Fallon nodded, still uncertain.
Sensing her skepticism, Tilly glared, eyes narrowing tightly. “He’s a good man,” she snapped defensively. “If it wasn’t for him, I’m pretty positive I wouldn’t be alive.”
What? Fallon’s brows bunched together in a frown. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve known the Muranos since I was a little girl. Our mothers were best friends as children and Rafe and I were born only a few weeks apart.
“I grew up following Rafe around everywhere, and of course Luca didn’t go anywhere without Rafe tagging along. The three of us were inseparable. I loved them. And of course, when Marco and Leo were born, I loved them too. But as I got older, my love for Luca changed. That’s a whole other story, though.”
So her bond didn’t just stem from her marriage to Luca; she was raised with this family, grew up with the very men who adore her now. She wasn’t just a sister-in-law; she was a sister.
Jealousy found its way back in. Tilly had them all. Sergio, Luca, Marco, Leo . . . and Rafe. She had more love dangling from these men than Fallon could even comprehend. Oxygen chilled her lungs as she inhaled. She forced her jealously back to where it came from as Tilly continued.
“Rafe and I were seniors in high school and it was Luca’s first year in college at NYC. I didn’t have a lot of girlfriends. Mostly because I was always with the Murano boys—and mostly because I was always with Luca. So the few girlfriends that I did have didn’t stick around long after Luca and I got serious. They didn’t understand how I would want to be with someone all the time, but it was just that kind of love. I never wanted to be without him.” Light illuminated her smile. “And I still don’t.”
“You’re lucky, to have that.”
“To have Luca? I know.”
“To have it all. To have that kind of love. The endless, romantic, fairy-tale kind of love. I never thought it existed. You’re lucky.”
“Luck’s got nothing to do with it, sweetie. I love a Murano. It’s part of the package. Endless, soul-crushing love is what you sign up for when you love a Murano.” She laughed. “You’re falling in love with him, aren’t you?”
The erratic beats of her heart stalled. She didn’t know what to say; words wouldn’t form. Tilly graciously let her off the hook, switching the conversation back to her story.
“It was Luca’s first weekend at college and I met up with some of the girls I used to hang around. We went to a house party, and like typical teenage girls we drank and danced and were having a great time. The party had died down, and two of the girls I was with were passed out, and the other one was happily locked away in one of the bedrooms with the guy she’d been crushing on since we were freshmen. I’d just called Rafe to come pick me up . . .”
Her trembling fingers balled into fists in her lap. She swallowed. “One of the guys I’d danced with earlier tried to kiss me. Looking back on it, it was a harmless kiss. A harmless kiss that included shoving his tongue down my throat, but . . .”
Fear coiled in Fallon’s stomach and her hand lifted to her mouth. She knew. The tears obscuring Tilly’s blue eyes said it all. “You don’t have to tell me this,” she said, shaking her head vigorously, desperately trying to ward off the fear. She knew . . .
“Actually, I do,” she continued, offering a sad smile. “I’m not the biggest person, and I was even smaller back then. The asshole outweighed me by a hundred pounds, easy. There wasn’t much I could do to get him off me, so I kneed him in the balls.”
Pride swelled, expanding, pushing the fear away slightly.
“He went down fast,” Tilly said, pausing, breathing. “But he came up even faster. He beat me.”
Heat burned the back of Fallon’s throat. “Oh my god, Tilly.”
“And when my body could no longer move from the pain fusing to every nerve, every muscle . . . he raped me.”
Fallon’s hand flew to her mouth. No. No.
“No one was around to help. He’d tucked me by the back door. And if there had been anyone around, they were in no coherent state to help me anyway.”
Fallon’s eyes widened but she remained silent.
“Rafe found me.”
Oh my god.
“I could barely move, barely keep my eyes open. I felt like nothing but mushed flesh and throbbing muscles. My insides ripped open, bleeding from a heart that hurt too much to beat.
“Fallon, I’ll never forget the way Rafe looked at me. I saw every fraction of his soul shatter. And I saw him flip the switch. I’ll never forget the hatred deep in his eyes. He was so scared . . . scared for me . . . and it made him murderous.”