Page 12 of Fix You

“I sure as hell do.” He clapped his hand on my back. “You don’t have to be strong for me. We’ll get through this together.”

He couldn’t have imagined how much I needed to hear that. “Don’t go soft on me now,” I replied with a grin.

Leo winked. “Never when it counts.”

“Fucker,” I muttered with a laugh.

Chapter Two: Raphael

Despite wanting to be thousands of miles away and searching for Caterina, I found myself in a chartered jet touching down in Philadelphia. The private jet belonging to our family had carried Father and Gianni to Sicily during the night. The Carusos had an SUV waiting for us on the tarmac. While Milos and Guilio handled our luggage, Leandro and I got into the back. I felt like I’d been run over by an eighteen wheeler. I’d only managed a few hours of sleep after Leo left.

Every time I closed my eyes, Caterina’s terrified face appeared before me. Once I’d actually fallen asleep, I’d been plagued by nightmares of her screaming my name to save her from physical torture or rape. After the second time of waking upin a sweat, I didn’t try going back to sleep for fear of what else I might dream.

I hated feeling so helpless. Of course, Father hadn’t bothered to text me that he'd arrived in Sicily, but Gianni had. In our text group, he was constantly keeping us in the loop.

As I peered out the window, Leo brought me out of my thoughts. “Did you do any research on your bride last night?”

“Nope.”

“So, you’re still going into this blind?”

I turned to gaze at him. “Yeah. Why?”

He shook his head. “I hope you’re a better actor than me. I wouldn’t be able to contain my shit if some Quasimodo-looking chick came lumbering up to me as my future wife.”

A laugh burst from my lips. “Fucking Quasimodo?”

He shuddered. “A truly hideous female version.”

“As vain as he is, do you actually think Father would broker me an unattractive bride?”

After appearing contemplative, Leo replied, “True.”

“Not to mention if he actually went rogue and negotiated someone hideous for me, Mother would never allow it,” I mused.

Any vanity my father possessed was trumped by my mother. While she’d always been stunning, she’d started getting Botox and plastic surgery since her twenties. She never left the house without a full face of makeup, hair done, and outfitted in designer wear.

Leo swept his hand to his chest dramatically. “The absolute horror of you breeding with someone who wasn’t a perfect ten in looks.”

I snorted. “Exactly. If I was a betting man, I’d wager that Andrea Caruso is as beautiful as she is rich and connected.”

He waggled his brows. “Lucky you.”

With a roll of my eyes, I countered, “Yeah, lucky me.”

“Stop acting like this is a death sentence.”

“Isn’t it?”

In my mind, it sure as hell was. The thought of being tied to one woman for the rest of my life was akin to torture. I’d never been one for relationships. The longest I’d ever been with a woman was a couple of months. I loved the chase as much I loved the spontaneity of not knowing who you might wake up next to in the morning.

Yeah, I was a bastard when it came to women.

My lips quirked at the thought of one of the few times I’d ever heard Caterina remotely curse. It was shortly before she’d entered the convent. After she witnessed a hysterical woman who I’d broken things off with, she’d shaken her head with disgust and called me aputtaniere.

Although I hated to be tainted in her eyes, not even my baby sister calling me a manwhore would change my ways. Marriage sure as hell wouldn’t change me. Despite not wanting to be anything like my father, we’d be alike in our disregard for our vows. He’d had numerous mistresses over the years. My mother had turned a blind eye.

The SUV came to a halt outside the gates of a sprawling mansion. It was evident that this wasn’t an advantageous marriage on the Caruso’s end--they appeared on equal financial ground with us. I could see why out of all the potential brides, Father had chosen Andrea.

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