Page 11 of Rio (Knight Empire #3)

Dani has brought me up to date on why she got back with Dex, and why she believes he’s nothing like his father.

With the happy wonder of a child, she told me how Dex proposed, and I made all the appropriate excited sounds and comments as I drove to the spa center where we’re spending a few indulgent hours getting pampered like the queens that we are.

Last night wasn’t the right time to find out all the details of Paul Knight’s trickery, not in front of Dex. And after dinner, they were tired and so was I, so we all went home.

But, I’ve interrogated Dani and I now know everything that went on, in detail. Maybe Paul Knight is a monster, and maybe his sons are different, but Dex will have to prove himself.

Getting AO Electronica back for Dani’s father, with the help of the other brothers, is all well and good, and noble, but time will tell if I can trust Dex to be the type of partner my friend deserves.

Once a Knight, always a Knight. I’ve known about this family and their business practices long before the Knights became a part of Dani’s life.

I try not to think about them as we walk into the light and airy spa. The gardenia-infused air inspires a soothing calm that I don’t fully feel.

We settle into the plush black velvet chairs, ready for our manicure and pedicure. I’m treating Dani and I’m determined that this will be our time. Pure girlie time with talk of no billionaires or family drama. Just two best friends catching up in style.

I miss her like crazy, and I miss our little catch-up sessions. When we studied together at Georgetown, it was one of the best years of my life. We’re more than best friends; we’re like sisters and spending time together always guarantees fun and laughter.

We haven’t been here long and I feel lighter already. She’s the only person I can let my guard down with even though I may not tell her everything, and she might not tell me.

The technicians start on h our pedicures.

“I didn’t realize how much I needed this.” Dani sighs in contentment and sits back in her chair.

“I did.”

I clink my glass gently against hers. “To fabulous skin, juicy gossip, and getting taken care of by people who won’t judge you.”

Dani laughs, leaning her head back and closing her yes. “Only you would toast to exfoliation.”

She sips her champagne. This is going to be a regular thing for her, in exotic locations all around the world, when she vacations. She’ll have a jet-set life being engaged and eventually married to a billionaire.

“I’ve missed you so much, hon,” I tell her.

“I’ve missed you.”

We sit a while in an appreciative silence. The mood is light and easy, but my mind drifts. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask. Something that’s been sticking in the back of my throat while I digest everything she told me.

“So…” I take another sip and lower my voice, “what does your future father-in-law think about your engagement?”

Dani opens one eye, turns and gives me a look. “Dex said that when he told him, his father just nodded and said he wasn’t surprised.”

Typical.

“He’s pissed, Dexter says. After everything that happened, him tricking my father, and Rio and his brothers helping Dexter get the company back ...”

Paul Knight sounds dangerous and vile. I shudder with dread to think of Dani having him for a father-in-law one day.

When I think of the family secret, the affair Paul had, of his wife’s suicide, and the two sets of brothers, it’s the stuff of soap operas.

It doesn’t seem real. But it is, and that’s the sad thing.

Two families were affected. Two women, who both loved a man. And six little boys.

Now that I know, I see the similarity between them, though it still surprises me that Rio and Dex are only half-brothers, because they seem so much like real brothers so strong is their resemblance, save for the hair, and Rio’s olive complexion.

“Dexter told his father at work. He just walked into his office, told him we were engaged, for real, and that was it.”

It doesn’t surprise me, but it’s so messed up. “Did his father congratulate you?”

Dani scoffs. “I haven’t seen him since the Knight family dinner, at his penthouse, when Dexter told him that he’d been outplayed. Jett threw us a dinner last week, and it was such a wonderful evening.”

“Wonderful?” She makes it sound like he did something amazing.

“It was informal, and Paul wasn’t invited, and we all got on.

It felt so relaxed, compared to the Knight family dinner.

It was like being at home, when we have our cousins and aunts and uncles over.

Usually there’s no warmth with the Knights, but this was different.

It’s hard to explain. They don’t know how to be a family. ” She looks at me, apologetically.

“They’re dysfunctional.”

“Yes, but that night, at Jett and Cari’s dinner, it felt like we were all part of one family.”

“You are all part of one family,” I quip.

“But they don’t act like it. If you saw them together, you’d see the divide.

Rio, Matteo and Enzo versus Jett, Dex and Zach.

Dexter said it used to be so obvious. But then he and Rio started hanging out, and discovered that they have a lot in common, and then they had to keep their friendship a secret from the others. That’s crazy, don’t you think?”

“They’re a crazy family,” I mutter. “You don’t have to marry into it.” I quirk a smile, but a part of me is being serious.

The technician starts on her other foot, around the same time that mine does. “You’re wary, and you have the sense of a bloodhound and I love you for it, but you’ll see, the more you get to know Dexter, that he’s nothing like his father. None of them are.”

“None of them?” My heart flips, and I anticipate hearing about the others.

“It was so sweet. Jett apologized to me for being so cold towards me, and I appreciate it. It means a lot coming from him.”

“Why? Does he have a God-complex or something?” I roll my eyes. They think they’re more important than they are. They think having all that wealth elevates them. I have so much disdain for these people.

She laughs. “No. He’s just … more intense, more … brooding.”

I glance sideways at her, trying to play it cool. “And the others?”

“They’re interesting characters. Each of them are so different.”

“How?”

“Zach is like the youngest. It’s Jett, Dex and then him, and he seems to care more for their father. He doesn’t dislike him as much as they all do. Rio and Dex are close. Matteo is cool, a bit indifferent. Keeps himself to himself. Enzo is a dark horse.”

“Is he?”

“I think so. He’s the quietest one, and the youngest of that set of brothers, but I think he’s smarter and more savvy than he lets on.”

We fall silent, and the soft music fills the air. I take a sip of my champagne, letting the bubbles fizz over my tongue. As casually as I can, I ask, “What about Rio?” She didn’t say much about him.

“Rio?” She hesitates, as if she’s searching for words. “Rio’s complicated.”

“That’s one word for him.”

She turns to me. “How would you know?”

I swirl my champagne, feigning nonchalance. “It’s a gut feeling.”

I can see that she doesn’t buy it, but she lets it go. I lean back, letting the tech paint my nails. “When’s the wedding?”

Dani snorts. “Hon, we just got engaged. We’re not rushing. We’re taking it slow this time.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Hopefully there’ll be no more drama.”

“Not this time. Why would there be? I told you why we had an arranged marriage.”

She did. I had no idea that AO Eletronica wasn’t doing so well. Hopefully things will get better now. Uncle Arminio has been such an inspiration and so many have looked up at him.

“Did I ever tell you about me and Rio?” she asks, casually, like she’s asking me what nail color I like the best.

“You and Rio?” I feel like I’ve been punched.

“He was awestruck when he first saw me. Remember I told you about the social evening Paul Knight held at his penthouse, where all the Knight boys turned up?”

I nod. She told me about that. She never told me about her and Rio. She sits back and holds up her hand, admiring her nails as the technician moves on to her other hand. She has no idea that her words gnaw away at my insides.

“What about you and Rio?” I ask, in a voice I don’t recognize as mine.

She laughs, her green eyes twinkling like this is an amusing story. For her maybe. “He was so mesmerised he could barely speak. ”

I force a laugh, and think back to the smooth talking, confident man who sets me on fire each time we’re in the same room, and I can’t reconcile him with this awe-struck, speechless version Dani’s telling me about.

“I can’t imagine that,” I manage to say.

She goes on to tell me how much he liked her, how later on, Dex told her that Rio had a photo of her in his apartment.

That he was smitten by her. Every word she says, every image my mind builds, is like a hook reaching into my gut and ripping my heart to shreds.

It feels so sharp. So painful, and it surprises me that I feel this.

I’ve never been jealous of Dani. We both had lots of admirers in college, but this news about Rio cuts in a way I’m not prepared for.

“But I chose Dexter instead,” she says, with a giggle.

I find the idea of Rio being in awe of Dani extremely unsettling. She and I are both capable of turning heads wherever we go, but she has a lushness, a voluptuousness, and those twinkling bright green eyes, not to mention her height—something I don’t have.

“Why Dex?” I ask, relieved that she did.

“Because he didn’t fall at my feet,” she answers, innocently, oblivious to the tsunami of emotions sweeping over me. I feel hollow to my core. “He barely spoke to me.”

I dread to think what might have happened if he had. If Dani had chosen Rio. If she and Rio had gotten married. And I don’t like thinking about that.

“Are you still working nonstop?” she asks.

I groan. “Yes. I’ve got a new case coming up—environmental justice stuff. Something messy down in Belize. Corporate corruption, deforestation, the works.”

“That sounds intense. You must be loving that.”

“I do. It sounds meaty, and you know how much I love fighting for our planet, and how much I hate these big corporations pissing all over the small people. Pierce is giving me mixed signals about it. He wants me to look at it, but he’s not too keen on my going out.

” I can’t get a read on him for this one, but I don’t want to think about him or work for now.

“Is your boss still... you know, repugnant?” Dani makes a pained face.

I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “He’s insufferable. I need to leave. I’ve been saying that for months but I really need to make it happen.”