“Hey!” Raven exclaims. “You never told us your story. I just realized you weaseled your way out of it. Spill the tea, Alina.”
“I need more wine for that.” When Piper’s quick to refill my glass, I can’t help laughing. “Okay, here goes everything.”
There’s no denying I love their expressions and soft uuhs and oohs as I explain everything from finding out Sabrina had fled to finding Raffaele in the dark apartment.
Piper’s eyes narrow slightly. “Wait a second,” she hisses. “Your own sister abandoned you to the Russos?”
I nod, surprised by the flash of anger that crosses her elegant features. “She’s always hated me. I still don’t fully understand why.”
“Stop interrupting,” Raven whines, tossing a piece of bread at Piper. Turning to me, she explains, “Pipes gets riled up when it comes to family behaving badly. It’s her Achilles’ heel.”
Piper just nods, but gestures with her hand for me to go on. So I do. I tell them about my days of refusing to eat, the chess games, and later the clothing debacle.
While I’m reliving every detail, I feel like I’m watching them with a fresh perspective. Some things that I thought Raffaelesaid in a menacing way now come across as rough with desire in my mind’s eye.
And… God. The smoldering looks he’s given me that I barely noticed at the time, but in my memory they stand out like fog lights.
“So when did Rafe propose?” Piper asks, refilling her wineglass and offering me more. I accept with a nod.
“A while ago,” I murmur. “He learned about my biggest dreams from the questions he asked after winning a game. And he told me he’d help me achieve my dreams if I marry him.”
“Classic Russo proposal,” Raven laughs, patting her belly as she takes a sip of water. “Well, I’m glad he’s found someone. He’s been a moody fudger since his mom died. Even Matteo is losing his patience with him, which is saying a lot.”
Raffaele’s mom died? Of what? When? God, the things I don’t know about him could fill his library shelves.
Shaking my head, I let the thought go for now. “Sometimes I can’t believe this is my life now. A month ago, I was just a baker who’d never even been kissed.”
“Never?” Raven’s eyes widen. “Oh, honey, what a first kiss that must have been.”
The conversation flows more easily now, wine warming my veins. And somewhere between this bottle and the next, I’ve confessed I’m a virgin, and that Raffaele is my first everything.
At first, I worried they’d think something was wrong with me, but if they do, they never express it. And somehow I don’t think they’d hold back if that’s how they really felt.
“I’m curious to find out what his kink is,” Raven cackles.
“Kink?” I ask, scrunching up my nose.
“Stop it, Lee,” Piper chides. “Don’t put her on the spot.”
Raven just waves her friend off. “Tell her what Lorenzo does to you.”
Piper’s smile grows as she tells me how her husband puts his cum into her shampoo. For a second, I’m not even sure I heard her correctly.
I choke on my wine, coughing violently as Raven reaches over to pat my back. “He what?” I finally manage to gasp out.
“Mixes it into my shampoo,” Piper says calmly. “He thinks I don’t know, but I saw him doing it before we even got married years ago.”
“That’s…” I search for a word that isn’t crude. “Unexpected.”
“I like it,” she says with a casual shrug. “My hair’s never been shinier.”
Raven nods seriously. “Matteo paints my toenails,” she reveals. “Always pink. And then he, well, he’s really into my feet. Especially my toes.”
I blink rapidly, trying to process the image of the intimidating, one-eyed Matteo carefully painting Raven’s toenails. “Isn’t that… sweet?”
“Oh, there’s nothing sweet about it,” Raven smirks. “He gets rock hard doing it. It’s his thing. What about Rafe? What’s his secret obsession?”
I hesitate, not sure if it’s my place to share. But these women have been so open, so forthcoming. “He… he’s obsessed with my body,” I admit finally, my voice dropping. “But not in the way you might think. He’s constantly telling me how beautiful I am, especially the parts I’ve always hated.”
