“Is it the tattoos?”
She grinned. “Do I have tattoos?”
“I’m not sure, maybe I’ll have to complete a more thorough inspection,” he promised sensually. Her body charged with a new burst of desire, despite the fact she’d felt, only moments earlier, more satiated than she’d known it was possible to feel.
“You’re welcome to.” Her voice was a breathy whisper.
“Why do you think you’re like Gabe?”
She considered that. “He just seems…to feel a lot of things.”
“And to keep them bottled up,” Raf agreed, moving so that his body was over hers, his arms forming a cage around her.
“I guess so.” She lifted a hand to his cheek, running a finger across the ridge there. “Not that I would expect him to open up to me. I guess I got pretty good at reading people with this job – I had to – it’s not a time in people’s lives where they’re prone to be communicative or expansive. I just feel, with Gabe, that there’s something deeply troubling to him and yet he keeps so much of that to himself.”
“You’re very perceptive.”
Lauren scrunched up her nose. “Not really. I mean, he’s quite grumpy.”
Raf smiled, but his eyes were distracted. “Yeah. He’s – had some shit go down.”
Lauren nodded sympathetically. “You don’t have to tell me. I wasn’t meaning to pry.”
“It’s fine. I mean, it’s in the papers, you could google him and see for yourself.”
“I would never do that.”
His eyes narrowed with something that looked a lot like respect. “No,” he smiled at her. “I don’t think you would.”
He was quiet then, so she thought he’d moved on, but after a moment, he began to speak, his voice low and husky. “We were in a car accident a few years ago. He was driving. It was pretty bad.”
Lauren had seen enough of life’s twists and turns and the grief that could always be lurking not to be surprised. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
“I broke a leg. He walked away unscathed.”
“And he feels bad for hurting you?” She probed gently.
“God, no. I was fine. A broken leg heals, you know.” He paused a moment, his eyes roaming her face inquisitively. Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, he continued, “His girlfriend was in the car, and her little girl – not his, a daughter from a previous relationship. She was only one.”
“Oh, God.” Lauren dealt with death all the time, but when children died, it cut her to pieces in a way that was permanent and awful. She braced for what was coming.
“His girlfriend died.”
“And the baby?”
“She had broken ribs, but miraculously, survived. She’s growing up without a mother though, and Gabe’s never forgiven himself for that. He wasn’t the most cheery guy even before the car accident but that was too much. He pretty much hates life now.”
Lauren’s heart squeezed for him. “What happened? To cause the accident?”
“Was it his fault, you mean?”
“No – I wasn’t – I mean, I wasn’t apportioning blame, at all. Accidents happen to everyone. I was just asking because I suppose it would be even harder for him to make peace with it if he had been drinking, or speeding, or similar.”
“Gianfelice – our grandfather, Yaya’s husband –,”
“Believe me, I have heard a lot about Gianfelice,” she interrupted, a wry smile flicking her lips upwards.
“Of course. Yaya’s favourite subject.”