Lorenzo’s heavy footfall echoes around the empty hallway as we head to the study. My study. It could have been his. It should have been.
“Is he here? In Chicago” he barks, breaking the silence.
“No, he’s gone to the Keys for a week with his new side piece,” I reply, aware he’s referring to our father. “No fatted calf for the prodigal son today.”
Lorenzo snorts.
I open the door and step aside to allow him in first. As soon as it’s closed behind us, he turns to me, and in here where there is just the two of us, he lets the mask slip. There is so much sadness in his eyes that it makes me feel like the air is being sucked from the room.
“Is it back?” I ask him.
“More aggressive this time.”
“I’m so sorry, brother.”
He nods, defeated.
“I’m sorry you had to come back.” After Anya’s cancer went into remission, Lorenzo decided to take a couple of years off and has been living in Lake Como with his wife for the past two years.
“It was inevitable. We couldn’t stay out there in paradise forever. Besides, the best specialists are here,” he says with a shrug. “And learning of your upcoming wedding and the fact she’s about to become an aunt has given my Anya a huge boost. So, thank you.”
I could tell him that his wife and the woman for whom he believes the sun sets and rises is going to be okay. That she’ll beat it again like she did before, but we both know that may not be true and that’s not what we do for each other. He wouldn’t appreciate false hope. Lorenzo is a realist. So instead I tell him the only other truth that matters right now.
“I’ve fucking missed you, Loz.”
“Missed you too, D,” he says, throwing his arms around me.
We hug each other fiercely, and I choke up as the years we’ve spent apart fall away and I remember how good life is when this man is at my side. Despite my father’s best efforts, he could never drive a wedge between us. I would die for him in a heartbeat and he would do the same for me. There has always been the three of us — him, Maximo and me. There is no ego between us. None of us care who the outside world believes us to be. We are equals in each other’s eyes and we always will be.
“I’m sorry I was away for so long, brother,” he says as he steps back.
“You don’t have to apologize. You did what you had to do. Maybe one day, I’ll run off to paradise for a few years and leave you to run things.”
“You only have to say the word,” he replies with a smirk, but I know that he means it.
“So, what do you think of Kat?”
“Any woman that can handle you must be something special. Do you want to marry her? Truly?”
My answer comes without hesitation. “Yes.”
“Then I’m happy for you both.”
“You think this will be okay?” Kat asks as she smooths down the fabric of the blue wrap dress over the slight curve of her stomach. “It’s not too tight?”
“It’s only dinner in the kitchen like we have every night, kitten,” I remind her.
“No, it’s not just dinner. It’s dinner with your brother, who terrifies me.”
I slide my arms around her waist and press her close to me. “You have no need to be terrified of him, and even if you did, I’ll protect you.”
“I think he doesn’t like me,” she whispers.
“He doesn’t like most people, but I promise he likes you. Did you enjoy talking to Anya?”
“Yes, I did.”
That doesn’t surprise me. Most people light up like that when they talk about my sister-in-law. She’s one of those people who can put anyone at ease.
“But she was…” She chews on her bottom lip as she stares into my eyes.
“She was what?”
“Different around him? Like not herself?”
“Oh,” I say with a nod of understanding. “I probably should have told you something about their dynamic.”
“Their dynamic?” she blinks at me.
“Did you see the diamond necklace she wears?”
“Yes. It was stunning.”
“It’s not a necklace, kitten, it’s a collar.”
She frowns. “A collar? Like for a pet?”
“No, a collar for a submissive. Lorenzo is a dominant and Anya is his submissive as well as his wife.”
“I-I mean I’ve read about them in books, but how does that work? Does he control everything she does?”
“I don’t know, Kat. It’s their personal business, but I do know they’re both very much devoted to each other and very happy.”
“Okay,” she says with a frown.
“What?”
“She just seemed a little afraid of him when they were together in the hall.”
I laugh out loud at that because the thought of Anya being scared of Lorenzo is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. I mean it shouldn’t be — he makes grown men shit their pants — but Anya has him wrapped around her little finger. “Trust me she isn’t the slightest bit afraid of him. They have a power exchange, yes, and he controls a lot of aspects of her life, but it’s a consensual one, which they navigate together as a couple. Sometimes, they will appear like any other couple, and other times, like today, he takes control. He often does when they’re in a new or unfamiliar situation, like meeting you today. You should talk to her about it.”
“So are they into BDSM?” she whispers.
“No idea. It’s none of our business what they do in private.” I laugh at her curiosity because it is so nice to have these open conversations with her after months of frustration and miscommunication.
She wraps her arms around my neck. “So, you and Lorenzo are good then?”
“He’s my brother, Kat. Of course we’re good.”
“Well, we both know that simply being related by blood does not guarantee a happy and respectful relationship,” she says, and I don’t miss the tears pricking her eyes as she blinks them away.
I brush her hair back from her face. “Whenever I see your brother again, I will thank him for bringing you to me.”
That makes her blush, and that makes my cock twitch. “There are rumors about you and Lorenzo though, did you know that?”
“That I stole his crown and we hate each other?” I ask, aware of such idle gossip.
“Yes.”
“You should never believe everything you hear, kitten.” I press a kiss on the tip of her nose, and she sighs contentedly.
“Are there any other rumors that aren’t true that I should know about?” she whispers.
“Sophia will have dinner waiting,” I tell her, avoiding the question and taking her hand. “And if you think Lorenzo was terrifying earlier, then wait until you see him when he’s hungry.”
She laughs and the sound is so carefree and sweet that it makes my heart sink. One day, she’s going to find out the truth about the other rumors, and I wonder if she’ll forgive me for keeping it from her.
