Chapter 5
"Lara, meet Betty. Betty, meet Lara." I smoothed my hands over the steering wheel and shot Lara a grin.
Betty was my Bentley Bentayga. I wondered if expensive cars impressed Lara?
She ran her hands over the leather with a curious gaze.
There was a strange feeling in my stomach, an unsteadiness.
I needed the sight of Lara's white-toothed grin to offset the nausea.
She indulged me, leaning forward to tap the stingray air freshener.
"This doesn't really fit, though." She raised a dark, manicured eyebrow.
Self-assured, gorgeous, and piquing my curiosity.
There was a reason I wanted Lara by my side today.
And maybe part of it was the naughty, naughty attraction boiling in my stomach.
I shouldn't be entertaining another woman.
Not when I was supposed to be fake-dating her best friend.
Adelaide would rip my balls off and make me like it.
The Orazio heir made me feel like an absolute dickless wonder when I stood next to her.
I mean, she wasn't wrong, but my ego had limits.
And the thought of getting between my mama and Adelaide was enough to make my forehead throb.
"It's a ray, get it?" I pointed at myself. "Ray."
"Where are we going?" Lara rolled her eyes, but her lip quirked up.
I wanted to taste it. Instead, I jerked my head to the back seat where a dress bag, shoes, and jewelry draped over the leather seats.
"You're my plus-one for the absolute worst event in my calendar. When I'm required to witness the parade of my mama's newest boy toy, endure a heinous lunch, and hopefully, with your help, leave with the contents of my stomach inside still. It's a near thing sometimes."
Lara let out a surprised chuckle, and the sound reminded me of the howl of my 911. Not the sound, but the feeling it evoked in me. Goosebumps rolled down the back of my neck, and I swallowed a noise that, if it escaped, would have sounded suspiciously like a moan.
Embarrassing.
"You're taking me to meet the parents? Why, Ray." Lara fluttered her lashes as she crawled over the console into the back. "I didn't know you wanted me to be your side piece."
I pursed my lips and rubbed my elbow over the leather to remove any marks Lara left. "Do you mind? Betty is a gentle lady, and you need to treat her as such."
Lara snorted, and there was a rustle as she undressed. I wouldn't look. Okay, just a quick peek. I flashed my gaze to the back and almost swallowed my tongue at the sight of her long, lithe body. The curtain of her dark hair. I wanted it spread over my pillow.
"This is fancy, for lunch," Lara huffed.
"My mama suffers from delusions of grandeur."
Lara snorted again, and I absolutely did not look in the rearview mirror and spot the smooth flash of skin before the buttery lemon dress engulfed it. My cock twitching in my pants was entirely unrelated.
"A family trait, obviously." Lara huffed, climbing gingerly over the console again.
She ignored the narrow glare I shot her. The strapless lemon had a rigid bodice and a flowy skirt that hit her slim ankles. The tan-hued heels fit her perfectly. I congratulated myself on guessing her size. She'd only been running through my head on a loop since our barbecue lunch.
"My mama starred in a few movies in the eighties.
Before she got married and had me, of course.
Apparently, babies ruin bodies, and burgeoning careers, did you know that?
" I joked. "If Mama brings that up, it's best to agree.
You don't want to get into a rant while she's wine-drunk over lunch, trust me. "
Lara stared at her reflection with far too much criticism than her pretty face deserved. She wound her hair into a sleek chignon.
"Che bella che sei."
She slid me an unreadable look. "I wasn't expecting to face off with a celebrity today, or a parent. I doubt my bare face will impress. That is your aim, right?"
I held up a black bag with a grin. Lara opened it and made a noise before her wide eyes met mine. The shock and intensity shot to the misbehaving appendage between my legs. What would those lips look like wrapped around my cock? Smearing lipstick over its rigid length?
Stop it right now, I scolded my dirty brain.
"You thought of everything," Lara murmured as she pulled out some mascara. "You'll have to pull over, though. I can't do this in a moving car, no matter how good I think I am."
I looked at my watch, fighting a smile as I realized this would make us late.
Mama wouldn't be pleased. Excellent. I turned the car off as Lara made her gorgeous face pop.
I wasn't one of those guys who thought women only looked better with no makeup.
Women always looked best when they wore what they wanted, and I liked my women confident and sexy.
Like Lara. Nope. Naughty. I gave myself a verbal slap.
"I really want to know how you got my exact shade of foundation. I can't tell you how many years it took me to get that right. Also, why am I here and not Adelaide?"
"Questions, questions." I grinned as she fussed through the different brushes.
"First, Adelaide and I are not really dating, and she's already on edge.
She would eviscerate my mama, and that might make our monthly lunches awkward.
And the makeup? I'm afraid that's a mama thing as well.
She barely tolerated me growing up, 'career-destroyer' as you recall.
The only time she let me near her was when she did her make-up.
Every morning I'd sit beside her, like a statue, and watch her 'put her face on. ' It became a bit of a talent of mine."
Lara paused. Her lipstick hovered in the air. "She sounds like a bitch. If she brings that attitude, I will call her out. You know that, right?"
My chest warmed inexplicably. "I know, but the difference between you and Adelaide is she'd use a butterfly knife as punishment, while I'm sure you will stick to words. Now, shall we? I want to get this over with."
Lara flattened her lips, like she held in a laugh, but her eyes danced. She made such a pretty picture. I was tempted to turn the car around and see if I couldn't take her somewhere romantic and try my luck.
Damn my reputation. If I weren't so sure my papa would kill me, I'd do it.
I pulled into the underground parking for my mom's ocean side penthouse. It wasn't as nice as my papa's house, but at least this place didn't have him in it. I used the code for the private elevator and fussed with my hair in the mirror.
"You look fine." Lara laid her hand on my arm and arched her eyebrow.
"Fine?" I clicked my tongue. "I've never looked fine in my life."
Lara stifled a snort against her palm as the door pinged open and we followed the sound of tinkling laughter.
My shoulders hugged my ears. Boisterousness never boded well with my mama.
For a moment, I considered turning back.
It was a mistake to bring Lara here. She was a fiery match hurtling toward gasoline.
But Lara grabbed my arm and threaded hers through it.
"Don't even think about it," she whispered, reading my mind. "I'm so intrigued right now."
We stepped into the sun-drenched main room, and Lara's eyes widened.
This apartment was the exact opposite of my papa's moody, traditional house.
With floor to ceiling windows, folding doors that opened onto a huge balcony, and every wall painted soft white.
The ocean rolled in to meet us, with inviting glints on the waves.
The gilded gold chandelier with glass droplets sent a haze of tiny lights along the walls.
"Darling, there you are." Mama pouted as she swanned in from the balcony. Her long, draped kaftan was a shock of purple, and plunged far deeper than I ever wanted to see on a family member. "I thought you weren't coming."
She'd dedicated her forties to younger men, endless brunches, and a belligerent amount of wine.
Still, her beauty gleamed, if a little faded.
Her midnight-black hair was the twin of mine, left in loose curls around her shoulders.
Her pout froze as her gaze drifted to Lara.
My mama might not have kept her career as a middling actress, but I doubt she would have been a great star.
She couldn't act. Her botoxed forehead was the only reason her disturbance wasn't as harsh as intended.
"Mama, this is Lara."
"I thought you were dating someone else, the Orazio girl. What was her name again, dear?"
A man interrupted as he materialized next to my mama, slipping his arm around her waist.
His dark blue, almost gray eyes were warm as he looked at my mama to finish his sentence. Who was this guy? He was handsome in his blue button-up, tucked into high-waisted cream trousers. He'd kicked his brown loafers to the side and was barefoot.
I'd never been barefoot in my mama's house. She abhorred the sight of toes.
"Adelaide. My best friend, actually." Lara stuck out her hand as I seethed.
I'd been expecting Jarrad, my childhood best friend, to be here again, which was why I wanted support.
Finding out one of my oldest friends was secretly fucking my mama behind my back had shocked me to my core.
My drunken spiral afterward prompted me to seek Adelaide and offer my deal to her.
I hadn't expected an entirely new boy toy.
My mama sniffed and offered her a delicate smile, but the man reached over and pumped Lara's offered hand firmly before turning his palm to me. I sneered at him until he dropped it.
"That's right, Adelaide. She's a real catch, Ray. I'm Charles, by the way. Nice to meet you finally, son."
Son? Charles needed to take several steps back before I lost my damn temper.
He was older than my mama's usual toys, just shy of thirty, maybe, and far too confident in this space than I would like. Certainly not old or terrifying enough to be my dad.