Page 65 of The Mogul: Leonard

“I know, but did you see my sister’s face?” I lock my gaze with his.

He chuckles. “Did you see Raphael’s?”

A smile curves my lips, and I take a deep breath. Raphael seems on the verge of a breakdown. I’ve never seen him so flustered. He’s a politician; he knows how to hide his feelings. Not this time.

“Let’s go, or they’ll barge into this room,” I say, breaking away from his embrace and grabbing his hand, pulling him downstairs.

As we enter the living room, conversations come to an abrupt halt, and everyone’s gaze shifts toward us. I focus on the two people who matter most: my sister and her husband. Silver seems to have recovered from the shock, with a small smile on her face. Raphael, however, looks as if he’s just swallowed a frog.

“Can we just get over with this conversation so we can enjoy the rest of the day?” Leonard sighs as he sits in the armchair in front of the others and pulls me onto his lap.

I can’t help but let out a small squeal, which brings grins from Harrison and Aaron. They are clearly pleased at this turn of events.

“What’s there to say? You fucked her behind our back, and you got caught.” Raphael raises an eyebrow and takes a sip from his glass, which I assume contains liquor.

“I didn’t do it behind your back, and I definitely didn’t get caught. You barged into my house uninvited,” Leonard retorts, clearly irritated by his friend’s comment.

Meanwhile, Silver elbows her husband, and he responds with a grunt.

“You didn’t tell us!” Raphael grumbles, and everyone suppresses a laugh.

I’m about to explain that this is none of his business, but Leonard cuts in with a scoff.

“Of course, we didn’t tell you. It’s a pretty new development, and we’re trying to navigate it. You shouldn’t be upset; you need to respect our timing. This is our personal life, and we deserve respect.”

“This is a very mature argument,” Dakota says, smiling at Raphael and raising an eyebrow in a clear message that he shouldn’t be so childish.

I hold back a laugh, biting my lips.

“Being forty years old has its perks,” Leonard winks at her.

We’re all making fun of Raphael. No one in this room actually has a problem with our relationship; they’re simply surprised that this situation came out of the blue. I believe that Raphael isn’t angry with us, either; he’s just reacting to the unexpectedness of the situation. He’s used to having everything under control, and the fact that we managed to catch him off guard is unsettling for him.

I breathe a sigh of relief. For a moment, I thought I was going to have to fight with my sister.

“Yeah, yeah. But a heads-up before catching my sister-in-law wearing only your shirt as you standing there in boxers would have been nice,” he mumbles, and we all laugh.

“That was quite shocking,” Sienna admits. “I thought you two hated each other.”

I grin at her, not quite sure how to answer that. Yes, last time we talked Leonard and I weren’t exactly on good terms, but we weren’t openly fighting either.

“Angry sex is the best,” Mia chips in.

“Amen!” I agree.

“Please, stop talking about sex. I still have to digest this information. I don’t need a detailed visual of those two together,” Raphael grimaces.

We chuckle, and he shakes his head, rolling his eyes. He’s not angry over our relationship, just horrified because he caught me half-dressed. That’s just Raphael’s protective side showing up.

“Can we talk about the real elephant in the room?” Dakota asks, her eyes widening.

We all turn to look at her, puzzled. She gestures toward where Leonard and I are seated. “He’s wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt. Doesn’t that bother you?”

We all burst out laughing, Leonard included. I don’t think they’ve ever seen him dressed less than perfect.

“Blame her,” he says, gesturing toward me. “She forced me to buy comfortable clothes, and wouldn’t stop pestering me.”

Dakota smirks, and Aaron shakes his head. “You were the last man standing—the only one who still refused to bend or change his habits for a woman.” He lets out a low chuckle.

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