Lost in You (The Ruby Cove #4)

Chapter 1

chapter one

LEO

I’ve always been a man who likes a bit of routine. I don’t have a planner with glittery stickers or anything like that, but I usually have a good idea of what I’m doing the next day when my head hits the pillow.

What I didn’t foresee for today was Rafael Deo showing up at my house to do an unplanned inspection of sorts.

He didn’t say that was what he came here for, but with the way he is poking around the kitchen and opening every drawer he possibly can, I can’t think of another word for what he’s doing.

Mind you, this house is still actually under Rafael’s name, but I’ve been living in it for about four months now, so why he’s chosen today to act as if he’s a building inspector is beyond me.

“Are you looking for something in particular, or just here to judge my cutlery choices?” I say.

He looks up, closing the drawer. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Well, see, you showed up unannounced—not that I don’t love your company,” I press my hand over my heart, and Rafael’s face goes deadpan, “and you’ve been poking around my house like a rat looking for cheese ever since you walked in the door.”

“A rat looking for cheese?” He leans on the kitchen bench. “That’s the best you could come up with?”

“What would you prefer?” I ask, settling on the back of the couch as I cross my arms. “Dog with a bone? Leaving no stone unturned?”

“Last one will do,” he mutters gruffly. “At least you’re not referring to me as a rodent or a mutt.” Something about his demeanor has me fighting a smile. He looks like a dog that’s been kicked—for lack of a better reference.

A smile kicks at the corner of my mouth as I watch him aimlessly wander around the kitchen that used to be his, his movements lacking any enthusiasm at all—any purpose.

“She kicked you out, didn’t she?”

Rafael blows out a long breath as he spins around to face me, his eyes rolling as he walks around the island. “My breathing was too loud, apparently,” he says. “Nearly sent her into a tailspin. She told me to ‘go entertain myself elsewhere’ before she did something she’d regret.”

A chuckle slips from between my lips as I shake my head without even meaning to. “I thought the second trimester was supposed to be a little easier?” I say.

“Yeah, I don’t think it was the hormones this time. I think it was just me.” He flops down on the couch, and I round the small coffee table to sit next to him with a grin.

“You’re still convinced it’s a boy?” I ask.

“Oh yeah,” he says. “I got home from work the other night to find Nora kneeling over May, who was lying flat on the floor, holding some crystal string…charm thing over her belly.” His face screws up as if he still can’t figure out exactly what was going on in his house.

“And apparently, because the thing swung in circles, it meant it’s a boy.

” He shrugs, his eyes still narrow in confusion.

“Or was it because it swung back and forth?…”

“Right…” I nod as if any of this makes any sense to me.

“Old wives’ tales thing, apparently,” he says. “But I can feel it in my gut. I’m going to have a son.”

The two of them decided to leave the gender of their unborn child a surprise, yet both of them are entirely sure it’s a boy. I don’t know if I’ll be more entertained if that turns out to be true, or if they end up with a little girl.

“Either way,” I say, grabbing the bag of potato chips I left on the coffee table earlier and dropping it in my lap. “You’re going to be an amazing dad, Raf.”

He pulls the chips away from me as soon as my hand is out of the bag, diving in for a handful himself. “You really think so?” he asks. “The more I think about it, the less certain I feel that I have any clue what I am doing here. I mean, I don’t know how to change a diaper, do you?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s something they teach you at the hospital,” I say in between crunches, my voice muffled by the chips stuffed in my cheeks. “I don’t think there are many people who are one hundred percent prepared to be parents. You just figure it out.”

Rafael lets out a long breath after swallowing down the salt and vinegar chips, his silence proving just how in his head he is.

I reach over to pat him on the shoulder. “You’ve still got time.”

“You around this weekend?” he asks. “May’s mother is coming into town, and depending on how it goes, we might need reinforcements.”

“I thought May’s mom was nice?” I steal the chips back.

“She’s nice.” He tips his head. “She’s just…overbearing, and we all know you would keep her plenty entertained if May needs a break.”

I don’t know exactly how to take that comment.

“As much as I’d love to be the distraction, I’m heading into the city on Friday. Gotta deal with some…work stuff,” I say, scolding myself as I let the words out, knowing exactly what’s coming.

Raf’s eyes narrow. “Work stuff, huh?”

“Can we not?” I stand, rolling up the top of the bag and walking to the kitchen, putting as much space between us as possible. As if a few meters can stop me from hearing his scrutiny.

“Can we?” He stands. “For once?”

I shake my head, hiding the chips back in the pantry.

I’ve been dealing with Rafael and the rest of our friends bugging me about my work situation for over a year now, ever since I came back to Ruby Cove for good.

And yet, I haven’t been able to bring myself to talk about why I gave up personal security.

I have a therapist—or I had one when I was living in Sorrento. I still talk to her over the phone sometimes, when the nightmares get too much.

I don’t need to talk it all through with my friends. I don’t need to relive what happened any more than what’s necessary.

I came home to build a new life, one that’s quiet and stable. Digging up my past won’t do me any good.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Rafael,” I say, turning around to see him leaning on the counter, his gaze concerned. But he doesn’t need to be worried. This will all be over soon. “I’m going to Sorrento to sell the business.”

“What?” He stands up straight. “Why?”

“I haven’t been working the job for over a year,” I say. “I don’t need to own the business anymore. There’s no need. Plus, the sale of the firm will give me enough time to figure out where to go next.”

What I don’t say is that hanging onto the business is the one thing still tethering me to what happened. And while my last name sits firmly in front of the word security on a small office building in the center of Sorrento, I can’t let it go. I can’t move on the way I so desperately want to.

“You worked for years to build that business,” Rafael says. “And now you want to give it away? What happened, Leo?”

The genuine look of worry shining in his eyes nearly has me opening my mouth to say the words, to tell him what happened that night, but I don’t. I’m moving on.

I clear my throat. “Things change, Rafael, that’s all.”

I see it the moment he resigns. His shoulders drop before he pulls a stool out from beneath the island. “Yeah, well, if you happen to see Marisol while you’re there, give her a dose of that ‘things change’ speech, will you?”

The mention of Rafael’s little sister pulls me out of my head instantly. “Is she still struggling to find work?”

He shakes his head. “Understatement of the century. Jack did a real number on her.”

Anger simmers through my system at the thought of Marisol’s ex. I met his dumb ass last year at a club in Sorrento when Rafael found Jack trying to get in May’s pants. That’s when Marisol found out he had been cheating on her for years, almost the entire duration of their relationship.

But Jack wasn’t just Marisol’s boyfriend, he was also her agent.

Not only did the dickwad cheat on Marisol, but he then released a media statement alleging that she was the one to cheat on him, along with statements about what a spoilt brat she was to work with, which entirely torpedoed her modeling career.

But it’s been months since then, and I thought things would have cooled down for her. Evidently not.

Brands should be knocking at her door wanting to work with her. Marisol is the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever known, and I’m not only talking about her exterior—though she’s not lacking a single thing in that department either.

I’ve been obsessed with Marisol from the day I met her back when we were teenagers.

Not creepy stalker obsession or anything like that, just a little healthy teenage crush—one that never quite went away. But she’s only ever seen me as a brother, a friend from childhood, and if that’s all it’ll ever be, then I’ll take what I can get, like I have been for years.

“An opportunity will pop up for her soon,” I say. “I’m sure of it.”

“I hope so,” Rafael says. “She needs it.”