I notice Carmine and Rafe share a look.
There is so much happening here, all unspoken, and all I can do is watch in fascination. There’s trouble in paradise with my cousin and her husband. Shane wants to get into Ivie’s pants. And Rafe and Carmine clearly find it all comical.
This is the best entertainment I’ve had in years.
“I’m starved,” Annika says with a grin. “Let’s eat.”
“Not too much pasta for you, darling,” Rich says as he pats her shoulder. “Why don’t you stick with the salad?”
“Why don’t you let your wife eat whatever the fuck she wants since she’s a grown woman and everything?” I turn to Rich with a toothy, humorless smile.
It’s not returned.
And I give zero fucks.
He simply sits at the table, and we start passing around dishes, filling our plates as Annika pours the wine.
When she reaches Rafe’s glass, he shakes his head, and she moves on to the next.
But the glare Rafe aims at Rich would make most men piss their pants.
“How are things at the clinic?” I ask Ivie.
“Great,” she says with a nod. “We’re busier than ever right now.”
“What kind of clinic do you run?” Carmine asks.
“We have a medi-spa,” she replies easily. “We offer services from simple facials to botox to reconstructive surgery.”
“Plastic surgery?” Shane says.
“Sort of, yes,” Ivie says.
“There’s a lot of botox happening in this city,” Annika says with a wink. “And thank goodness.”
“I was thinking of coming in to see you,” I say, pointing to the crows’ feet around my eyes. “I have a few lines I’d like to take care of.”
“You don’t have wrinkles,” Carmine says, staring down at me in surprise.
“Yeah, I do.”
“I can fix you right up,” Annika assures me. “And I’d love to spend some time with you.”
“Can you fit her into your already busy schedule?” Rich asks, his voice hard.
What the fuck is up with him?
“I always have time for Nadia,” she replies. Her voice is just as hard as her husband’s. Rich’s jaw clenches.
Yeah, I’d say the honeymoon is over there.
And I definitely need to talk to her. Soon. Find out what in the hell is going on. Annika has always been my best friend. My confidante. Sure, I’ve been busy since the wedding, but that’s no excuse.
Whatever she’s going through, she won’t face it alone.
“Oh, my God, this is so good.” I bite into a piece of hot, crusty bread. “Seriously, A, you’re an amazing cook.”
“Ivie and I did it together,” she says with a smile and gazes longingly at the bread. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Here, try it.” I pass her the basket, and she shrugs, takes a piece, and then passes it back.
Rich isn’t happy. The dick. And that only makes me want to offer her another chunk.
I despise men who try to control their wives like this.
Carmine and Rafe chat about stocks, and I tune them out because it’s all Greek to me.
Shane flirts shamelessly with Ivie, making her blush like crazy, which I think is absolutely adorable. Ivie’s shy, a little clumsy—or a lot, depending on the day—and while she’s pretty, no one would call her a beauty queen. She’s the perfect epitome of the girl next door.
But she’s smart and funny, loyal, and also one of my best friends.
I turn my attention to Rich, who’s shoveling food into his mouth and doing his best to ignore his wife, who I see is drinking wine like a fish.
And Annika doesn’t drink.
I’m going to get to the bottom of this.
“I’m going to put more bread in the oven,” she says and stands from the table, pushing her way through the swinging door to the kitchen.
“I’ll go see if she needs help,” Rafe says and follows her.
Rich just rolls his eyes.
“I need to use the restroom. Is it just around the corner there, Rich?”
He nods and points to the hallway on the other side of the kitchen. There’s another entrance to the kitchen on that side, so I stop and lean against the wall, just out of sight, listening to the conversation happening within.
“I’ve got this,” Annika says.
“I can help. Jesus, A, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I can picture the fake smile on her beautiful face. “Everything’s great.”
“Bullshit.” Rafe lowers his voice now. “You look miserable.”
“I—” There’s no sound for a moment. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
“You never should have married that asshole,” Rafe says. “You know it should have been me.”
“And your father said no,” she reminds him, and I stumble back in surprise. Annika wanted to marry Rafe Martinelli? Why would Carlo say no? Our families aren’t enemies.
“Yeah, well, your uncle didn’t like the idea, either.”
Papa knew?
I scowl.
Why am I always the last to know about this stuff? And why didn’t Annika confide in me?
I know it’s not all about me, but it hurts my stupid feelings.
“Let’s get this out to the table.”
“Annika.”
“Rafe, I can’t do this. I’m a married woman whether I like it or not.”
“And I’d say that you don’t like it very much right now.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, yes, it does.”
“I’m not talking about this anymore.”
I walk around the corner in time to see Annika and Rafe coming out the other door, Rafe carrying the bread for the table.
I look at Rich. He doesn’t even raise his eyes from his plate.
I feel like I’ve just entered an alternate universe.
“Shane got Ivie’s number tonight,” I inform Carmine as he unlocks the door of the Airbnb.
“I saw,” he says and shakes his head. “I don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“Nothing.”
“No, you started it. What, exactly, don’t you get?”
“Look, if I answer you, I’m going to sound like a huge asshole.”
I cross my arms over my chest, raise a brow, and wait.
Carmine sighs painfully, pushes his hand through his hair, and then shrugs. “Okay. I like her. She seems like a nice woman.”
“But?”
“But she’s just not Shane’s type.”
“And what type is that, exactly?”
“You know…”—he gestures to me, waving his hand up and down—“he usually goes for the supermodel types.”
“You do realize that even supermodels don’t look like that in real life, right?”
“You do,” he says without even thinking twice, and I have to blink at him.
Then I laugh.
“No, I don’t. I think you’re a little biased. Which is sweet. Ivie’s awesome. She’s funny and smart. And, yes, she’s pretty. Shane isn’t good enough for her.”