Page 91 of Explode
“No. Kai might like his women to give him shit, but I don’t. I like minemeek and mild. I like them doing as they are told,” Miles replied, pulling the car to a stop as a Bianchi guard approached us.
My eyes narrowed on him. “Woman. Singular.”
“What?” he asked in confusion.
“You said Kai liked hiswomento give him shit. There’s only onewoman, dickhead.”
Miles smirked at me. “Woman.Can we drop it now?”
“Sure,Milo.”I grinned when the smirk on his lips turned into a scowl.
As we got out so the guards could go through the routine search of usand the car, I couldn’t help but smile as the conversation replayed in my head. For the first time since finding out Kai was alive, it felt like Miles and I were back to how we were before.
It felt like I had my brother back.
Satisfied we weren’t going to try and blow up the Bianchi mansion,Miles drove us the rest of the way to the house. Although it had only been a week since I was last here, so much had happened during that time I’d forgotten how beautiful the place was.
Miles stopped the car in the courtyard, and as we stepped out, Rafeand the Bianchi 2IC, Antonio, walked down the steps to meet us. The two men were a complete juxtaposition of one another. Rafe had a beaming smile on his face, happy to see us, whereas Antonio scowled, looking like we were his arch-nemesis.
“Riley, it’s good to see you,” Rafe said, and before I had a chance toprotest, he threw his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug.
“Oh, good to see you too,” I replied, tentatively putting my arm aroundhis shoulder and ignoring the way Miles was smirking at me. The fucker would tell Kai another man put his hands on me, no doubt in revenge for me calling him Milo.
“Mr. Wolfe,” Antonio said, his voice stern. “Mr. Bianchi would like todiscuss arrangements for the engagement party before dinner. Perhaps you could follow me.”
He didn’t give Miles a chance to respond before he turned andwalked away, leaving Miles glaring at his retreating figure.
“Guess I’ll see you at dinner, Riley. Stay out of trouble,” Milesgrumbled, before following in Antonio’s wake.
“Come,” Rafe said, taking my hand and leading me to the side of thehouse. “I’ll make sure your dinner outfits are taken up to the guest rooms so you can change later. Sofia’s looking forward to seeing you, she likes you, and my sister doesn’t have a lot of friends.”
I smiled at the fondness in his voice. It was clear as the nose on myface that Rafe loved his sister, and as for her not having many friends, the same was true of me. At least if the poor girl was going to be forced to marry Miles, she’d have a friend in her cousin-in-law, or whatever the hell relation we’d be once they were married.
“She was worried about you after you disappeared at the party lastweek,” Rafe continued. “But our father told us Kai had come for you.” There was an unmistakable hint of venom in his tone, and he practically spat Kai’s name.
“Yeah,” I replied, feeling guilty that I had disappeared and not givenSofia a second thought.
“You’ve forgiven him then?”
My feet faltered at the bitterness in Rafe’s voice. I stopped walkingand pulled my hand from his, causing him to stop and turn back to face me.
“It’s been a rough week, but yeah, we’re working things out.”
His brows pulled into a frown. “After what he did?”
“Rafe, he’s my husband, and I love him. I know what he did was-”
“He hurt you, Riley,” Rafe interrupted, and I couldn’t help but be takenaback by the way this conversation was going. I thought Rafe might have liked me, but I’d made it clear I wasn’t interested, even before I knew Kai was still alive.
“With all due respect, Rafe, it’s mine and Kai’s business. Kai had hisreasons for doing what he did. Yes, he hurt me, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about him. That man is my life.” I trailed off as hurt seeped into Rafe’s hazel eyes.
After a short pause, Rafe gave me a sad smile, seemingly coming toa realization. “No one stood a chance against him, did they?”
“No. He had my heart from the minute I met him,” I replied softly.
There was another pause, and part of me wanted to reach out andtake Rafe’s hand, but I didn’t want to give him false hope. After a minute, he shook his head and took my hand again before leading me around the side of the house.
“I’m happy for you, Riley. I really am,” he said, giving me a genuinesmile.
