Page 84 of Fix You

“Thank you,” I whispered.

When we started to get off the elevator, Milos remained close to my side. An SUV sat waiting on us at the curb with another Neretti bodyguard standing watch. Defeatedly, I got inside and buckled up.

We started home in silence. When we were about a mile from home, I swiped my tears a final time. Reaching into my purse, I dabbed some powder under my eyes to hide the tear stains.

“It’s probably better if you don’t let me out at the house,” I suggested.

“As you wish.”

After he pulled the car over, Milos put the SUV in park. Before I could get myself out, he’d already come over to help me. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Ma’am, although it's overstepping my bounds, I feel there is something I should say.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “Okay.”

“There is an old Italian proverb that says, “Quella destinata per te, nessuno la prenderà, which means no one will take the one that is destined for you.” With a smile, he replied, “In the days and weeks to come, hold on to that.”

Frowning, I replied, “But–”

“Fate and destiny can intervene when nothing else can.”

Staring into Milos’s eyes, I saw the firm resolve in them. If he could believe in Rafe and me, then why shouldn’t I? “Destiny in Irish iscinniúint.We believe in it very strongly there as well.”

Milos nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”

What I did next shocked the both of us. I leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for everything, Milos.”

His usually tanned cheeks reddened. “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

With a final nod, the new me started down the street to my old world.

Chapter Sixteen: Raphael

Three Months Later

As I leaned back in my chair, I tried drowning out Edoardo Caruso’s incessant droning. I’d managed to dodge his calls for most of the week until after I’d returned from lunch. As I started past Maura, my secretary, she grabbed my arm. “Mr. Neretti, there’s a man here to see you from the Caruso family.”

Just as I opened my mouth to protest that I wasn’t receiving guests, I realized the door to my office was open, which never happened. As my gaze continued inside, a tall man in a trench coat rose from one of the chairs in front of my desk. When I caught his eye, he beckoned me with a flick of his wrist.

If it had been any other family’s representative, I would have told him to go fuck himself. But Caruso was different. So, with a nod to Maura, I gritted my teeth and strode into my office. “How can I help you?” I’d asked.

Without a word, he’d held out a phone to me. Once I had it in hand, he’d walked calmly out of my office and closed the door behind him. I wasn’t used to interacting with polite henchmen. Part of me was impressed with Edoardo’s ballsy method of overriding my bullshit to force me to speak to him while another was completely pissed at his overreach.

As usual, my mind was miles away in Ireland on a beautiful redhead. The last three months had been the emotional equivalent of a torture session. I’d been a fool to think I could just walk away from Maeve. Before our holiday reunion, she’d often been in my thoughts.

Now that I’d possessed her body, she was a part of me–one that called out to me in the dark of night. I couldn’t look at a woman in a green dress without thinking of her. The sight of roses felt like a punch in the gut. Each and every day I battled with myself not to get on a plane and fly to Ireland to get her.

But I remained a coward who claimed he was doing the right thing out of duty and honor. The truth was I was afraid of my feelings for Maeve. I’d never experienced them before. For someone always in control, it was a truly helpless feeling, and I couldn’t imagine surrendering to it.

“Did you hear me?” Edoardo demanded, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind business wise. My personal life is the last thing on my mind,” I apologized.

“It would do you good to remember that this marriage is a business deal more than it is a personal one.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him he and his martial alliance could fuck off. I hated that I couldn’t. But with things still shaky with Father’s absence, I needed the jackass.

Although it pained me greatly, I replied, “I understand that. I truly do, and you have my apologies, and my promise to keep the lines of communication open between us. You have my word that you will not have to send an emissary again.”

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