Page 66 of Thin Lines (Donati Bloodlines 2)

“Maybe I’ll drop it a little sooner then.”

“I’d appreciate it. Affonso wanted me to let you knowthat you could clear the library anytime. He moved into his office with Ray, Ithink. I don’t know, they’re pretty …” Emma trailed off, tipping her thumb upto her lips to mimic drinking. “You know.”

“Drunk?” the cook asked.

“Very. I’ll probably grab my book from the library andhead up to bed before he gets anymore livelier.”

Sherry winked. “That’d be a smart thing to do. I’ll godown and clear out the library in a few minutes.”

“Great, thanks.”

Emma was just outside the library when raucouslaughter echoed out behind the closed oak doors across the hall from Affonso’soffice.

“What did you do with your wife?” she heard Affonsoask.

“Ah, I sent her home with the driver. He’ll come backand get me later. The more she drinks, the louder she is. Hopefully, by thetime I get home, she’ll be too drunk to notice that I’m in the next room withthe maid. God, that one … she can suck like a fucking hoover.”

Affonso roared with laughter.

Emma cringed at both men’s crudeness.

“You’re playing with fire, Ray,” Affonso said throughbouts chuckles. “I had that fight with my first wife and a maid she picked. Shewon; the maid left.”

Ray burst into laughter, saying, “Was it worth it,though?”

“More than. She was such a slut under that uniform, Icouldn’t help myself. My wife forgave me after a while. How do you think thattrip to Cancun came about that year?”

“Ah. I thought that was random.”

“It never is,” Affonso muttered.

Ugh.

Emma felt sick.

“Unfortunately, Cancun didn’t take care of the wholeproblem. I have another thirteen years before it’ll go away.”

Ray coughed and sputtered like he’d swallowed a drinkwrong. “Really?”

“Mmhmm,” Affonso hummed. “She named her Trista. She’sgot the Donati eyes. I swear to God, every kid that I had, came into the worldwith those black-brown eyes. I can’t get out of it when they come out lookinglike that.”

“Shit. I didn’t know about that one.”

“Calisto takes the money to the mother every month.Keeps her away.”

Emma shuddered, both angry with her husband and sadfor Calisto. It shouldn’t be his responsibility to do those things for Affonso.Those children weren’t Calisto’s burdens to bear.

“Speaking of Cal,” Ray said. “Where did he go?”

“He said he had something to attend to. I let him go.”

Emma’s brow furrowed. She had seen Calisto’s car stillparked out front when she had went to the kitchen to talk to the cook.

“Aren’t you a little bit concerned about him?” Rayasked.

“I don’t know what you mean, old friend.”

“Him and your wife, Affonso. They seemed … close …tonight. Didn’t you think so?”