Dawn finally arrived, giving Rafe the excuse he needed to give up on pretending to sleep and dress for work. He would have skipped breakfast, but Kiko padded out to join him, and well, damn it. He couldn’t let the poor girl starve, could he?
He didn’t see or hear any sign of Larkin, which was fine by him. The sooner he concluded their remaining business, the sooner he could get his life onto an even keel again. Go back to the way things had been before Larkin had stormed into his life and ripped it to shreds. Avoid further emotional entanglements and just be left the hell alone.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted,” he informed Kiko.
She gave his comment the attention it deserved, which was none at all. Aware he didn’t have a hope in hell of gaining any support from that quarter, he downed the last of his coffee and rinsed the mug. Then, refusing to consider the whys and wherefores of his actions, he started up a fresh pot before heading out the door.
He wasn’t expected at the office, since the entire Dante family was still officially on vacation. He’d also given his assistant the time off, which provided him complete privacy to closet himself in his office, undisturbed. He wasted a couple of hours taking care of business emails and paperwork, knowing full well they were his way of avoiding the inevitable. Finally he shoved back his chair and stared at the display rack that concealed his office safe.
He sighed. Just get it over with!
It took him only minutes to punch in the appropriate code and verify his thumbprint. The door swung open and he sorted through the various gemstones and jewelry samples stored there until he found the plain rectangular box he’d stashed in the farthest recesses.
Removing it, he relocked the safe and carried the box to his desk. Flipping open the lid, he stared down at the bracelet. It was a stunning piece. The setting gave the impression of spun gold, delicate filigree links that appeared to be straight out of a fairy tale. The original stones had been a lovely mixture of modest diamonds of a decent quality, and amethysts that weren’t bad, if a shade on the pink side. Not good enough for Leigh, of course, but then few things were.
She’d insisted he replace the amethysts with emeralds because they were her birthstone, and the smaller diamonds with oversize fire diamonds because they were more impressive, not to mention expensive. He’d never felt either complemented the setting. But since he’d still been in the throes of lust, he’d agreed to her demands. She’d even wanted to have the setting altered, but there he’d drawn the line. It was perfect as is. Instead, she’d gone behind his back and made the adjustments without his knowledge. It wouldn’t take much to return it to its original form, he decided, studying the bracelet. Sev’s wife, Francesca, could do it in her sleep.
A knock sounded at the door and his sister, Gia, poked her head into his office. “Hey, you. Larkin said I could find you here.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Did she, now.”
“Yes, she did.”
Gia entered the room and closed the door behind her. He and his sister had always been dubbed the “pretty” Dantes, identical in coloring, with matching jade-green eyes. While he’d despised the moniker, Gia had simply shrugged it off, neither impressed nor dismayed by the description. He, on the other hand, had been offended on her behalf, since his sister wasn’t merely pretty. She was flat-out gorgeous.
“To be honest, I’m relieved Larkin’s still at your place,” she continued. “When the two of you left the lake I was a little worried you were on the verge of breaking up.”
“So you followed us home?” Her shrug spoke volumes. “It’s none of your business, Gianna.”
“Then you are on the verge of breaking up. Oh, Rafe.” She approached and slid a slim hip onto the edge of his desk. Leaning in, she examined the bracelet. A delaying tactic, no doubt. “Huh. Definitely not Francesca’s work. Almost beautiful. Or it would be if it weren’t so—” she made a fluttering gesture with her hands “—over the top. It also needs softer stones.”
“Amethysts.”
“Exactly.” She nodded, impressed. “Good eye. Whose is it?”