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He had a lot of work to accomplish over the week, so he wouldn’t be able to spend a whole lot of time with them, anyway. He’d just alert his crew that the ship was at their disposal as well as any of his other possessions – his staff pretty much knew that, though.
“It will be nice to see more of you. I will warn you that I’ll be very busy this week. We’re going into a major merger and I’ll most likely be working fourteen hour days,” he said, hoping to head them off.
“Not a problem, son. I remember those days of working too many hours. Thankfully, now I get to spend my days with your beautiful mother instead. We’re taking off for Ireland after we leave here. I haven’t been there in years and this time of year is a good time to go. I could use some decent beer. ”
“Well, the house is yours, along with all the vehicles. I’m leaving for the office but you can call my assistant if you need to reach me. Please don’t tell her it’s an emergency again just because you can’t find a certain bottle of wine,” Rafe warned.
“That was only one time, Rafe – and it was our anniversary. We’ve had the same wine on that anniversary for the past twenty years. In my book, that does constitute and emergency,” his father answered, completely serious.
“All right. If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll try and get home a bit early tomorrow. ”
With those words, Rafe walked out the door and took a deep breath as he climbed into the back of his Bentley. His family was wonderful, but overwhelming. It would be good to get back into the offices where he was the one in control.
*****
“I can’t believe how hard it was to track down this girl!” Lia said with frustration.
“Well, we finally did it so relax, sis. Rafe’s obviously into her so I want to know why. I had to practically sit on Shane’s lap to get the information. It was fun to watch him sweat – especially when you walked in the room while I was hanging all over him. I’ve never seen Shane turn red before. That was entertaining,” Rachel answered with a giggle.
“Nothing is going on between Shane and I. Even if I did like him, which I don’t, it’s not like Rafe would ever allow anything to happen. He still treats me like I’m five instead of twenty-six,” Lia huffed.
“I think you should just sneak into Shane’s room one of these days and jump his bones. It’s obvious you’ve been in love with him since you were fourteen. ”
“Focus, Rachel. We need to get to the beach and ambush Ari. Her office buddies guaranteed me they’d get her down there today. It was surprisingly easy to bribe them. They said she really needs to get laid. I found it interesting that big brother doesn’t have her chained to his bed if he’s so into her. ”
“Maybe he’s into her, but she doesn’t like him,” Lia said before both girls erupted into laughter.
“Seriously, if there’s a woman out there smart enough to resist Rafe’s charm, she is definitely a keeper. I really hope that’s the case. Let’s get our detective gloves on. ”
“I like nothing better than a good mystery. ”
Rafe’s sisters jumped into his convertible Mercedes and immediately put the top down. It was a beautiful eighty degree day and they were looking forward to playing on the beach, and really looking forward to meeting the woman who seemed to be tying their big brother up in knots.
They hadn’t liked any of his mistresses that they’d met previously, and they’d hated his ex-wife, but a woman he wanted to hide from them had their curiosity piqued. It would be a great afternoon.
“Have we worked out the plan, yet?” Rachel asked as they stopped at a light. It was nearly impossible to hear over the wind while they drove.
“I have no clue. First step was in finding the girl. We’re going to have to assess the situation and think quick on our feet once we’re down there. ”
“A challenge. You know, I always enjoy that. ”
“Yes, because you’re a meddling brat, Rachel. ”
“Aren’t you the touchy one. Did you have a bad night? Were you just a tad upset that I was sitting on your boyfriend’s lap. You know I don’t want Shane. I’ve known he was all yours from the first day he walked in the room and you practically tripped on your bottom lip. ”
“I’m not in love with Shane!”
“Oh my gosh, Lia. Give it a rest. I know about the hotel incident,” Rachel told her with a wicked smile.
“How do you know about that?”
“Like you’re the only one who knows how to get information. I’ve had the employees spying for me forever. I know some things about big brother, too. If you spill the dirt about you and Shane then I just might tell you,” Rachel gloated.