Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Abby

Aunt Lori: We haven’t seen you in days. When are you guys coming over?

Me: Er, soon. I promise.

Aunt Lori: Too busy heating up the sheets, huh? winking emoji No hurry. Enjoy that sexy man as long as you want. Maybe you two will give me a new grandnephew or grandniece. Maybe they can just call me Nana Lori. That’d be easier.

Me: Aunt Lori!

Aunt Lori: What?

Me: Could you not plan out my life? Rafe and I have only been married about a month.

Aunt Lori: True, true. You need at least six months of constant sex before you think about adding a little one.

Me: sighing emoji Your life rules don’t always make sense.

Aunt Lori: They make perfect sense. I should write a book. Oooh, or start a Dear Aunt Lori video series! Yes. That would be amazing. Then I could help so many more people.

Me: sweat drop emoji I don’t even know what to say to that.

Aunt Lori: Enjoy your husband. Maybe by the time we finally see you again, I’ll have my first video posted! Before you know it, I’ll be the super cool, older influencer with advice to die for. winking and blowing a kiss emoji

T hree days later, as I tried to think of how to dissuade my aunt from becoming some kind of advice influencer—I wasn’t sure she could handle the hate that would come with it—Rafe walked into the home office we were sharing until I was ready to face the public. He handed me a latte and sat down.

I smiled at the dragon made out of chocolate powder. “It’s almost like the Dragons FC logo.”

“I’m working on my art skills.” He paused and tilted his head. “I came to see if you’re ready for your surprise or not.”

As I sipped my coffee, I kept my gaze on the floor. Rafe wanted to take me off his property for a surprise. However, I was still struggling to leave our little bubble of happiness.

And not just because of the sex—which had been amazing and taken up a lot of our time over the last few days—but I’d also loved just chatting with Rafe about everything and nothing. Like learning how he loved sushi but hated cooked fish. Or how he always had to sip his water twice before going to bed or he felt uneasy. Or even that he missed helping his parents with the cattle, especially during the calving season.

Little by little, I better understood Rafe the man instead of the little boy I’d known, or even the superstar soccer player he’d shown to the world.

I also recognized more and more just how lonely he’d been in Manchester. And whether he’d realized it or not, he loved Starry Hills and had missed this community.

Rafe’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “I promise you it’s a place where the people support you, Abigail. The sheriff has also been good about keeping the lookie-loos away, and Nolan’s assistant is a miracle worker at finding out when the press are here.”

Rafe had been nothing but supportive, always discussing what he learned about my ex or CGN with me. He never held back, even if the news was less than great—like the mean headlines that had surfaced in the UK about us.

He’d gone out of his way to make me trust him. And I did, to some degree.

Then prove it. Let him take you to his surprise. Because if you never risk anything, you’ll always be stuck inside the prison Travis created for you.

Just thinking about how my ex was still making my life miserable, I decided, fuck it. After meeting his gaze again, I replied, “Okay, then let’s go.”

Happiness flashed in his eyes, and I smiled. As much as I liked Rafe trying to be there for me and cheering me up, I also liked making him happy.

I’d been doing a good job of that in bed, but I wanted to do more. Although I often worried that I might go too far, like before, and lose myself in the process.

Not this time. You’re not the same na?ve woman as before.

Rafe nodded. “Right, then make sure you wear jeans and something comfortable on top, because you might get dirty or muddy.”

“Now I’m curious.”

He stood. “And it’s only going to get worse since you’ll be wearing a blindfold the entire way there.”

My brows came together. “Is that really necessary?”

“Yes.” He hesitated before adding, “However, if it’s too much for you, then be honest and you don’t have to do it.”

Sometimes Rafe acted this way—one minute he was being fun and flirty, only to worry if he was pushing me too far in the next.

And for some reason, I didn’t like him always tiptoeing around me.

Why was that?

Oh, that’s right—I was teetering on falling for him for real.

Not wanting to think about how if I wasn’t careful, my heart would break in eleven months’ time, I stood. “The blindfold is fine. Just give me fifteen minutes to get ready.”

He smiled. “Then I’ll be ready in fourteen minutes.”

I gently shoved his arm. “You always say you’ll be ready a minute before me.”

“Hey, most of the time, I could be ready in four minutes. But I like to put in some extra effort for my wife.”

He winked, and I couldn’t help but laugh before replying, “Your hair is really short and you don’t wear guyliner, so what are you doing all that time? Manscaping?”

Waggling his eyebrows, he leaned in and said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Doing my best not to laugh, I rolled my eyes. “Is that supposed to be sexy? Because if you think I want to shave your balls, then you don’t know me at all.”

“I’d trust you to do it, but no, it’s way too itchy when the hair grows back.”

“TMI, Rafe. TMI.”

“What, you don’t want to know how fast the hair grows back on my balls?”

“Er, no thank you.”

He placed a hand over his heart and shook his head. “And here I thought you wanted to know everything about me.”

“To a degree. But we all have a few secrets. And your ball-hair growth should be one of them.”

Snorting, he moved closer. “Maybe not that kind of hair. But I think you’re fond of my second-day face stubble.” He nuzzled his cheek against mine, and I nearly moaned. “That little sound tells me you like it.”

“What sound? I didn’t make any.”

“Oh, yes, you did. It’s a little hum in your throat.”

He nuzzled me again, and I noticed what he was talking about.

After kissing my neck, he said, “Now you hear it.”

“Maybe.” He playfully slapped my ass, and I said, “Fine. Yes, I heard it.”

For a second, he stayed close, and I wondered if maybe we’d delay leaving for an hour and head for the bedroom.

However, he soon sighed and moved away from me. “If not for your surprise, I’d rub my stubble over all the sensitive parts of your body. But I’m too excited to see how you’ll react. So, your fifteen minutes start now.”

He made a big show of starting the timer on his phone.

While I could keep him waiting just because, I was too curious. So I raced up the stairs and briefly forgot about how reality could come crashing down as soon as I set one foot off Rafe’s property.