Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“So let me get this straight—” Sully inserts himself into the conversation as he shoves another piece of sushi into his mouth. “You had a one-night stand.”
“That’s the part you’re choosing to focus on?” Luciano grumbles. His hand is draped across the back of my chair, and he plays with the edge of my hair, twirling it between his fingers as he listens to our friends comprehend everything we’re telling them.
It’s been just over a week since the incident at the club on Luciano’s birthday, and the first time we’ve sat down with everyone to really discuss what happened.
“I did,” I confirm again. “As I’ve told you, Javier asked me to go out with him and his friend Felipe, and we started drinking before we even got to the club.”
“And you don’t remember most of your night?” Sully asks slowly, like he can’t quite believe it.
I shake my head. “Bits and pieces, but nothing after leaving the club.”
“And that doesn’t feel off to you?” Cecilia dabs the edge of her lips with a napkin with a look of concern. “You were blacked out and unknowingly woke up married, but didn’t find out until a year later.”
“Maybe I’m being na?ve, but no.” I glance at Luciano, then down at my lap.
“That wasn’t the first time something like that’s happened.
The marriage is, of course, but drinking so much I have no recollection?
” I shake my head. “After that night, I quit drinking like that. I’ll have a drink or two when I’m with you guys, but that night pushed me past limits I was comfortable with, and obviously for good reason.
I’m barely learning half of what happened. ”
“So after you figured out you were married, you went to Luciano for help?” Sully follows up.
“Correct,” Luciano confirms in a bored tone. “You realize the questions you’re asking have already been addressed, right?”
“Just trying to wrap my head around it.” Sully pops another piece of sushi into his mouth.
As though she can tell I’m starting to get uncomfortable, Cecilia turns to Nixon, and in a tone lower than her normal speaking voice, engages him in conversation.
“So, Nixon, how are you liking New York? I know you’ve been here for a while now, but are you feeling settled?” She picks up a gyoza between her chopsticks and brings it to her lips.
“If by settled, you mean overpaying for a shoebox-sized apartment, then yes, I’m settled.”
“How’s the new job going?” Sully asks him.
“I didn’t know you got a new job!” I swivel on my seat to face Nixon better. “Congrats! What are you doing?”
Pushing away his empty plate, he drops his napkin on top of it, then leans back, relaxing against his chair. “I’m a personal protection officer at a private agency.”
“Oh, wow! I had no idea.” I guess I’ve been pretty wrapped up in everything going on in my own life that I’ve failed to check in with those around me.
“Yeah, I have some experience under my belt, and they put me through additional courses my first couple weeks there.”
“Do you have any clients yet?”
“Nothing long-term, just daily assignments so far.”
“Think you’ll stick around New York a while, then?” For a while, Nixon was having a hard time finding a place he could afford and was considering going back to California.
He smirks, tipping his head at Sly to pull him into the conversation. “Not if Cain has anything to say about it.”
Sly laughs and shakes his head, resting his arm across the back of his wife’s chair. “You didn’t tell me Cain wants you to come back.”
“It’s a new revelation. He just started calling this week.”
“Who’s Cain?” Cecilia asks, and I wonder the same. I vaguely remember the name being mentioned once, but I can’t recall anything else.
“Cain is the president of the motorcycle club Nixon and I were affiliated with,” Sly explains to all of us.
“He’s a good man but can be a bit determined when he wants something.
” Looking back at Nixon, he tells him, “Hopefully you will lock down a long-term client soon, otherwise he might show up and haul you back to Ridgewood kicking and screaming.”
“Shit, I might have to go willingly if I’m not set up with a long-term client soon. These rent prices are killing me.”
“I already told you I would be happy to make arrangements for a rental property?—”
“And I offered my place too, but someone’s too prideful,” Sully adds, looking mildly offended that Nixon didn’t take him up on his offer.
“I slept on Sly and Vinnie’s couch for long enough. I’m done imposing on my friends,” Nixon insists, and Sly claps him on the shoulder.
“We understand, amico.”
As the men continue their conversation, I look across the table and find my best friend watching me quietly, her features schooled so I can’t read them. I offer a smile, which she returns, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Then she looks over at Luciano, noticing how his hand is brushing against the top of my shoulders.
Her brows furrow like something’s bothering her, and my heart almost stops beating. It’s several long seconds before she finally says what’s on her mind.
“Now what will happen, Luciano? Those men who attacked you might come back, or Javier will show up himself.” Her voice is timid, almost like she’s afraid to put it into the universe.
“They won’t,” Luciano addresses his sister, giving her his full attention.
“My next steps are to make sure this divorce happens as quickly as possible and that Javier stays the hell away from Raina. I’ll call in favors with every single judge if I have to and get the paperwork expedited.
” His fingertips brush along the back of my neck, and I turn my head to look at him.
A small smile plays against his lips and his eyes drop down to mine. For a minute, it’s like the entire world fades away. The dinner party disappears into the background, and we’re enveloped into a bubble of just the two of us.
Luciano leans down and presses a kiss against my lips, and my body sighs with contentment.
“Ah! There it is. The first PDA we’ve seen from these two,” Sully practically yells, pulling both me and Luciano from the moment and back to reality.
“If that bothers you, Sully, it’s unfortunate that I don’t care. There will be more where this came from.”
“How can you be so sure they won’t retaliate further, Luce?” Vinnie ignores Sully’s outburst and the fact Luciano stopped talking to her mid-conversation to kiss me.
My cheeks heat at that realization.
“As I said before, Javier had a two-part message for me that night. The first was delivered verbally inside the club, and the second was outside it. Javier is a Spanish nobleman—he won’t get his hands dirty, and at this point, there’s nothing else he can say.
He’s pissed Raina left in the middle of his father’s funeral and that was his way of sending us the only fuck you he could manage. ”
“We offered him a gun so he could sleep better. He didn’t take it,” Enzo muses from a few seats down.
Steepling his hands in front of his face, he leans forward, elbows on the table.
There’s a small smirk on his face, and I instantly dig my fingernails into the tops of my thighs to keep myself from biting his head off.
“Why would you refuse protection?” Vinnie’s eyes widen.
Luciano’s nostrils flair with frustration. “Not all of us like carrying a weapon, Vins.”
“And you’re sure I’m the misfit of the group?” Nixon laughs, rubbing the scruff on his chin as he tries to hide his laughter behind his hand.
“You are,” Enzo states plainly before pushing his chair out behind him.
Taking his cue, the men begin to clear the table, and Vinnie suggests we head into the living room.
Following her in, I take the seat next to her on the couch and curl my legs beneath me, positioning my body toward hers.
Cecilia makes herself comfortable in the oversized chair adjacent to us and immediately busies herself on her phone.
Blowing out a steadying breath, I ask my best friend the question I’ve been dreading.
“Are you upset with me, Vinnie? With us? This wasn’t how we wanted to tell you.”
I’m so afraid of her answer. Her approval means everything to me.
Sighing, she grabs both of my hands in hers. The gesture is calming and eases some of my building anxiety.
“I’m not mad, Raina. But how could this happen? You’re married? And now my brother is wrapped up in this, not only as your lawyer, but as your…what? Boyfriend?”
“We haven’t put labels on this yet, but it feels like more than that. I love him, Vins. You know I’ve always had a crush on him.”
“I know. But I also know my brother has never been in a serious relationship, and if this doesn’t work between you two…
” She chokes on her words a little, then stops and looks away.
Shaking her head, she looks back at me with unshed tears in her eyes.
“I can’t choose between my brother and my best friend, Raina.
I won’t lose either of you. It’s not an option. ”
“I would never ask you to choose. If something were to happen between me and Luce, I would still be here. It would be devastating to still see him, but I would never not be in your life. You’re my best friend, and I love you.
A decade of friendship won’t be wasted over some guy.
” I laugh a little, trying to emphasize that Luciano is just another man to lighten the mood, but it makes my heart tighten.
He’s not just some other guy. He’s everything.
“I love you, too. It might take me time to get used to it, though. It’s a lot to process all at once—your marriage, my brother representing you, and this husband of yours apparently has it out for him.”
“We should be out of this mess soon. There’s a reason why I hired Luce to represent me.” I squeeze her hand.
“Good. Because I want you both safe. Your niece needs you to be safe.” A smile pulls at the corner of her lips as my eyes widen, processing her words.
“Wait, you found out? It’s a girl?”
“It’s a girl,” she confirms with an excited nod of her head. “I changed my mind about waiting to find out, I realized I was dying to get the nursery ready! A girl—can you believe it?”
Squealing, I fling my arms around her neck and bring her into a tight hug, swaying our bodies as I rub her back. “I’m so excited for you! You’re going to be the best mom.”
“I just want you to be happy, Raina. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for everyone in my life—to have love and happiness.”
From across the living room, the guys stand near the bar cart, drinks in hand, as they pat Sly on the back in congratulations. From the grin on Luciano’s face, it’s clear he and the others just found out, too.
Our eyes meet from across the room and he winks at me, pulling the crystal glass to his lips before he turns back to his friends.
“I’ve found both.”