“I care for her, which is more than you fucking do.” He throws the bag of frozen peas into the sink. “Do you even care how fucked up this marriage bullshit is? Why not just divorce her and marry some brainless bimbo like Paris Remington? At least she fucking wants you!”
I step back in surprise. Luka and I don’t exactly have a close bond, which is hardly surprising given I didn’t know he existed until he showed up at Dad’s house claiming to be his son. I’m not sure why I gave him a key to my house, but it’s probably time I changed the locks.
“Thank you for your unsolicited advice, Luka, but my marriage and the reasons for it are none of your fucking business. Now kindly fuck off home and leave me in peace.”
“Nah. I think I’ll stick around tonight.” He pushes away from the counter and grins. “I have no plans tomorrow, so I may as well watch Kane throw Chiara around in the gym.”
“You do realize this is not your home, right?” I point out.
“Oh? I thought it was communal family property, which was why you gave me a key?”
The lying shit. He knows it’s my main home, even if I spend most of my time in the city now that Chiara lives here, which I now realize has been a major misstep on my part. In giving her space, I’ve created room for my brother.
“Perhaps I’ll change the locks tomorrow.” Luka glares at me.
“You’d really take away the one friend she has?”
“She counts Fina as a friend.” Even if that’s true, it doesn’t stop the twinge of guilt that stabs me in the gut.
“Fina works more than I do, so she’s hardly ever free.” He’s right. Keeping our public brand squeaky clean is a full-time job, and she spends as much of her downtime with Matteo as she can.
“You and Chiara can’t be friends,” I scoff. “It doesn’t work like that with men and women.”
He looks at me with sympathy. “And that’s why you’ll never get anywhere with Chiara.”
“Excuse me?”
“You have the emotional intelligence of a rock, brother.”
Is he right?
“I feel sorry for you,” he adds before sauntering away. I watch through slitted eyes as he heads toward the stairs and not the front door, but I’m too distracted by his insult to do much about it.
Do I lack emotional intelligence?
Kane’s reply when I text him to ask is a stream of laughing emoji.
My mood sinks even lower, and for the first time in my adult life I wonder whether I need a therapist.
41
Chiara
Is it me, or has someone turned the heat up in my room? I crack my eyelids open to find the sun is up and it’s almost seven. Fuck my life. If Angelo’s threat wasn’t him blowing hot air from his ass, Kane will be here any minute now.
Only I can’t move because Luka has wrapped his body around me and Felix has made a nest in my hair. He thinks the best place to sleep is on my pillow, not the luxe cat bed Angelo brought him, which is handwoven from alpaca hair.
Allegedly.
“It’s too early, cupcake,” Luka grumbles in my ear. His cock is hard against my butt cheeks and making me all kinds of achy, but knowing Kane might burst in at any moment stops me from doing anything about it.
Not that I’d care if Kane caught me fucking Luka, but knowing him, he’d throw a bucket of cold water over me, and I don’t need that kind of stress.
“I’m supposed to be in the gym in two minutes.”
“I only need two minutes.” Luka pushes his erection between my thighs and rubs through my folds. I’m already wet, and we both groan at the feel of him rubbing against my clit.
“Not sure two minutes is a selling point,” I joke.
