Page 51 of Fix You

“Once again, it’s not my story to tell. That should come from Maeve.”

“For fuck’s sake, Kitty Cat, I can’t call her up and ask her about something so traumatic.”

“Then let it go,” she said softly.

“But things were left so badly between us. I hate thinking with everything she’s been through that she’s suffering because of what happened.” At Caterina’s continued silence, I added, “She needs to know I understand why she reacted the way that she did. That I’m okay with it. Thatwe’reokay.”

“Is it true what Callum told me about you having to marry an Italian girl to unite the families?”

I frowned into the phone at the change in the conversation. “Yeah, why?” Like with Maeve, I couldn’t bring myself to tell Caterina about the marriage contract I’d just signed with Andrea Caruso. I don’t know why I kept treating it like a dirty secret.

“Then leave Maeve alone.”

“I can’t even reach out as a friend?”

With a huff, she countered, “Rafe, you and I both know you’ve never been friends with a woman in your life.”

“But this is different. Maeve is different.”

“Yes, she is. It’s why I can’t imagine you were even interested in her in the first place.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sei un donnaiolo.”

A mirthless laugh burst from my lips. “You can’t just call me a womanizer in English?”

Her sigh crackled through the line. “It’s just hard for me to accept how you can put me on a pedestal the way that you do and then be so heartless when it comes to other women.”

Fuck me. Of course she would have to bring up my past. “That has nothing to do with Maeve.”

“It haseverythingto do with her!” Caterina cried. A few moments passed before she said, “I know what I saw between the two of you. Like I said before, there isnopotential for friendship. I know what Maeve wants, and it isn’t to be a conquest or one of your many one-night stands.”

“You don’t know what she wants. For fuck’s sake, she was the one who came onto me when she asked me for a kiss.”

“Please, Rafe, trust me on this one. You’ll only end up hurting her, and then despite how much I love you, I’ll have to hurt you myself rather than Callum or his brothers.”

“Ouch, Kitty Cat. You’d bring out the claws.”

“As much as it would kill me, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

I exhaled a ragged breath. If Caterina was this defiant now, I knew she would truly lose her shit if she knew I’d signed a marriage contract. “I’ll let it go.”

“It really is for the best.”

Although I knew she was right, I couldn’t bring myself to agree with her. I’d forgotten all about us landing until the jet began to skid along the runway. “Thanks for talking to me, but I’ve got to go.”

“Love you despite you being adonnaiolo.”

I smiled at the phone. “I love you, too, Kitty Cat.”

After hanging up, I knew I wouldn’t be getting Maeve Kavanaugh off my mind any time soon.

Chapter Nine: Maeve

Three Months Later

As soon as I’d finished with my last exam, Callum sent the private jet for Mam, Eamon, and me to come spend the Christmas holidays in Boston. Considering his and Caterina’s newlywed status, he’d wanted to start their own family traditions rather than spend Christmas in Belfast.

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