Page 108 of In My Heart
I hesitated to go to him, not wanting to make him angry, but Terza didn’t. She moved before anyone else could, and appeared beside him with the terrifying efficiency only Italian mother’s possessed. She wrapped an arm around him briefly and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, then she set to work piling more food onto his plate.
“You need feeding,” she informed him. “And you need to rest. You should be in bed.”
“I need oxygen,” Rafe wheezed. I looked to Cal with panic.
“Sit, Cara. I’ll get it,” Cal assured me, already up on his feet.
“No. Sit Cal. I’m fine. I’ll rest after dinner. I’m alright,” Rafe argued, and we all heard the warning tone in his voice. He was in no mood to be questioned. Cal and I sat back down, but we were all watching him closely now.
“Stubborn boy,” Terza sighed as she stood over him disapprovingly.
Rafe muttered something under his breath in Italian that made Dio grin into his wine.
“I heard that,” Terza warned.
“You always hear everything.”
“Because you’re all loud.”
“That's rich coming from you,” Cal dared.
Terza gasped theatrically and smacked the back of his head with a dish towel, which she pulled from nowhere, as she passed. I laughed so hard I nearly choked on the sip of water I had just taken.
“You're supposed to defend me,” Cal pouted as he looked at me with animated betrayal.
“Against Terza?” I laughed. “Absolutely not.”
“Smart girl,” Terza approved, tipping her wine glass in my direction with a smile.
Arran reached across to refill my water glass while Dio passed me the parmesan without me asking. It was all so easy, so familiar, and warmth spread through me before I could stop it.
This was what I'd missed for all of those years. Family. Love. Happiness. The noise. The teasing. Everyone talking over each other while Terza complained and fed us simultaneously. It was security and safety. Home. For a little while, it almost felt normal.
Then Rafe ruined it. It was like he couldn’t hold in his bitterness when he felt weakened, and clearly he did at that moment.
“I still think this is ridiculous,” he announced coldly.
Three male heads turned toward him immediately and I could see them struggling with how they wanted to react, versus how they could based on how out of sorts Rafe was right then.
I sighed, all of my peace fleeing as my anxiety reared up, right back to where it seemed to live most of the time – right at the forefront of every thought I had, every breath I took, every move I made.
"Here we go," I muttered suddenly feeling completely drained again.
Rafe pointed lazily around the table with his fork. "Three men. Dating my sister, at the same time."
"Sounds efficient when ye say it like that," Arran observed calmly, obviously trying for humour. Rafe ignored him.
“I leave the house for five minutes. I get shot! And what are myloyalmen doing? Screwing my sister! Preying on her like this is some fucked up sex club!” He spat the word ‘loyal’ as if it meant nothing.
“Now hold on a minute!” Cal snapped as he glared at my brother.
“Traitor,” Rafe informed him. “You betrayed me. You put hands on my sister! I should have you killed!”
“Rafe!” I cried.
“This isnae about sides, Rafe. We’re no’ trying to betray ye. We just fell in love wi’ yer sister. We didnae mean to, but it just happened. Ye have to stop lookin’ at it like we all created some great coup against ye. We were loyal to ye. We still are, and we always will be. I’ve dedicated over half of my life to this family, as has Cal in every way he could. And Dario…well he’s given ye everythin’. No one, blood or no’, could ever be more devoted orloyal te ye, and ye ken that. Just because we love Cara isnae gonna change that, unless you force us to draw a line none of want to have to draw.”
“Iforceyou?” Rafe scoffed. “I’m not the one forcing anything here. That’s all on the four of you. You’re the ones who have fucked everything up!”
