My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 544

Chapter 544

My hands smoothed down the front of the dress. My heart was beating way too fast. I checked the time.

Nineteen minutes.

Nineteen.

I had managed to shower, get dressed, do my hair, put on makeup, and pick shoes in less than twenty minutes

I was excited, painfully, embarrassingly, hopelessly excited.

Because after months of confusion, mixed signals, emotional breakdowns, necklaces engraved with I love you, and Raphael Capone slowly destroying my sanity… He was finally taking me on a date.

I looked at my reflection one more time, then immediately smiled at nothing.

God… I had it bad.

I paused halfway down the last flight of stairs and pressed my palm against my stomach.

This was ridiculous.

I had performed in front of thousands of people. I had stood on stages. I had danced through injuries. I had fucked Raphael’s brains out but none of that had ever made me this nervous.

My heart wouldn’t calm down. It just kept beating harder and harder the closer I got to the garage. Warm light spilled across polished floors and then I saw him.

I stopped walking.

Raphael stood beside a black car with his hands tucked into his pockets, freshly showered, freshly shaved, dressed

A crisp white dress shirt stretched across his shoulders. The sleeves were rolled neatly to his forearms. Dark slacks. Black shoes.

The kind of man who could walk into a room and somehow make every other man disappear.

For a second I just stared because Raphael always looked good, that wasn’t new. What was new was knowing this was for me.

My stomach immediately flipped and his eyes lifted, found mine and stayed there.

Slowly his gaze traveled from my heels to my dress, then to my face, the look in his eyes made my pulse stumble.

Raphael wasn’t obvious about anything but I was starting to learn him. And right now he was looking at me the same way he looked at things he considered important.

His jaw tightened slightly, then he pushed away from the car, “You’re the most beautiful girl in the entire country…”

The words hit me so hard I nearly forgot how to breathe, my cheeks immediately warmed,

“Thank you.”

He sighed, “I’m hoping the trend ends there.”

I stared at him, “Why?”

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He considered the question seriously, “Because if it becomes international, I’m going to have a very stressful year.

Then he seemed to remember he was supposed to be functioning as a normal human being. He walked around the car and opened the passenger door.

I blinked.

Raphael Capone.

Opening a car door.

For me.

“Thank you,” I said softly as I slid into the passenger seat.

A second later he closed the door gently and walked around the front of the car. Moments later he settled into the driver’s seat. The engine came alive beneath us. The gates opened before we even reached them and then we were gone.

The roads were almost empty this late at night, most people were asleep, the rest were drunk. Raphael drove with one hand resting loosely on the steering wheel.

Eventually I glanced over, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

An hour later the city disappeared behind us, tall fences appeared, security gates, floodlights, then a large wooden sign.

Maddie’s Sanctuary.

My eyes widened, the gates opened immediately. The car rolled forward and suddenly everything changed.

Trees, fields, large enclosed habitats, buildings spread across the property. The place looked enormous, even in

the darkness I could tell it stretched for acres.

“What is this?” I whispered.

“Maddie’s sanctuary.”

I stared out the window, “She owns all of this?”

“Yeah.”

My mouth fell open. Raphael parked beside one of the larger buildings. The second we stepped outside, cool night air wrapped around us.

The sanctuary felt peaceful. The only sounds came from distant animals. A bird calling somewhere in the darkness, the rustle of leaves, the chirp of insects.

I looked around in amazement, “It’s beautiful.”

The front doors opened before we reached them. A sleepy employee immediately brightened, “Mr. Capone.”

Raphael nodded once, the employee smiled at me, then immediately unlocked another set of doors, “Everything is ready.”

I looked at Raphael suspiciously. The employee led us through several hallways, then stopped in front of a large

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