“Mom, I’m happy. Let’s just leave it at that,” he answered, hoping the subject would be dropped.
“I worry about you being lonely. Your ex-wife did a number on you, son, and I don’t want you afraid to try again. You need a woman in your life to take care of you.”
“I’m fine alone, Mother. I have had several women companions through the years,” he defended.
“None that I would be proud for you to bring home. They are more like perfect mannequins, their only thoughts seeming to be how to please you.”
“Is there not a more perfect woman that one whose only desire is to fulfill my every need?” he asked. If his mother knew how true he felt about that statement, he had a feeling she’d shove him overboard.
“Rafe…”
“I’m seeing a nice woman, mother. Her name is Arianna.” Rafe was stunned when the words spilled from his mouth. What was he doing? First of all, Ari wasn’t really with him, and secondly, he didn’t want to pique his mother’s interest. He just wanted her to cease her relentless pestering about him being single.
“How long have you been seeing this woman, and why haven’t you said anything about her yet?” she asked with suspicion.
“It’s a new relationship and I don’t want to scare her off with your talk of marriage and babies,” he quickly answered, hoping she’d let it go.
He missed the look between his sisters. They were on instant alert to find out about his mystery woman. He never would’ve opened his mouth if he knew how much chaos his ten little words would later cause him.
Chapter Seventeen
“We’ve decided to stay for a week or two. Your mother and I haven’t spent enough time in California the last few years and your sisters are dying to go for another spin on the new boat. I’m starting to think it’s time to move back home.”
Rafe turned in almost horror at his father’s words. He was instantly suspicious. His family had grilled him the night before on Ari. They’d wanted to know who she was, how long he’d been dating her, what her family was like. The list went on and on. Rafe had a bad feeling that their impromptu extended stay had more to do with Ari than his new boat.
It didn’t matter what his family’s reasoning was. He would never deny them a place to stay if they wanted to extend their visit. He’d just have to be on his toes and make sure he didn’t slip about anything else in front of them.
He had a lot of work to accomplish over the week, so he wouldn’t be able to spend a whole lot of time with them, anyway. He’d just alert his crew that the ship was at their disposal as well as any of his other possessions – his staff pretty much knew that, though.
“It will be nice to see more of you. I will warn you that I’ll be very busy this week. We’re going into a major merger and I’ll most likely be working fourteen hour days,” he said, hoping to head them off.
“Not a problem, son. I remember those days of working too many hours. Thankfully, now I get to spend my days with your beautiful mother instead. We’re taking off for Ireland after we leave here. I haven’t been there in years and this time of year is a good time to go. I could use some decent beer.”
“Well, the house is yours, along with all the vehicles. I’m leaving for the office but you can call my assistant if you need to reach me. Please don’t tell her it’s an emergency again just because you can’t find a certain bottle of wine,” Rafe warned.
“That was only one time, Rafe – and it was our anniversary. We’ve had the same wine on that anniversary for the past twenty years. In my book, that does constitute and emergency,” his father answered, completely serious.
“All right. If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll try and get home a bit early tomorrow.”
With those words, Rafe walked out the door and took a deep breath as he climbed into the back of his Bentley. His family was wonderful, but overwhelming. It would be good to get back into the offices where he was the one in control.
*****
“I can’t believe how hard it was to track down this girl!” Lia said with frustration.
“Well, we finally did it so relax, sis. Rafe’s obviously into her so I want to know why. I had to practically sit on Shane’s lap to get the information. It was fun to watch him sweat – especially when you walked in the room while I was hanging all over him. I’ve never seen Shane turn red before. That was entertaining,” Rachel answered with a giggle.
“Nothing is going on between Shane and I. Even if I did like him, which I don’t, it’s not like Rafe would ever allow anything to happen. He still treats me like I’m five instead of twenty-six,” Lia huffed.
“I think you should just sneak into Shane’s room one of these days and jump his bones. It’s obvious you’ve been in love with him since you were fourteen.”
“Focus, Rachel. We need to get to the beach and ambush Ari. Her office buddies guaranteed me they’d get her down there today. It was surprisingly easy to bribe them. They said she really needs to get laid. I found it interesting that big brother doesn’t have her chained to his bed if he’s so into her.”
“Maybe he’s into her, but she doesn’t like him,” Lia said before both girls erupted into laughter.
“Seriously, if there’s a woman out there smart enough to resist Rafe’s charm, she is definitely a keeper. I really hope that’s the case. Let’s get our detective gloves on.”
“I like nothing better than a good mystery.”
Rafe’s sisters jumped into his convertible Mercedes and immediately put the top down. It was a beautiful eighty degree day and they were looking forward to playing on the beach, and really looking forward to meeting the woman who seemed to be tying their big brother up in knots.
They hadn’t liked any of his mistresses that they’d met previously, and they’d hated his ex-wife, but a woman he wanted to hide from them had their curiosity piqued. It would be a great afternoon.
“Have we worked out the plan, yet?” Rachel asked as they stopped at a light. It was nearly impossible to hear over the wind while they drove.
“I have no clue. First step was in finding the girl. We’re going to have to assess the situation and think quick on our feet once we’re down there.”
“A challenge. You know, I always enjoy that.”
“Yes, because you’re a meddling brat, Rachel.”