For a man who would threaten to chase me if I walked away from him.
There was something seriously wrong with me that I'd fallen in love with him in such a short time period, with everything working against us and the warning signs staring me in the face. I’d never been in love or even had the desire to fall in love before him, and yet he stormed into my heart as if there was never anything in his way. No matter what Rafe did or who he was when I wasn't looking, I couldn't shake the feeling that he would never hurt me.
That I was special to him in some way, and separate from whatever business consumed him and needed to be kept secret from me.
I knew when I went home, I'd finally work up the courage to Google his name. I'd probably learn more about him from the internet than I ever would from his own mouth.
Rafael led me to the terrace at the back of the club, finding my friends waiting for us outside. Hugo stood from his seat on one of the odd, round stools next to a table, making Chloe turn her attention to us. Her eyes widened briefly before she smiled, trailing her eyes down my body encased in the dress Rafe had supplied me with for the club. I didn't own anything remotely dressy, and somehow I doubted sundresses would be an appropriate attire for the evening.
Hugo looked so odd in his dress shirt and trousers, somehow older than the boy I'd spent over a year hanging out with. "This is such a nice club. Thank you for getting us in," Chloe said, turning her gaze to Rafe. He wore a suit, his jacket undone over his black dress shirt, making it so that he swam in a sea of onyx. From his dark hair, to the stubble on his face, to his clothes and shoes. The only color he offered was deep olive skin and bright mismatched eyes.
"It was no trouble at all. Owning a club does have its perks at times," Rafe returned, giving a tiny smile in response to Chloe's words. His arrogance seeped through as she pursed her lips to keep her shock from showing.
"You own this?" I asked, watching as Hugo took his seat and Rafael led me to the white sofa on the other side of the table with a hand at the small of my back. I sat down carefully, wishing he'd chosen a longer dress. The visibility of my scar set me on edge, something that I'd never really experienced aside from with Chloe or my family.
Even Hugo had never seen it, though I'd known that would change when we came to Ibiza. Wearing a bathing suit tended to do that.
Hugo's eyes narrowed in on the thin wrap of white flesh across my leg, tilting his head in thought as he turned an odd look in Rafe's direction with his brow raised in question. Rafe ignored him, settling as close to me as possible and wrapping an arm around me. "Yes," he confirmed.
"It's incredible," I said, glancing up at the starry sky above us. The music was softer outside, less of a mind-numbing vibration and closer to something soothing. People still danced between the rows of tables and on the long walkway through the back terrace, moving their bodies seductively and swaying to the smooth rhythm.
"Thank you," he murmured, taking the end of my hair in his grip and toying with it where it touched my waist. A server came over, taking our drink orders before she moved on and hurried back into the club. I imagined, being the owner, Rafe would expect to be served immediately.
"How does a man as young as you come to own the hottest club in Ibiza?" Chloe asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously on Rafe. He withdrew slightly, and I watched as he smiled through whatever distaste he had for Chloe's question. But the stiffness of his body told me he didn't like her inquiry.
If Rafe would hunt me down if I left him, I had to wonder for a moment if I should worry for Chloe. She was tenacious when she wanted to know something, and she'd stop at nothing to get the answers if she felt something was wrong.
I couldn't imagine she hadn't already looked Rafe up, and I questioned why she hadn't told me what she found earlier in the day. But I still didn't want to know.
"Investments mostly," Rafe answered finally. "I have a very broad understanding of the markets and what will do well at any given time. It allows me to make lump sums of cash that I then reinvest into property investments frequently."
"Hmm," Chloe hummed, turning her eyes to mine. "That's not what Google says." Hugo elbowed her in the side, glaring at her as if he'd warned her ahead of time not to have this conversation. Hugo was far more aware of how I would feel if things went south unnecessarily because of Chloe's prying.
I guessed he just wasn't aware that she was probably close to accurate in whatever she hinted at.
"Google will say a lot of things about me, I'm sure," Rafe said. "Worse than high school gossip, and by the time Ibiza news gets on the internet it's much like a game of telephone. Exaggerated and dramatic for no reason other than seeking higher ratings." I hoped his words were true. That he'd stopped me from looking him up because he didn't want our relationship to
