Page 24 of Endlessly Raphael
“Very well. Once you provide the certificate, I can start the paperwork to put the company’s assets in your name.”
“Great. I’ll be needing a prenup too. Can you help with that?”
“I can. Very wise, sir.”
“Just in case.” I exhale with relief. “Will you notify my family?”
“If that’s your decision.”
I turn it over in my mind for a second. “I’ll handle it. Thank you, Mr. Hassan.”
After I end the call, I fall back on the sofa and kick my legs in joy. I can’t believe I’m really gonna pull this off, and with a guy who seems pretty decent. Maybe… maybe we could even like each other. Wouldn’t it be wild if this actually turned into something real?
I mean, unlikely. Raphael seems like a guy who enjoys his independence, and me? What do I know about functional relationships? It’s probably best to bury any hope for more and just enjoy a regular dick down until one or both of us gets tired of it.
As long as I get to one up the family that did me wrong, it’s good enough for me.
NINE
Raphael
“Raphael has news to share with us,” Yves says, after covering a bit of business.
“Does it have anything to do with the pretty twink you brought here last night?” Thorn asks.
“You weren’t even here.”
“News travels fast,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“Anyway.” I shift in my seat, preparing myself for the reaction I’m about to receive. “I’m getting married to a mortal.”
Eros’s jaw drops as he just stares at me. Midnight’s head jerks back. Syn narrows his eyes, like he’s trying to figure out who I am. Thorn cackles, practically falling back in his chair. Tru and Bowie are the only polite ones who simply smile at me while Justice looks slightly scandalized.
“What the fuck, Raph?” Thorn asks, slapping his knee. “It’s not April. Are there other days for jokes?”
“It’s not a joke.” I look to Yves for help, but even he is fighting laughter. “I have a good reason.”
“Please share it with us,” Syn says. “Because I’m astounded.”
“He needs a spouse,” I mutter, scratching the back of my head. “For an inheritance. We met at a club and we have some chemistry.”
Thorn is still chuckling. “Yes, we heard your chemistry.”
I roll my eyes. “I would have preferred to go to his place as I normally do, but he wasn’t comfortable with it.” I shift my gaze to Yves. “I didn’t intend to bring him here. I’m doing my best to buffer him from us.”
“Why?” Bowie asks. “Do we embarrass you or something?”
“Of course not. He doesn’t know what we are, obviously, and I think we’d all prefer to keep it that way.”
“How are you gonna do that?” Tru asks. “You’re gonna marry a guy and somehow keep him from finding out that we’re a bunch of murderous vampires?”
“That’s the plan, yes.”
“Good luck with that,” Thorn says. “I bet there’s at least three guys in the room who could tell you the benefits of telling the mortals we bed.”
“Raphael is wise to be cautious,” Yves says, finally adding a touch of reason to this conversation. “We don’t know Haven.”
“Cool name,” Tru says.