Page 17 of An Inevitable Marriage

I smacked the empty mug down on the counter and faced my friend. “Iam the dick? Right. Let’s recap, shall we? First, you go out on some wild expedition to find me a wife—without my fucking permission. Then, the woman I’m supposed to marry shows up on my doorstep and dares to insult me in my own home. All while you’re standing there grinning from ear to fucking ear.” I blew out an overexaggerated sigh. “Yes, I guessIam a dick.”

I abandoned my coffee and took a protein shake from the fridge instead. I swallowed half the bottle before pointing it at Rafe and growling, “What the hell were you thinking, man?”

Rafe shook his head likeI’dsomehow disappointedhim.

“Stupido.”

“Don’t call me stupid, you Italian bastard.”

Waving an accusatory finger in my direction, he blew out a frustrated breath. “You can huff and puff all you want, but you and I both know youarebeing stupid, you English prick. If you don’t do something now, you’ll lose the only thing you give a shit about.”

He wasn’t wrong.

But instead of admitting it, I chose to let my sour mood do the talking.

“And that’s your reasoning for finding mea wife? One who apparently can barely stand the sight of me.” I set the shake on the counter and slowly smacked my palms together three times. “Great job, de Luca. Great fucking job.”

Rafe muttered a few Italian curses under his breath and steadily paced four steps to the left, then four to the right.

“It’s not like you can keep someone in your bed long enough to go on an actual date, let alone a marriage proposal.” He stopped pacing and faced me. “The woman in the elevator this morning…when did you meet her?”

Uneasiness settled in my bones yet again. “What does it matter?”

“She was a one-nighter, wasn’t she?” He shook his head. “That’s my point. It’s been two months, and you’re not even trying.”

“So?”

His frustrated sigh filled the space between us. “I know what Nouvelle Femme means to you. What it stands for. I don’t want you to lose it. So yes, I took it upon myself to keep your company where it belongs. And this is the thanks I get?” He shook his head in that disappointed way again. “I really should just stand back and watch you lose it all.”

I bit on my molars to the point of pain. “Then why don’t you?”

“Because that’s not what brothers do.”

That one sentence was enough to shut me the hell up. Even after all these years of friendship, I was still trying and failing to understand how people who weren’t my blood cared more about my well-being than the ones who were.

A different kind of shame boiled through my veins. He was right about all of it. I wasn’t doing a damn thing to honor my mother’s will. I wasn’t even trying.

Blowing out a breath through my nose, I scraped my hand over my beard. “You know I don’t want to lose the company but, Rafe, I’m not the marrying type. That woman took one look at me and immediately thought so, too.”

“Everlee.”

I whipped my head up. And there she was. I’d honestly thought she’d left. Shit, after the way I’d talked to her, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had.

A weird sensation floated through my insides, and that inexplicable pull I had to this woman slammed back into me with the force of a damn freight train.

“My name is Everlee,” she said, her voice all smooth and silky. “And under normal circumstances, you’re right; I wouldn’t marry you. And you wouldn’t look twice at me.”

Wouldn’t look twice?What did she mean by that? I was about to ask when she stepped farther into the room. Her black stiletto heels steadily clicked across the tiles in stark contrast with whatever the heck the inside of my chest was doing.

“These aren’t normal circumstances. You and I both need to do something about our situations.” She pinned me with a stare, stirring up that strange sensation behind my breastbone again.

What was her situation. Why was she here?

“I’m here to help my family.”

Had I said that out loud? Apparently so. Without asking the questions floating around inside my brain, I watched her make her way to where Rafe stood. She gave him a quick sideways glance, then made her way around the counter to me. Almost toe to toe, she tilted her head back and aimed those devastatingly green eyes at me.

“I’ll help you keep your company and in return you’ll help me help my family.”