Page 25 of In Love and Revenge

‘I do.’ I force a fake smile.

One that stops to fart mid-sex, but, hey, at least he’s not married like Tanya.

Technically, after tonight, Charlie might not be my boyfriend any more. Not if we have the chat I’m planning. But that information has nothing to do with the grisly hulk of a man sitting beside me. And I don’t feel like discussing the failures of my relationship with him.

Rafael steers around a junction one-handed. He’s such a smooth driver. So in control. It would be sexy if he weren’t such a prick.

‘Put his address in,’ Rafe commands, keeping his eyes glued to the road.

I watch him for a moment, then sigh as I tap Charlie’s address into the satnav. Rafael glances at the screen, then scrubs his hand around his jaw. He’s wearing a five o’clock shadow that suits him. Makes him appear less polished than usual.

Almost human.

‘Who the fuck is Alice?’ he asks after an awkward silence threatens to build between us.

I sink into the plush seat a little more and hum the tune of the hit song ‘Living Next Door to Alice’ by Smokie. Rafael gives me a sharp look and I roll my eyes.

No sense of humour.

‘I made her up. It’s not like I can give my real name. If people run a background check on me then they’ll never hire me when they find out my father’s in prison.’

‘Your father,’ Rafael hisses under his breath, as if the mere mention of Dad angers him.

The acid in his words come back to haunt me. How he thinks my father is scum and got what he deserved.

‘Yes, my father, who is innocent,’ I snap.

‘Says his daughter, who is deceiving her employers so she can unlawfully gain access to their homes,’ he fires back.

My mouth drops open, and I stop my disgusted scoff before it leaves my lips.

‘It’s a white lie. No one’s getting hurt. And needs must,’ I reply, quietly seething.

I spend the rest of the drive staring out of the window. Rafael seems more than happy to drive in silence too. Then again, he must be used to it. The man is a fortress. All real emotions kept inside.

It wouldn’t surprise me if outside of his family he has no friends at all. Except ... the one Dove told me about.

I dig my nails into my palms, cursing myself over how stupid I am. This would have been the perfect opportunity to ask Rafael about Dominic Ainsworth. But now I’ve ruined my chance by getting into an argument with him, then ignoring him for the best part of twenty minutes. There’s no way he’ll help me now. He’ll probably laugh in my face if I bring it up.

He pulls the car over in front of Charlie’s apartment building and turns the engine off. He unbuckles his seatbelt, and I whip my head towards him.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Getting out to open your door.’

Oh, hell no. I’m not letting Rafael Fairfax act like a gentleman and pretend he’s anything other than a snake in the grass, waiting to bite.

‘I can manage,’ I say, throwing my door open and climbing out. ‘Thank you for the lift,’ I add, before I close the door and round the car.

‘Aurora?’

Rafael’s rich, husky voice hits my back, and I turn. He’s resting his elbow on the open window frame, his attention glued to Charlie’s building as he cranes his neck to look out of the car and study it.

‘Are you sure you’d not rather go home?’ he asks, eyes narrowing on the broken light above the main entrance, then sliding over to some peeling paintwork on a sign. He grimaces like he’s concerned he could catch fleas just by looking.

Ugh, he’s such a snob.

‘I’m fine,’ I clip. ‘Thanks for the lift.’