Chapter Forty-One
chapter forty-one
RAFAEL
My fist bangs on the gigantic front door of Heath’s estate. “Heath! Let me in, you prick!”
The door swings open and I see Heath’s face wracked with fury. “Oh my god, would you shut the hell up?”
“Where is she?” I push past him into his house.
“Yeah, no, I’m good. Thanks for asking. How are you?”
“Which of these rooms is she hiding out in?” I walk down the hall, peering into all the rooms in this gigantic place. May thinks that my house is ridiculously big, but Heath’s estate is truly enormous. I've never even counted how many rooms it has.
“I know you two are screwing now, but that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to come barging into my house demanding to see her.” He stands in front of me.
“It’s not just screwing, asshole, and you know it.”
“Rafael, you need to cool it. She just wants space, and you need to give her that. You go in all guns blazing, and she's going to shut down. You know that.”
My breathing is erratic, and I try to slow it down as I take in what he said.
I hate to admit it, but he’s right. I’m going to freak her out with all of this — all of my feelings—if I don’t get them under control .
I only saw May for a split second before she bolted from the wedding—our best friends’ wedding. The last thing I expected her to do was leave early. But in the split second that her eyes met mine, I saw a look in her eyes that made my gut churn. I recognized the feeling. I felt it months ago when I saw her in that cottage, the place burning around her. Fear tore through my system, the fear of losing her, and it’s the same feeling that’s got me banging down my friend's door just to see her face.
“Just tell me she’s alright?”
He sighs. “It wasn’t you. You didn’t do anything to upset her.” I should be ashamed that he can read me so well, but I’m just relieved at his words.
I bristle. “Then who did?” Heath avoids my gaze. “Heath…”
He sighs in defeat. “Talk to your sister.”
I storm through the front door of my house. It barely feels like my house anymore. I’ve been spending all my nights at Rosemary Cottage with May. The thought makes my mind spin with the idea that I might not spend any more nights there, not if May is distancing herself from me. Not if whatever my sister said to her made her spiral.
“Marisol! Dove sei?” I yell.
She appears in the hallway. “ Ciao Rafael, how are you? I’m good myself. Thanks for asking.”
I roll my eyes. Why is that everyone’s response? “What did you say to her?”
Her brows pull together. “Who?”
“May!”
“Okay, you need to chill.”
I sigh and level my temper. “What did you say to her?”
“You’re going to need to be a bit more specific.”
I let out a breath. My mind is spinning like a ferris wheel on steroids, trying to figure out any reason why May ran from me like a scared puppy. “At the wedding, she left early. She left her best friend's wedding early and doesn’t want to speak to me. The only thing I was told was to speak to you. So what did you say to her?”
“ Merda ,” she swears, raking a hand through her hair.
“Mari,” I warn.
“Shit, I—” She blows out a breath. “It was stupid. I just?—”
“Marisol, what the hell did you say?”
She groans. “I might’ve sort of said that I thought you were in love with her.”
My stomach drops. Oh god.
“But it wasn’t serious. I was joking…sort of.”
“Oh my god,” I mutter.
She thinks I’m in love with her and now she’s running. Exactly like she told me that she would if something got serious.
The worst part is that I am in love with her. I don’t know when I realized it, but I know it. Deep down, that feeling is strong in my gut. The worst part is that I thought maybe one day she’d come to feel the same, even given her past. I thought there was a slim chance that maybe she could, a small spark of hope for us, and now it’s been put out.
“I’m so sorry, Rafael. I didn’t mean to?—”
“I’ve got to go.” I turn around and walk straight out the door, hopping into my truck and driving towards the one person that I know can get through to her, along with the one person who might kill me for knocking on his door.
I walk into the elevator in Hotel Dolce and buzz on the intercom. “Caio, I know you’re going to kill me for being here right now, but can you rip my balls off after you let me talk to your wife?”