Page 54 of Vito

I sit forward, elbows on my knees, head in my hands, staring at the floor.

I try in vain to block out the image of what Eden would've seen when she walked into the library.

Massimo's office door opens, then closes. I don't look up, but I know it's Raf. He sits on the other sofa across from me.

"Shit, man…" He sounds distraught. "I knew you were seeing Lexa less for the booty blowjobs..."

Try: not since I heard Eden's voice on the phone.

"But I thought she was exaggerating the 'never'. I would never have gone and picked her up if I knew you and—"

"Eden and I are not a thing," I say without looking up. "Nothing has happened."

"Vito. Come on. It's me."

Raf and I grew up together since birth. Silvio, his father, is our Capo who oversees Los Angeles and is one ofBabbo'sclosest friends. My fatheris even Raf's godfather. Raf is my right-hand man. We always have each other's backs.

I lift my head. "It's true."

He studies my face, then sits back. "Okay, nothing has happened between you and Eden, but there's…" He waves his hand at me, seemingly at a loss for words. "It's complicated."

I scoff, leaning back. "You fucking think?"

"You never get complicated. You never have."

He isn't wrong. I never do relationships. Never cared about a woman longer than it took to fuck her once, and even then, I didn'tcareabout her.

Shit, do Icareabout Eden?

My reaction to her walking in on Lexa blowing me tells me… I'm making this complicated.

Raf scrubs his face, sighing. "I'm fucking sorry. I never would've gotten Lexa if I had known."

"It's not your fault I came down her throat. That I was drunk and didn't even know what was happening until it was too late."

"It kinda was." He arches a brow. "I went and got Lexa, told her to go find you and make you feel better."

"Fuck." I rub my face. I am not entirely sober yet, but I need to get more sober so I can face Eden.

"Fuck is right." He lays his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "If you were going to get complicated for the first time ever inyour life, why the hell did you have to pick the person who would be the biggest complication?"

I grunt as the door opens, and Creed comes in. Raf stands, nods at him, then leaves.

Watching Creed, I stay silent.

His hands are in his suit pants as he walks around the perimeter of the room with his back to me. His suit jacket is off and his sleeves are rolled up, showing the ink on his forearms.

His neck and throat are covered in ink, along with his entire torso, back, and legs. My baby brother has a thing for the tattoo gun. It suits him, though.

Even though he's the youngest, he's the one out of us who deserves the most respect. He's quiet and methodical and a peacekeeper at heart. However, he's as ruthless and deadly as Massimo or me when protecting who he loves.

He's a visionary who saw a refined yet expanded future for the Santoro family—one more in the legitimate foothold of the world. We'd never completely go that route, but he's leading that part of our empire and expanding our reach, reputation, and wealth in a way that none of us had expected.

"I imagine Mass chewed your ass out," he says without turning.

I stay silent because I have nothing to say right now except curse my stupidity.

"It took me years to understand who I was, Vito, and what I truly wanted for myself. If there's any wisdom I can share, it's that there comes a time when you examine the path you stand on and decidefor youif it's the right one. You decide for you… and only you; not for the Don, not for the family." He turns to me. "The rest will fall into place."

---