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“Listen, you smug asshole, I didn’t know it before, but I can bring this team down. It means more to you than it has ever meant to me. Tread carefully or it’s over.”
Rafe’s jaw tensed. “You would just end Dad’s dream because you think some fucking conspiracy is going on?”
“I know what’s going on and I know you are behind it.”
“So what are we going to do? Tell Mom we are at an impasse?”
“I’ll give you one chance. But if for one moment I think you are behind something, I will tell Mom, and you can tell the world you lost your team because you betrayed your sister. Don’t screw with me, Rafe.”
He groaned. “You’re jumping to all the wrong conclusions. Luna, if I wanted Flynn out of the picture, he would have been gone a long time ago, but I know you love him. Five months ago you came to me in the middle of the night and I defended him. Have you forgotten that weekend in April? I could have told you that day what a piece of shit he was, and you would have dumped his sorry ass, but I didn’t. And this is how you repay me?”
I was beginning to feel some doubt about my accusations. “If you aren’t behind it, then who is?”
“I really don’t know.”
“If it’s not you, and it’s not Carlton, then who could it be?” Because I was sure I knew Blake well enough to believe his sincerity, at least on this point. He’d been genuinely confused about the photos.
“Why are you so sure it’s someone you know? Maybe it’s one of Flynn’s old girlfriends trying to play around with him. Maybe this person sees that he’s happy or that you’re happy and they don’t like it. He’s no saint, Luna. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has enemies.”
I was done listening to Rafe. “We’d better tell Mom we’ve resolved our problem.”
“Yes, and in the future it would be in our best interests to keep the lines of communication open.”
“I agree.”
I didn’t feel better about things with Rafe, but there wasn’t much left to say. I was still no closer to knowing who was behind the photos to Devin, and I needed to find out who that was.
ChapterThirty-Four
Luna
Mom stayed in Milan to have dinner with me. Devin was delighted to not be invited and informed me that he and a few friends were going to the clubs. I wasn’t amused, but I also couldn’t deny that it had a been a long time since he’d gone clubbing. But still, I hated the clubs because once Devin got drinking, he didn’t always know his limits. I made my disapproval obvious, but he laughed it off.
I picked a restaurant near my uncle’s place, hoping he would join us, too, but he’d declined. He’d said something about a deadline, but I wondered if he didn’t want to be a part of any family drama. We settled into our table and ordered some drinks.
“Will you be staying with us tonight?” I asked.
Mom had spent part of the afternoon with Eva and the children before spending the rest of it with Rafe. It was now my turn to get some Mom time.
“No, I’m going home after dinner.”
“You won’t even stay a few days?” I asked.
“And do what?” Mom said with a smile. “Both my children are going to be looking after race cars, and my brother and I can only stand each other for so long. Besides, you have Devin, and Rafe has Eva and the children to look after.” Mom paused. “Or maybe that’s the other way around. Regardless, no one needs me hanging around.”
“I would like you to have stayed longer.”
“I think I’ve stayed long enough,” Mom said. “Milan is not my favorite place.”
Her ex-fiancé lived here, the one she’d ditched Dad for. I wondered if she still felt ill at ease here.
“I don’t like Milan either,” I said, staring at my pasta and moving it around the bowl.
“Why don’t you like Milan?” Mom asked, sipping some mineral water.
“I don’t know anyone, and I’m never here long enough to make any friends. Devin can walk into any room, not know a single person, and have a roomful of friends by the end of the evening. I just can’t seem to do that. People don’t like me.”
I was wallowing for the first time in a long time, and it occurred to me that I did that a lot when Mom was around. Was it my way of asking her advice, or confiding in her? I wasn’t sure which.
