“Look, when it comes down to it, neither one of us has anything to be ashamed of.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“It’s not like I pursued you, Drea. There’s no way in hell I would’ve approached you if I’d known your identity.”
Maybe he had a point. “And I sure as hell wouldn’t have let you touch me had I known it was you.”
“We’ll just explain it was a case of mistaken identity.”
At the thought of Rafe knowing what I’d done with his brother, I shuddered. “No! He can’t know.”
“I don’t keep things from my brother,” Leo protested.
“This isn’t the same as underworld dealings,” I argued.
“I won’t break Rafe’s trust by lying.”
Of course, I would end up with a slightly moral mafia man. Holding up my hands, I countered, “Although it’s evident he doesn’t care about me, I still think he’s going to care a hell of a lot about what happened because it’syou.”
Even though there was a lot I still didn’t know about Rafe, it was evident how he felt about his brothers. At his father’s funeral, they’d been a unified front.
At Leo’s continued hesitance, I said, “Don’t you get it? I couldn’t live with myself if I drove a wedge between the two of you.” Staring miserably down at my hands, I choked out, “I can’t give him another reason to hate me.”
“Rafe doesn’t hate you,” Leo argued.
“I’m keeping him from the woman he loves.”
“That’s not your fault. It’s the fucking archaic mafia rules.”
Deep down, I knew he was right. If Rafe and I were from different worlds, he could be with Maeve, and I could’ve been with Marco.
But we weren’t.
“Please, Leo. Promise me you won’t tell Rafe.”
As he clenched and unclenched his jaw, I sighed. “I know I’m asking a lot of you. Especially considering we barely know each other.”
With a sardonic smile, he replied, “We know each other better than most future in-laws.”
Heat rose in my cheeks at his reference to what had happened on the dance floor. “Leo, please.”
“Sorry. Humor has always been my defense mechanism.”
“Sarcasm is mine,” I replied with a smile.
A moment passed, and then Leo nodded. “Fine. I won’t say anything.”
With a relieved breath, I replied, “Thank you.”
“But only on one condition.”
The seriousness of his tone made me swallow hard. “Um, okay.”
“This stays only between us. I don’t want it somehow getting back to Rafe through the rumor mill.”
“That won’t be hard to do at all.” Wrinkling my nose, I said, “I would die if anyone found out I had…sorta made out with my future brother-in-law.”
Sweeping his hand to his chest dramatically, Leo mused, “Your disgust wounds me.”