Chapter 32 Rae
RAE
Iwas elbow deep in dishes, completely blocking Nora out as she rage-cleaned her table. Normally, I would be a better friend, but Davis had just fried my brain. I wasn’t sure how to process what he’d said, and the one person I wanted to talk to about it was currently cussing in Moldavian.
He loved me.
He was in love with me.
But that couldn’t be right, because he didn’t know the real me. He’d spilled his entire life to me, his deepest secrets, and I hadn’t told him about mine. I didn’t deserve him.
“Rae, did you hear me?” Nora snapped, coming up next to me to load the sink with wine glasses.
I stared at her, dumbfounded. “He loves me.”
A singular brow went up, while her face remained twisted with annoyance. It was her way of silently saying she heard me but wasn’t quite committed to listening yet.
Shaking my head, I returned to the sink, rinsing glasses.
“I’m sorry, it can wait. Tell me what happened with Colson, and don’t yell it at me. Calmly explain it to me while I hand you the dishes I rinse.”
Deflating a bit, she conceded and stood shoulder to shoulder with me at the sink.
“He loves you. Like, loves loves…or thinks you’re adorable?”
My chest did that thing again where I felt like my lungs had grown a pair of wings.
Tipping a glass around the water, I handed it to her. “He said he loves me, then, to clarify, he said he's in love with me.”
“He clarified?”
“Oh yeah, nice big fat—you can’t miss my meaning—clarification,” I deadpanned while scrubbing at a tray.
“What did you say?” She gently set glass after glass in her drying rack.
Turning off the sink, but keeping my hips pinned to the counter, I let out a sigh. “Nothing…you came in, it was madness…but how could I explain that I loved him back, or that I have loved him for most of my life?”
A frown tugged at my best friend’s face as she processed what I wasn’t saying.
“You still haven’t told him?”
“I think you’d know; I mean…I assume he’ll have a fairly big reaction.”
The silence in the room pressed in on us as we stood at the sink. The shade above was still open, and from the lights strung up in the back, we could make out a silhouette across the fence. The figure faced Nora’s yard, sipping on what looked like a bottle of beer.
“Is he just drinking in the dark while watching your yard?” I asked, leaning over the sink to get a better view.
Nora gripped my shoulder, pulling me away from the sink and yanking the string, forcing the shade to slam shut.
“I can’t figure him out, and it’s driving me crazy!”
“What do you mean? What in the heck happened?”
She shook her head, walking back into the living room. Falling onto the seat next to her, I tipped my head back, thinking about Davis and the dogs, wondering if I should pick up a few of their favorite treats, and some whipped cream for Davis. He loved licking it off me, and I loved when he—
“Rae!”
Shit.
“Oh my God, you’re useless when you think about him.”
“I’m sorry! Go again, I’ll do better.”
She turned, tucking her knee under her, and I did the same, so we were focused.
“When you guys left, he asked me how long I planned on being in the area. Which was a weird fucking question, if you ask me. It made me irritated, so I asked him why he thought I had a boyfriend.”
“Oh, Nora.”
Brown curls danced along her shoulders as she pushed her hand through them.
“He gets under my skin. He wouldn’t answer me, and instead he asked why I thought he had a girlfriend. So, I told him he said he did when he walked in on me practically naked. He laughed at me, Rae. Laughed. Said I was hung up on the past, like a teenager, and told me I needed to grow up.”
Oh shit, this was bad. Very bad. “Did you throw something at him?”
“I wanted to, and after he said that he started flirting with Tasha…”
Letting out a sigh, I gripped my best friend’s hand and tightened my hold.
“I lost it, Rae. I’m so embarrassed. I just…it was too much, and when it was noticeable that I was upset, everyone stopped talking, and that’s when we heard you guys going at it in the room. You were being very loud, by the way. Super rude.”
Flames engulfed my face as I let her hand go and covered my eyes. “I’m so ashamed. I had zero intentions of having sex. He just sort of pulled me on top of him, and he’s kind of irresistible when he wants to be. Did I tell you we had sex in Kelly Travis’s office?”
A grin split my friend’s face in half as she fought back a laugh. She covered her face to stop it, but it didn’t do any good.
“That bitch deserves it.”
“Right? That’s what I said.”
Silence fell back over us after a few seconds, and Nora heaved a sigh.
“So, after that, I yelled at everyone to leave, told them the night was ruined, and that I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Did Colson just leave, or—”
I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for. Maybe some optimism that my friends crush was interested in her.
He seemed to be… I mean, unless he was just insanely bored and wanted a free meal, but why get her flowers, and bring her something as thoughtful as cold brew coffee?
And the question about her supposed boyfriend still threw me.
“He hesitated…asked if we could talk in the kitchen for a second, but I told him no. I demanded he leave.”
See, there was hope. Now to just cultivate it carefully.
“Well, what now? I mean, you’ve made contact…” I asked hesitantly.
Standing up and stretching, she let out another defeated sigh. “Now, I hide. Maybe go on a trip. I’ve been wanting to go on a trip for a while…maybe head to Portland? Want to come with me?”
Half of me wanted to. It sounded so fun to get away with my best friend, but I needed to confess to Davis, and even then, the idea of leaving him for any amount of time didn’t set well with me.
“I’ll let you know, okay?”
“Okay, I’m headed to bed. I love you. Thank you for being here.”
Standing, I clicked off one of her lamps and headed for my purse. “Sorry about the sex.”
Nora laughed, clicking off two more lamps. “At least something exciting happened at my dinner party, and hey—you christened that room. Now when my parents stay over, it won’t traumatize me.”
“Why would they stay here when they live in the same town?” I said with a laugh, pulling on my jacket. The weather had started to cool drastically, and every morning on the mountain there was frost and a thin layer of snow greeting us.
“Oh, well…” She paused, her face flushing red.
Worry gnawed away at my stomach. Something wasn’t right.
“What’s going on?”
Nora crossed her arms, looking down. “It’s just…they’ve decided to sell the shop. They’re moving. Headed to Arizona to a retirement community. They plan to visit often, though…”
“What?” I had just thrown the little business festival. It was supposed to help.
Nora already knew where my mind was, which was why her face was flushed red.
“I know, Rae. I’m so sorry. You did amazing; it has nothing to do with you. They’re tired of the cold. Dad’s construction business is in the process of being sold, and Mom can’t keep up with the shop anymore. It’s just too much for them.”
Tears actually burned the back of my eyes, which was mortifying. This wasn’t something to cry over. It was just a dumb marketing festival. It wasn’t a fix-all idea. Maybe it didn’t do anything but leave a sticky memory for parents and lift spirits momentarily.
“Don’t do that thing where you trash all your ideas and tell yourself lies. You did amazing, Rae. Amazing. My parents are just done being in Macon, that’s all.”
I nodded, knowing in my heart she was right and that it made sense, but my head warred with the idea, unwilling to accept that I had failed.
I didn’t want to lose a single business.
I wanted to succeed, and what if a big company bought the shop and put a diner in it, or some other form of competition to my parents?
“Go home, Rae. Go see Davis, tell him you love him too, and let all this go. It was never your mess to begin with.”
I couldn’t even respond, so I just nodded and left her house.
It was late by the time I parked in front of Davis’s house.
Stars blanketed a dark October sky as a thin tendril of smoke lifted from the top of the house.
A warm sensation of belonging wound its way around my heart, calming me to my core.
This place had become home to me, and all I wanted to do was snuggle under the covers with the man I loved.
Taking each step, one at a time, I tugged on the screen door, smiling as I usually did when I remembered that first kiss. Once I pushed open the front door, two short barks greeted me, followed by the sound of nails clicking on the hardwood.
I dropped my purse and took off my shoes, leaving my coat.
“Hello, you two, did you catch any rabbits today? Trap any cougars?” I kneeled, scratching their heads as they affectionately shoved their wet noses into my neck, licking at my jaw.
“They found a snake in the back yard. A big one, so they both enjoyed a fat piece of raw chuck roast for dinner,” Davis answered, walking into the living room, bare chested and sipping something hot.
My stomach swooped at the sight of him, at the way that longer piece of hair always dipped a little far, cutting into his forehead like a Disney prince.
I loved when he walked around in a pair of denim jeans and no shirt, and the way those eyes seemed to burn when they roamed over different parts of my body. I hadn’t even realized I was still kneeling until he walked over and held out his hand.
Taking it, I stood and marveled at the seductive smile curving his sensual lips.
“Hi.”
Swallowing the thick, horrific confession I needed to give him, I smiled back.
“Hey.”
Without another thought, I pressed my lips to his, and all was right in my world. His firm grip attached to my waist, his mug was set on the table to our right, and then both his hands were moving up my back and he was walking us to the wall.