it was a little silly to expect him to obey drinking laws when he played fast and loose with all the others.
I gazed at our setup, drifting back to him each time I tried to look away. From an outside view, this wasn’t romantic. We weren’t lying on a picnic blanket under the stars, surrounded by candles, or singing along to love songs played on his car radio. There was nothing here that a fiancé could object to.
So why are my palms sweating as I hold this delicious meal made for me? Why does my chest pang at the sight of that peach soda?
Why is he resting his hand on my knee? I bit my lip as he squeezed me, thumb stroking my tender skin. Why aren’t I stopping him?
“Look,” Rafael whispered. “Part three is here.”
I sat up, following his line of sight down the hill. A car rumbled down the same road and turned off, heading for the nearest beach house. We were far enough away we couldn’t make out the two people who climbed out and went inside. But I wasn’t so far that I didn’t recognize the car as Giovanni’s.
“Are we sure that’s her?” I asked. “You said Giovanni steals away with his side girl on Thursdays because that’s the night Annika stays late practicing with her acting coach, but what if this is the night she blows off to bang her boyfriend at the beach?”
“She bangs him in her dorm, his dorm, his car, his house, and the men’s room in Toussaint’s. They don’t need to make a special trip of it to get naked.” Rafael motioned with his beer. “Giovanni saves that for girlfriend number two. Neither his parents nor Annika have a reason to come out here. The two of them have gotten away with this for over a year.”
“So Giovanni cheated on my sister with two women. Both of whom knew what he was doing, but couldn’t find a shred of decency in their souls to warn her.” The food turned rancid on my tongue. Rafael stopped me while setting it down.
“All three of them pay for that tonight.” His hand was warm cupping mine. “That’s part four.”
He got to his feet. “Speaking of, shall we?”
My burgeoning good mood returned. “Yes, we shall.”
Together we crept down the hill, staying low of anyone glancing out the window and spotting two approaching shadows. Something that wouldn’t be too hard to do since Giovanni’s beach bachelor pad was all windows.
We crouched beside his car, watching the lights flick on and him stumble into the living room—pants around his ankles. My eyes bugged when his companion ran inside after him, pouncing him onto the couch.
“Gabriella?” I blurted. “That’s who he’s cheating with?”
“You should read the texts between those two. Creative stuff,” he said, sounding impressed. “He’s got a second phone so Annika doesn’t find out, it’s all dirty stuff they have, will, or want to get up to—complete with pictures.”
I scoffed. “Is it also complete with declarations of love and promises to leave his girlfriend?”
“Got a few of those in there too, but they both know it can’t happen.” Together we made a dash for the porch, ducking behind an oversize planter as Giovanni’s pants finally came off and Gabriella swallowed a mouthful of dick.
“Why can’t it happen?”
“The Montanas and the Natales are rival families. The invention that made Grandpa Montana a billionaire, Giovanni’s grandfather swears it was stolen from him. Lorenzo Natale eventually had another great idea and got rich anyway, but neither side can forgive the thieves or the lying bastards calling them thieves. If their families find out they’re together, they’ll probably be disowned.”
“Aww, how Romeo and Juliet,” I simpered. “So are you taking the pictures or am I?”
Grinning, Rafael handed me his phone. “You, of course. You open the presents when it’s your party.”
I went wild snapping photos, pressing the button so fast I filled his gallery with half a dozen burst shots. “I’ll call this collection: The Many Shapes, Bends, and Positions of Payback.”
Rafael bobbed his head, pushing out his lips. “I like it. Simple, but evocative.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth, smothering a laugh. Now was not the time to get caught. Although, from the bouncing-on-his-lap, head-thrown-back-in-ecstasy thing they were doing, I’m pretty sure all they were hearing were their grunts and moans.
