Page 71 of Dex

Not.

Chapter 17

DEX

We travel in the family jet.Another first for us.

It’s the first time we have traveled with the others—Rio, Matteo and Enzo.We’ve seen one another over the years, at meetings, the Knight family dinners, and at high-society galas and events.We run into one another in the offices, in the elevator, in the lobby.Like we would do with normal work acquaintances.No one would ever think we were family.But we are.Bound together by our father’s infidelity.

But in recent years, Rio and I have become friends.It’s not common knowledge.Still, it’s been interesting watching the others trying to avoid one another.

Traveling together, just us, in a confined space, where no one can leave, has been eye-opening to say the least.

The old man announces that we’re expected to go straight to the Oliveira’s family estate once we land.Daniela’s father has arranged a fleet of SUVs to come and get us from the private airstrip.They’ve also kindly put us up in one of their private estates, not too far from her family home.But before we can go there, we’re to have dinner with the family.The Italian Knights groan, but I already knew this, because Daniela told me.

“Is this really necessary?”Matteo whines.

Rio looks visibly annoyed at the bickering.“They invited you for dinner, just go, eat and be nice.”

“Do weallneed to go?”Zach asks.

“No, just you, Zach,” Rio snaps.

“We all need to go,” I bite out, finishing my second glass of Scotch.It’s a long flight and we’re only halfway through.Things are getting real, and I’m feeling something unfamiliar, out of my depth, uncomfortable.

I’m going to Brazil to marry a woman I barely know.A woman who intrigues me in a way that scares me.I like my walls to be up.My boundaries.I like to fuck without emotional ties.I’ve only kissed Daniela, and I can’t stop thinking about it.I’m worried that this marriage of convenience is going to turn out to be a fucking big inconvenience to me.Because Daniela excites me, and living with her is going to be my worst nightmare.

Zach looks cross.“I barely know them.”

“And her parents barely know us.They’re giving their only child away, to someone they don’t know, and they want to get to know Dexter, and all of his family.You can’t blame them,” Cari replies.

“I could never do that,” Jett says, looking pensive as he watches Brooke stick flower tattoos all over his forearms.

Zach seems especially whiny today.“I just want to take a shower and go to bed.”

“My daughter is handling this better than you!”Jett hisses, cutting eyes at Zach.This guy is beginning to seriously piss me off.

What Cari says is true.I’m also curious about meeting Daniela’s family.I want to get to know the people who raised her, the parents she speaks so highly of.I want to see what it’s like to be part of a normal, loving family.But I also feel bad for them because they seem to have accepted the old man’s demands without a fight.

Knowing this, the least my brothers can do is to shut the fuck up and eat dinner.I give Zach a pointed look.“Don’t be so fucking whiny and disrespectful.It’s kind of them to offer.”

We sit in our two groups, for most of the plane ride, though Rio and I change seats a lot, moving around the plane.He senses my unease and tries to reassure me.He’s also sniffing around.Trying to gauge how I’m feeling, but we don’t risk talking too much about that.The old man has great hearing, and I’d rather he not get any intel into my private thoughs.

***

We drive up to the house.It’s creamy stucco, framed by ivy and low-hanging trees.

Nothing like the sleek, glass and metallic structures I’m used to.This is ahome.Warm and inviting.I can see Daniela growing up here.Spending her whole life here and not wanting to leave.

The front bursts with color.Flowers, pink, purple, red, yellow.There’s a soft green trim around the windows, and something about it sticks in my head.Daniela said she liked the color green because it reminded her of home.I wonder if it’s this shade of green.

The front door opens before the cars have even fully stopped, and Daniela and her parents come out.

My gaze fixes on my wife to be.We haven’t spoken, or texted ever since she left.I thought she might reach out, and maybe she thought I might, but neither of us did, and now it feels strange to see her again.She’s wearing a cream sundress, with tiny green florals that echo the garden outside.Flat sandals that make her look casual and graceful at the same time.My brain short-circuits because I forgot just how pretty she is when she’s not trying.Not dressed for a deal, not posturing, just being her.Her hair is up in a loose twist, with some locks falling over one shoulder.

“Get out, lover boy.”Rio pokes me in the side.

If I was in denial all through the flight, it now hits me low and hard as I’m about to face her.The pull to this woman.She’s not safe, not from someone like me.If she were my hookup, I’d never let her go.

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