Chapter 13
thirteen
. . .
Rafe
We got home late last night, and I actually missed Lulu after I’d gone to the guesthouse. I was used to her being snarky or frantic about putting on a show or vulnerable like she was on the boat.
This woman. Man, she was multifaceted in every way.
I enjoyed her family, aside from Barron, Charlotte, and Hunter.
My phone vibrated for the hundredth time, and I rubbed my eyes and rolled over in bed to grab my phone.
Easton
Holy fuck. Has anyone been on the internet this morning?
Axel
I work on a ranch. I see horses long before I check the internet.
Clark
I had a game last night. I was actually trying to get some sleep, but my phone kept vibrating. Thanks for that, fuckers.
Archer
I’m making Melody breakfast, and I just survived getting her hair into two buns because Missy Lowell wears two buns. It’s been a morning over here.
Bridger
I’m guessing you’re referencing our now-famous brother?
Easton
Of course, he isn’t answering. I’d drive over there, but it’s snowing like a bitch this morning.
Axel
I work outside, dickhead. It’s not that bad.
Clark
Rafe, where the fuck are you?
Archer
Is someone going to fill us in?
What the fuck is going on? I’ve been out of town and was trying to get some sleep. It’s barely 7 a.m. What’s the emergency?
Easton
Did you take part in a family photo shoot with the Sonnets? Did you do an interview with the most popular morning show and forget to mention it to anyone?
It was a family thing. They asked me to sit in. It was no big deal. The dude asked a few questions.
Easton
You’re going viral, brother. Everyone is posting photos of you and Lulu. Something you want to tell us?
You seem to know more than me. Why don’t you fill me in?
Easton
Okay, it says here, and I quote, “I always keep gummy bears in my pocket because my girl loves them. And I love her, so I’m always packing the gummies.”
Bridger
I just threw up in my mouth.
Clark
Wait a hot fucking minute. The girl beats the shit out of you, and you’re terrified of her, and now you’re dating her and in love?
Axel
Hey, she’s hot. It happens. Has she cut off your balls yet?
Archer
Now I’m online, and I just read a quote posted on an entertainment account, and the comments are all saying: Swoon. Swoony. I’m swooning. Apparently, they are all swooning for you, buddy. Whatever the fuck that means.
Easton
What was the quote?
Archer
Rafe was asked how long they’ve been together, and his answer was: “It’s not about time, Ray. It’s about feelings. And to me, it feels like forever.”
Bridger
What the fuck is happening?
Clark
I’d say that forever is happening.
Fuck you. I can explain, but I need a minute.
Axel
Do you have to talk to your lover before you answer us now?
Bridger
I’m so fucking confused.
Easton
Hey, that’s how relationships work.
Archer
Wait a hot fucking second. She hit you in the balls with a pool ball a couple of days ago and you were cursing her name. And now you found your forever? It makes no sense.
Clark
Love doesn’t always make sense.
Easton
Mom is blowing up my phone. She’s mad at me for not telling her that you have secretly been dating Lulu.
Bridger
You better get your story straight, brother.
There was a knock on the door, more like a pounding that wouldn’t stop. I set my phone down and trudged through the small space to the front door to see Lulu standing there in her sleep shorts, slippers, and tank top as the snow was falling all around her.
“Jesus. Get in here, it’s freezing out there.” I reached for her hand and tugged her inside.
Her teeth were chattering. “The shit has hit the fan, Rafael. The whole world knows we’re dating.”
“Come here.” I led her to the bedroom and lifted the blanket for her to climb in. Hell, we’d showered together; this hardly felt inappropriate at this point. And she was freezing. I covered her with a blanket before padding back out to the front room and reaching into my coat pocket for what I knew she needed. I tossed a mini bag of gummy bears onto the bed before climbing in.
She quirked a brow. “Our problems are much bigger than gummy bears.”
“Relax. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“He barely posted anything from the interview with my cousin or uncle. It was all about us. And people are zooming in on us sitting together in the family photo with your hand on my thigh.” She shook her head like we’d been photographed naked.
“Well, at least they don’t know about the orgasm shower. Isn’t that what you called it?” I reached for the gummies and tore open the bag.
Damn. These weren’t as bad as I remembered.
“Holy shit.” She fell back on the bed. “I’ve made a mess of things. It’s a disease, you know? I tend to do this all the freaking time. I’m trying to break free from a lunatic ex, and now I’ve dragged my best friend’s boyfriend’s brother into my drama. You had a normal life before you met me.”
“That’s a bit dramatic, Wildcat. I’ve never been normal.” I fell back to lie beside her.
“What are we going to do? The press is going to be here the minute Beckett makes a statement and turns this into a thing.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Rafe.” She sat forward, her eyes wild and frantic. “I grew up in a very public family. I know how this works. They will come here and dig into this relationship. And Beckett is going to fuel it even more because he thrives on drama. This is so bad.”
She was clearly in a state of panic now. So, I did the only thing I knew to do.
I leaned her back on the bed and tickled her senseless until she was laughing hysterically.
She wasn’t yelling anymore, so I pulled back.
“I hate being tickled,” she hissed.
“You were spiraling. Take a breath. It’ll all be okay.”
“Well, you should have just said that everything would be fine. You didn’t need to grope me like a wild fucking animal.” She pushed to her feet.
“I think you like that I knew how to calm you down.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you drunk?”
“I just woke up; I’m far from intoxicated. But I might be on a sugar high from the gummy bears,” I chuckled.
“This is not a joke, Rafe. We need a plan.”
“The plan is that we’re dating. We have to keep it up until next weekend anyway. More people just know about it now. It’s not that big of a deal. People date all the time. They’ll think we dated for a little while, and then we’ll say we broke up and remained friends. You are making way too much out of this.”
She marched toward me, pointing her finger in my face. “This is complicated, Chadwick. People are going to be watching now, so we need to be very careful. No more tickling and no more orgasm showers. We need boundaries. Clear-cut boundaries so this doesn’t get any more complicated than it already is.”
I picked up my phone to see seventeen messages from my mom. She went from asking what was going on to deciding that I was in love.
“Well, buckle up, girlfriend. You’re having dinner with my parents tonight,” I said, as I read through the messages. “Apparently, they’re very hurt that we’ve kept our love affair a secret, and they want to talk to us.”
“What the hell are we going to tell your parents?” she said, as she paced around the bedroom. “This is such a mess.”
“I’ll just tell them that we’re having fun. I’ll be honest. We did go on a trip. I do find you attractive, even if you have caused me more physical pain than any woman I’ve ever known and you’re always yelling at me. I’ll just pussy foot around the truth.”
“Did you just say pussy foot?”
“It’s one of my favorite kinds of foots.” I barked out a laugh.
“You’re disgusting.”
“And I’m all yours, baby.” I grabbed a T-shirt from the drawer and pulled it over my head before tugging on some gray sweatpants. “Come on. I’ll make us coffee, and then we’ll come up with a plan.”
“It’s not every day you read on the internet about your son being in a relationship,” my father said.
“But I’d be lying if I didn’t say we were thrilled about it.” My mom winked at me.
“I’m sure you’re used to this kind of stuff, Lulu, growing up in such a public family,” Dad said.
“Yes. But that doesn’t make it right. I’m so sorry that you found out the way that you did,” Lulu said.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” my mother said, reaching for Lulu’s hand.
“Listen, I’m a grown man. I don’t go running to my parents every time I date someone. We weren’t at the point where we were ready to tell anyone what was happening because we wanted to see where it was going first. And then the interview was sort of sprung on us,” I said, reaching for another breadstick.
“I’m really sorry about all of this.” Lulu blinked several times, before straightening her features and scooping some salad onto her plate. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like this.”
My mother was on her feet and coming around the table. She wrapped her arms around Lulu and squeezed. “Honey, no. This is not your fault. We aren’t upset about any of it. I told Keaton the night we met you, when you shot that ball off the table into Rafe’s family jewels, that there was something special about you. I saw the spark there. I just didn’t know you two were already together. You put on a good show pretending you couldn’t stand one another.”
Apparently, our acting skills preceded us.
Mom walked back to her seat and sat down.
“Thank you for being so understanding. I think you should know that this is all my fault,” Lulu said, and I could tell that she was about to confess because she looked over at me and gave me that look.
“Stop. It’s not your fault.” I grabbed her hand beneath the table and squeezed it. “Listen, it’s still fairly new. Lulu just moved here for a few months. We didn’t want the added pressure. So let’s just not read into it too much and see what happens.”
My father nodded as he reached for his wine glass and took a sip. “I couldn’t agree more. The last thing you need is pressure. So, tell us about your jewelry business. Henley was filling us in on how talented you are.”
“Thank you. I love it. I’ve designed every piece that we sell, and we were just picked up by a big department store in Paris called Luxe. I’ll be moving there in a few months, as the jewelry market is booming there, and I’ve got a team here in the US that can oversee everything.”
My mother’s brows cinched together, and I could see the wheels turning. They thought we were dating. If they read everything on the internet, I’d boasted about being in love with her. And now she was moving to another country.
“You’re moving there permanently?” my mother asked.
“I love to travel,” Lulu said, glancing over at me in panic. “So, I’ll be back and forth quite a bit. I just want to get the office there off the ground.”
“It’s amazing,” I said. “Seeing what you’ve created. That you’ve taken a design from a drawing to an actual piece of jewelry, and you’ve got your pieces in stores all over the world. That’s something, Wildcat.”
“Thank you. I’m thrilled about all of it. I’m working on a few new designs while I’m here, and with all this snow, it gives me plenty of time to sit down and draw,” she chuckled.
“I love that you can just see something and then put it on paper before making it come to life,” my mother said. She held up her wrist, showing us the dainty gold and jade bracelet she was wearing. “I bought this in New York last year when Keaton and I were on vacation and didn’t even realize that it was your company until this morning. Does this mean that you designed this piece?”
Lulu’s smile spread clear across her face. “That is actually one of our best sellers. It’s the first piece that I ever designed, so it’s very special to me.”
“I remember when you saw it,” my father said. “She lit up and couldn’t stop looking at it. I had the lady wrap it up and surprised her after she’d left to use the restroom.”
“You’ve still got the moves, Dad,” I laughed. “Very smooth.”
“You’re very talented, Lulu. And Henley has told us so much about you. We’re just thrilled that you and Rafe have found your way to one another.” She held up her hands and smiled. “No pressure. I’m glad you two are enjoying your time together.”
“Very subtle, Mom.” I shook my head and winked at her.
We spent the next two hours talking and laughing. My parents were the best people I knew, and Lulu seemed to be very comfortable with them as the dinner went on.
She fit right in.
It didn’t matter if it was real or fake.
Because in this moment, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
Than sitting right here next to my fake girlfriend.