Page 26 of Fix You
A very attractive woman with dark auburn hair streaked with gray appeared before us. Once upon a time, it might’ve been the same beautiful color as the mystery woman. “Caterina, dear, I have more people who are just dying to be introduced to you,” she said.
I bit back my laugh at the deer in the headlights look that momentarily flashed in Caterina’s eyes. Although she was the woman of the hour as the bride, I knew how much she loathed being on display.
Caterina nodded. “Of course. But first let me introduce you to my oldest brother.” Turning to me, she said, “Raphael, this is my mother-in-law, Orla Kavanaugh.”
Smiling, I extended my hand. “With five sons, I was imagining Mrs. Kavanaugh to be someone who looked much older.”
Orla’s green eyes glittered with amusement. “Aren’t you the charmer, Mr. Neretti?”
“What can I say? It comes naturally around beautiful women.”
“You are incorrigible,” Orla replied. With a wink, she added, “But I love it.”
“Wait until you meet my brothers. We’re cut from the same mold.”
“You Italians really live up to your name, don’t you?”
At Caterina’s horrified look at our interchange, I couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, we do.”
Orla grinned. “Then I look forward to meeting them.”
As Orla led Caterina away, I shook my head with amusement. I wondered if Maeve had her mother’s same fiery spirit and flirtatious nature. Damn, she would be a lot of fun if she did.
She’s not going to be anything to you, you maledetto bastardo! What part of fucking off limits isn’t clear to you?
Turning to the bartender, I said, “Another, please.”
I don’t know why I thought saturating my brain with alcohol would get my mind out of the gutter. If anything, it would make me hornier.
With hornier thoughts in mind and without Caterina to keep me occupied, I couldn’t keep my gaze from Maeve. I don’t know what my fucking problem was. Once I got back to New York in the morning, there would be a horde of willing and ready women waiting to take care of my needs.
Experienced women who knew how to blow my mind, not innocent ones like Maeve. Ones without complications like being the sister of five hothead Irishmen.
Despite the voice of reason in my head, I couldn’t look away. Thankfully, Maeve was oblivious to me staring at her. From her tense posture and expression, her mind seemed to be miles away from the party surrounding her.
It was on my third whiskey I noticed when people would wave or speak to her that Maeve’s smile never seemed to reach her eyes. Don’t ask me why I noticed it. I couldn’t tell you the last woman’s smile I’d been contemplative about. Probably never before.
But I noticed Maeve’s.
I seemed to notice almost everything about her.
I noticed despite originally dancing and being a part of the fray, she’d taken a seat in the corner to avoid the others.I noticed as she ate how her delicate throat bobbed as she swallowed. The slight buzz in my brain had me thinking about her throat bobbing as she swallowed down my cum.
With a grunt of disgust, I stalked away from the bar, trying to put distance between my perverted thoughts and Maeve. Despite moving, the sudden pull Maeve had on me was unbreakable. As hard as I tried to be polite to some of the Kavanaugh clan members by stopping to say hello, I remained distracted. Especially when she gave who I assumed was her younger brother a playful roll of her eyes after elbowing him.
During the toast to Callum and Caterina, I watched her clap wildly with a smile that lit up the terrace in the dying sun. My admiration was momentarily detached when Callum bestowed a smoldering kiss on Caterina at the request of the crowd. My obsession returned at the sight of the laughter peeling from her lips at the exchange between the happy couple.
At the sight of Leandro waving me over to a table, I realized it was time to stop obsessing over Maeve. But when I gave her a final glance, I froze. Her expression had changed. It was no longer disinterested or feigned happiness. It was one of extreme longing. Following her gaze, I realized her focus was on the couples dancing.
A funny ache twisted in my chest at her evident pain. I didn’t want her hurting. I wanted to do something…anything to ensure the private agony was erased from her face. Even when Callum joined her at the table, the hurt didn’t diminish from her expression.
In fact, it seemed to worsen.
No, I couldn’t bear that look any longer. A shudder went through me. I knew what I had to do. As I started moving through the crowd, my eyes remained on Maeve. At the sight of tears sparkling in her eyes, I began to impatiently push people out of the way.
I knew what I was about to do was so fucking wrong. I knew it could have severe repercussions on the alliance I’d just made with Callum. But nothing would stop me. I had to take Maeve’s pain away at any cost.
Chapter Five: Maeve