Rafe had to hold in the retort wanting to pop from his mouth. He’d never been disrespectful to his parents and he wasn’t about to start.
“Isn’t it obvious, Dad? Rafe’s in love,” Rachel said in a singsong voice.
“Rachel, for once in your life you need to keep your mouth shut. Ari is… she’s just an employee.”
“Ha!” Lia muttered.
Rafe glared at both of his siblings.
“Well well, if it isn’t the man of the hour – the hero of San Francisco, who swoops in and takes down an armed man while saving the princess from certain death.”
Rafe turned to find his best friend approaching them. He wasn’t thrilled to see the amused smile on Shane’s face. He braced himself for an even longer evening. There was nothing Shane liked more than to find a weakness and then dig in.
“I thought you were out of the country, Shane.”
“I flew all night to make sure your sorry butt was okay. Thanks for calling, by the way.”
“Everyone is simply overreacting to the whole situation. I’m fine, thank you. Go back to South America, or wherever it is you’ve been saving the world.”
“Raffaello, you’re being so rude,” Rosabella scolded as she approached Shane and gave him a welcoming hug.
“Yeah, buddy, very rude,” Shane said with a frown as if his feelings really were hurt. He winked at Rafe as Rosabella released him. His friend knew how to make Rafe look like an ass and he enjoyed doing it.
“Would you like to join us for dinner? We were just leaving,” Martin asked.
“Of course I would. I haven’t seen my favorite family in over six months now. How are you beautiful?” he said while rubbing Rachel’s head.
“I’m not ten years old anymore, Shane. You no longer get to rub my head,” she snapped.
“Sorry, squirt; you’ll always be ten in my eyes.”
“What about Lia? Will she also always be ten?” Rachel goaded, causing both Lia and Shane to squirm. Rafe’s eyes narrowed as he saw the tension between his best friend and little sister. What the hell was going on?
“Shane?” he questioned. He knew there was a problem when Shane wouldn’t look him in the eyes.
“Hey. I thought we were getting some grub. I just flew halfway across the planet and I’m starving,” Shane said with a laugh. Rafe noticed he still wasn’t making eye contact with Lia. He was going to have to have a chat with his best friend before the night was out.
“Yes, with all the stress today, I haven’t been able to eat a thing. Knowing that you’re going to be okay has returned my appetite. Let’s find a restaurant with a view,” Rosabella said as they approached Rafe’s waiting ride.
The family climbed in the back of the limo, and Rafe’s eyes were watchful as Lia scooted all the way to the far side, and Shane sat on the opposite seat the furthest away from her. He just hoped he didn’t explode before he was able to get Shane alone.
“Where have you been and what have you been up to?” Rosabella asked.
“Oh, nothing much. I’ve just been down in South America,” he answered, squirming a bit.
“Nothing much! You’re building houses with your own money. Not only that, but you’ve managed to gather a group of other investors to jump in and donate not only their funds but their time. That takes some heavy lifting,” Lia said, obviously impressed.
“Why is it that you and my son are so over-confident in business and yet so awkward when talking about volunteer work and the beautiful things you do for people? Those are the things you should be shouting from the rooftops.”
“First off, it’s really not that big of a deal. I spent a lot of time as a teenager and my twenties being selfish, taking whatever I wanted and not even thinking of giving back anything. Plus, if someone is doing community service for a pat on the back, then they’re wasting their time. Giving of yourself or your money is meaningless if you’re only doing it because you want to be seen or praised. The reason I like doing volunteer projects out of the country is because I don’t have the news hounding me every five seconds. If nobody knows where I’m at, I finally get a bit of peace. Your son’s been on a few projects with me. He says it’s to get away, but he works his ass off,” Shane answered, nodding at Rafe with respect.
“Speaking of my closed son, do you know what’s going on between Rafe and this lovely Ari?”
Shane’s head whipped around and he finally met Rafe’s eyes. Rafe sent him the slightest shake of his head, asking his friend not to question him in front of the parents. When he saw the gleam enter Shane’s eyes, he knew he was screwed.
“Well, I haven’t heard of Ari before, which tells me that Rafe may actually be interested in this woman.”
“If you haven’t heard about her, then it can’t be that serious,” Martin said with confusion.
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. You see, Rafe and I share everything with each other. I know all about his conquests within days of them meeting. If he’s keeping her from me, then it’s because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Rafe always knows what he’s doing, so it looks like a woman may have finally come along that is able to knock him off of his perfectly projected life,” Shane answered with a smile.
Enough was enough!
“I haven’t mentioned Ari because we hardly know each other. Yes, I’m dating her, or at least considering it. She’s a little to brash for my normal taste, but she has her qualities,” Rafe started when he heard his mother gasp in shock at his crudeness.
“However,” he continued. “My dating life is none of your business, Shane. Mom, if I were to ever get that serious about a woman, I would tell you. The bottom line is that no woman has gained much interest in my eyes in a long time – Ari included,” he finished as if he was already bored with the conversation.
“That is a horrible thing to say, Rafe,” Rosabella scolded.
“I think it’s best if we just drop this subject. Besides, I’m far more interested in learning why Shane and Lia can’t even seem to look at each other.”
All heads turned to Lia first, whose face was flaming red, and then to Shane, who seemed to be breaking out in a sweat.
“There’s nothing to tell,” Shane said awkwardly as he fiddled with his cuffs.
“Nothing to tell! How about a few months ago when you spent the night together,” Rachel piped in with a wicked smile.