Chapter 13 #2
“No. Just a bit of texting after she dropped the bomb,” Keeley replied.
Gianna had sent a text to their Sisters from Other Misters group late last night, telling them Sam had broken up with her and moved out of the apartment they shared.
“I meant to call her today, but…” Keeley blushed, not wanting to confess what had kept her from calling.
Liza snorted, prompting Keeley to say, “I’m a terrible friend.”
“Nope. Just a well-fucked one. I called to invite her out tonight with us, but she said she was going to reorganize her bedroom, now that she has so much more space.”
Keeley frowned. “She said that? I mean, I kind of got from the texts that she wasn’t in a fetal position in the corner, crying her heart out, but…for pity’s sake, she dated the guy for almost eleven years. He was her first love, her first time, her first everything.”
“I know,” Liza said. “I’m worried about her. You know Gianna. Wound up tighter than a spring. I’m sort of afraid that when reality hits, she’s going to crash hard.”
“And if—when—that happens, we’ll be there for her,” Keeley said.
Liza smiled, and they tapped their wineglasses together to cement that promise.
The waiter returned with their salads, and they thanked him.
“In other news,” Liza began. “I got the job.”
Keeley’s eyes widened. “And I’m only just now hearing about it? You should have said that the second we sat down.”
Liza laughed and waved away her complaint. “Your sex life gossip was way more interesting.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
Liza had a dual major in English and Nonprofit Management, and she’d spent the last eight years since graduating from college working her way up the ranks of the Philadelphia Initiative—a foundation that worked to increase philanthropic donations in the community—first as a grant writer, and now as…
“What’s your official title again?” Keeley asked.
“Executive director,” Liza replied. “It’s seriously my dream job…except for one little thing.”
“What?”
“You know the Initiative has a board that it answers to. They just held an election for new leadership. Matt Russo is now the chair.” Liza crinkled her nose in distaste when she said the man’s name.
“Ugh. Sorry.”
“That guy just…I don’t know. He gets under my skin, rubs me the wrong way. I mean, I know there’s no love lost between our families, but it seems like he’s taken an extra-special kind of dislike to me.”
Keeley couldn’t debate that, as she’d witnessed it herself. They’d only run into Matt out in public a few times, but every time they did, the man’s attention—and scowl—was zeroed in and focused solely on Liza.
The waiter returned with their food and they both dug in. Liza had opted for the eggplant parmesan, while Keeley chose the lasagna. Anytime she went out to an Italian restaurant, she went for the lasagna because it was her favorite, and her mother had always made it for her.
For ten years, she’d been searching for a lasagna all over the city that could rival her mom’s.
So far, no luck, and tonight was no different.
Though, the older Keeley got, the more she realized she was probably searching for something that didn’t exist. What she wanted—plain and simple—was her mom’s lasagna.
“So, back to our original topic,” Liza started after they’d put a major dent in their meals.
It was clear Liza hadn’t covered all the ground she wanted to yet about Keeley’s newfound love life.
“What’s the deal with you, Rafe, and Gio?
Is this just a hookup that’s running into overtime or…
” Liza paused so Keeley could fill in the blank.
She blew out a slow breath, considering how to respond. In the end, she went with the truth because the fact was, she needed advice.
“I don’t really know.”
Liza frowned. “Doesn’t that feel like something you should know?”
“Yes. I mean…” Keeley closed her eyes and shook her head briefly. “After the first date, we went back to the mansion and…” Keeley waved her hands rather than saying the words.
“Fucked like a bunch of rabbits,” Liza filled in.
“Anyway, afterwards, just before we went to sleep, Gio asked me to stay with them while Kayden was out of town.”
“You’ve been staying with them?”
Keeley nodded.
“Every single night?”
She nodded again.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Keeley grimaced. “I probably should have asked him that, but I didn’t.”
“Why not?” Liza was getting more confused by the minute, and Keeley decided she needed to give her friend more information.
“I’m not the first woman Gio and Rafe have shared in bed.”
Liza’s brows rose. “Wow. How did they manage to keep that a secret in our group of friends?”
Keeley shrugged one shoulder. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that, but—”
“I don’t betray confidences,” Liza interjected, holding one hand up.
Keeley knew that, knew Liza would take anything she told her to the grave.
She’d played Rafe’s confession at Alpen Rose about his dating—no, it was hooking up—history over and over in her mind these past two weeks.
“With each woman, the relationship began as a sexual affair between the three of them. But whenever the woman expressed feelings, Rafe excused himself and Gio remained. He dated the women because he’s looking for love and marriage. Rafe isn’t.”
“So when Gio asked you to stay with them for three weeks, he was putting a time limit on the sexual affair with Rafe?”
“I don’t know. He just asked me to stay with them while Kayden was away. You know my brother. He asked the guys to look after me.”
Liza scoffed. “They could have kept an eye on you if you were in your apartment too. So that doesn’t wash.
” And because Liza was like a prosecutor trying to bring a serial killer to justice, she reworded the question, determined to get down to the truth.
“Was Gio telling you that this threesome thing you’ve got going on ends completely once Kayden gets home? ”
Keeley shrugged, as she considered the last two weeks. “Kayden called last week, and Rafe said something about us reevaluating where we were when my brother got home. He didn’t really close the door, so I guess there’s a chance that this could continue even after Kayden’s back in Philly.”
Or at least that was what Keeley liked to pretend. Because she could see the writing on the wall. Rafe didn’t talk about the future like Gio did, didn’t give her the slightest indication that his attitude toward relationships had changed.
At some point, the hourglass was going to run out of sand.
“So Rafe is the flight risk. You know he’s leaving, or at least, that’s what he’s done in the past. But what does Gio want?” Liza asked.
While Rafe had continued to keep an emotional distance from her, Gio acted like a guy who was all in.
She couldn’t begin to count the number of times he’d discussed future dates they would take.
Trips to the shore. Holidays with the Morettis.
Restaurants he wanted them to try if they ever managed to make it out of bed.
He painted beautiful pictures of the life he wanted them to lead.
And while Rafe was there for those conversations, he never joined in, never gave Keeley any indication that he would be a part of that future.
The last few times, he’d even gone one step further and walked out of the room.
“I’m pretty sure Gio wants what Tony and Layla have. ”
“A committed threesome,” Liza said.
“Yeah. And he wants it with Rafe. So when Rafe walks away from the threesome—”
“It falls apart. Gio and the woman inevitably break up and the cycle starts again.”
Keeley nodded.
“And you think that’s going to happen here?”
“No. I don’t. I think…I hope…” Keeley couldn’t finish that thought. She started to tell Liza that she thought Gio planned to stick around for the long haul. And while a huge part of her genuinely hoped that was true, that wasn’t all she longed for. Because ultimately, she wanted what Gio wanted.
What Tony and Layla had.
She wanted Gio and Rafe.
Liza toyed with the stem on her wineglass, though her gaze remained on Keeley’s face. “You’re in love with both of them.”
“So much it hurts.”
“But you haven’t told them.”
“How can I?” Keeley asked. “I say those words and Rafe definitely walks away. What if…what if we can have more than three weeks? What if I just don’t say the words?
Because—God—I’m scared. I don’t know if Gio and I can really make a go of it if it’s just the two of us.
His past relationships haven’t survived without Rafe. ”
“Wait. Keeley. Hold up. How can you not say it?” Liza pressed, refusing to let Keeley get away without acknowledging her feelings.
Keeley hadn’t really expected Liza to come to the same conclusion she had. Hadn’t expected her best friend to actually advise her that if she wanted to keep this wonderful, magical, amazing thing she shared with Gio and Rafe, she would have to remain silent about her feelings.
Because that was a crazy, stupid, insane, impossible thing to do.
Liza leaned back in her chair, staring her down. She was waiting for a response, but Keeley didn’t have one.
Because Liza was right. Too many times in the past week or so, the words “I love you” had been right there, so ready to be spoken. She’d managed to hold them back, but she couldn’t do that forever. One night, they would slip out.
And then…
What if Rafe left her? Left them?
She knew Gio cared about her. Hell, she was pretty sure he loved her too. But would that be enough? Or would their relationship eventually end like all his others?
The idea of losing Rafe was unbearable, but the thought of losing both of them?
That was terrifying.
“So what’s your plan?” Liza pressed.
Keeley shrugged hopelessly. “I wish I knew.”