Chapter 15
fifteen
. . .
Rafe
“All right, Princess. This is a big day.” I tightened the hood over Melody’s hat and took her little hand in mine.
“Because I’m four years old now, right? Right, Uncle Rafe? You promised when I’ze gots to be four, you’d take me to your special place.”
“I sure did. And we’ve got fresh snow, so the timing is perfect.” I smiled down at her. My cousin Archer’s daughter was the most adorable kid on the planet. Where Cutler Heart was a cool cat, Melody Chadwick was a sweet angel girl. I was there the day she was born, and I’ve never felt love like I did the first time she was placed in my arms.
I’d walk through fire and slay dragons for this girl without hesitation.
“I love your pink coat and hat and mittens,” Lulu said, as she bent down to help Melody get all bundled up.
God forbid her nanny, Mrs. Dowden, who was in her early eighties and rivaled the energy of a geriatric sloth, did anything to help. She was sitting on the La-Z-Boy in the family room, watching her “programs” as she sipped the hot chocolate she asked me to make her when I arrived.
Our office was closed today because my boss, Joseph Chapman, was getting married tomorrow, and he’d declared it a company holiday today. When I had the day off, if my cousin was working, I’d always come to see my girl.
“And I love your pretty face,” Melody said to Lulu, in that soft little voice that made my heart squeeze.
“Rafe,” Mrs. Dowden called out.
“Yep.”
“How about you top me off with a little more whipped cream in this mug before you take off? I’ll probably get in a nap if you’re going to be a while.”
Lulu pushed to stand, clearly sensing my irritation. “I’ll get that for her.”
“You can probably take off, Mrs. Dowden. I’ll keep Melody until Archer gets off work.”
“Well, I need the hours, so I’ll just stick around,” she said as she thanked Lulu for the top-off. I was seething at the blatant way she took advantage of my cousin.
She was too old for the job.
Archer was paying Mrs. Dowden and having us come over to relieve her as often as possible because he knew she counted on the income.
Lulu came striding over, holding the can of whipped cream, just as I was about to snap back. She held up her finger and smiled. “Open.”
I did as I was told because I’d probably do just about anything this woman told me to do. She sprayed the cream into my mouth, and Melody burst out in a fit of squeals.
Lulu bent down. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had your mouth filled with this yummy goodness.”
“I’ve had the creams on my chocolates,” Melody said, dark brown eyes wide as saucers.
“Open up that sweet mouth, love,” Lulu said.
Melody opened her mouth, and Lulu squirted just a little bit onto her tongue, and Melody waved her hands excitedly. Lulu pushed to stand again, tipped her head back, and filled her mouth with whipped cream.
For whatever reason, my dick woke up and joined the party.
She took her time swallowing and winked at me before waltzing back into the kitchen and putting it away.
“I likes your girlfriend, Uncle Rafe,” Melody whispered.
“Yeah, me, too, kiddo. Just don’t tell her I said that.”
That earned me a fit of giggles as Lulu came walking back. “Looks like Mrs. Dowden is already asleep. Shall we head out?”
“You knows where we are going, Lulus?” Melody asked as I took her hand and led us outside to my truck.
“Nope. Uncle Rafe hasn’t told me.”
I kept a car seat in my truck at all times. It was pink, and I always had a mesh bag in the back seat filled with stuffed animals and little toys for my girl.
I opened the back door and set her in her car seat, buckling her up. I opened the passenger door for Lulu, and she climbed right in. Once I was inside the truck, I cranked up the heat and reached inside the center console. I pulled out a bag of fruit snacks, tore the top open, and handed it to Melody. I glanced over to see Lulu smiling at me before I handed her a bag of gummy bears.
But the way this woman was looking at me, it was like I’d just given her a diamond ring.
They were tiny, processed bears made of gelatin.
We pulled up to the bottom of the best snowy hill in Rosewood River. I glanced out the window to see the snow still falling from the sky, so there’d be nice powder for us to slide on. It was the end of January, and the snow would be ending soon, so I wanted to get Melody out here before it was too late. And Lulu Sonnet needed to have some fun. She’d been stressed out ever since news broke that we were together.
“Are you two ready for the most fun you’ve ever had?” I asked, my voice teasing, as the little angel in the back seat squealed and the little angel in the front seat looked equally excited.
We got out of the truck, and I scooped up Melody into my arms and pulled the large toboggan behind me, calling out for Lulu to follow as we made our way up the hill.
When we got to the top, I set Melody down on her feet and put the toboggan down on the snowy hilltop.
I bent down, getting eye level with my niece. “You’ve been talking about me bringing you here for months. You ready, baby girl?”
“Yeps.” She tucked her lips between her teeth, and I could tell she was nervous.
“Hey, Uncle Rafe would never take you to do something you weren’t ready for, okay?” I assured her.
She nodded, her lips turning up in the corners, and her little cherub cheeks were bright pink.
I turned to Lulu, who was watching the interaction intently. “You ready, Wildcat?”
“Absolutely.” She waggled her brows, and I helped her onto the front, placing Melody in the middle, and I slid onto the back. “Are we ready?”
“Yes!” Lulu and Melody shouted at the same time.
I laughed my ass off as I wrapped my arms around my niece, and my legs were long enough to hold Lulu in place, as well.
“One. Two. Three!” I shouted, as I used my hands to get us going, and we took off flying down the hill with snow falling all around us.
The wind hit us in the face, and the snow made it difficult to see, but I couldn’t stop smiling as I listened to both my girls squealing and laughing the whole way down the hill.
We continued moving fast once we got to the bottom until we came to a stop. I leaned forward just as Lulu turned around, both of us making sure Melody was good. Melody jumped up and dove on top of me in a fit of laughter.
“I knew you’d love it, my little adventurer,” I said, pushing to my feet and setting Melody down in the snow. She dropped onto her back and started making a snow angel through a fit of giggles.
“What did you think, Wildcat?” I asked against her ear.
“I think it is the best place in Rosewood River.”
“Yeah? Is this better than city living, or what?” I winked, and those honey-brown eyes were brighter than usual, as her plump lips turned up in the corners, and she nodded.
“I mean, I do enjoy a good department store and a fancy restaurant, but yummy pancakes and a snowy hill are definitely a lot more fun than I expected.”
“Stick with me, Lulu Sonnet. I’ll show you a good time.” I smirked.
“I have a feeling you’re right about that.” Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and for whatever reason, I had to fight the urge to kiss this woman. It was getting more challenging. Maybe it was the game that we were playing. I didn’t know anymore. I’d never experienced a discomfort like this.
Wanting someone who was off-limits.
Yet pretending that we were together.
“Let’s go again, Uncle Rafe and Lulus!” Melody clapped her hands together.
I scooped her up and grabbed the toboggan, and we took off for the top of the hill again.
We went down three more times until we were cold and wet and ready to get inside.
I called Archer, and he was home from work, so we dropped off Melody and headed home.
When we pulled around the corner toward the house, there were two cars parked out front.
I parked in the driveway and glanced in my rearview mirror as two men came out of both cars at the same time, cameras in hand.
“Shit,” Lulu groaned. “They’re photographers. They have no shame.”
“What do they want?” I asked, my voice harsher than I meant it to be. But I didn’t like the fact that they were just waiting here for us. What if she’d come home alone?
“A photo of us because they can get a good paycheck for it at the moment.”
“Stay in the car. I’ll be right back.”
“Rafe. You can’t reason with these people,” she said, and I hated that I could hear the underlying fear in her voice. It pissed me the hell off that her ex put her in this situation and that these two men thought it was appropriate to stalk her for a photo.
“Listen, we’re going to the city tomorrow. We’ll be out in public, and if someone is there and gets a photo, so be it. But they won’t come to your home and park outside to photograph you. That’s creepy as fuck. It might fly in the city, but Rosewood River is a small town, and the same rules don’t apply.”
She nodded. “I know you think that. But one time I left a concert with Beckett and I was hit in the face with a camera, which required a few stitches. So I just want you to know that they are persistent and unreasonable.”
My hands fisted at my sides as I processed what she said. I would lose my shit if someone hit a woman in the face with a camera in front of me.
“That’s bullshit. Stay put.” I pushed the door closed and made my way to the two men standing on the sidewalk. They held their cameras up, and I used my hand to motion for them to put them down.
“Listen, guys. This is Rosewood River. You can’t park in front of someone’s house and take random photos.” I held up my phone. “I grew up with the sheriff, and you’ve got two options here. You can hold that camera up again, and I’ll knock it out of your hands and have you escorted out of this town immediately, only after I destroy the card in that camera.”
“Dude. We just want one photo. We drove all the way out here. We have to feed our families, too,” one of the guys said.
“Well, I’m all for taking care of family, but this isn’t the way to do it. Not here.”
“What was the second option?” the other guy asked.
“We’re going to be in the city tomorrow night for a wedding. We’ll be staying at the H Hotel downtown. If you pull up in the valet tomorrow evening at 5:00 p.m., we’ll pose for a photo. You’ll be the only ones to get the photo because no one else knows we’re going to be there. It’s a public place, so that’s what we’re willing to offer. But you won’t come to this house again. Because this is me taking care of my family,” I said. My voice was firm and unwavering.
They glanced at one another and nodded. “Yeah. We could do that.”
“Good choice.” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for them to climb back into their cars and drive off.
I made my way back to the truck, turned off the engine, and came around to open her door.
“What happened?” she asked, looking over her shoulder to make sure they were still gone.
“They’ll be at the hotel tomorrow when we head to the wedding at 5 p.m. We’ll pose for one photo in a public place. They took the deal.”
She caught me off guard when she lunged at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Thank you.”
I held her there for a few beats. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You did. You made today really fun, and you didn’t have to include me. You haven’t been even slightly annoyed by the fact that I’ve turned your world upside down. And then you actually stepped in and made the paparazzi leave without following us to the door.” She stepped back and shrugged. “You are quite possibly the best fake boyfriend a girl could ask for.”
And there it was. The constant reminder that we were playing a part.
None of this was real.
I was staring at her, and she was staring at me.
And then she abruptly turned to walk inside, and I followed. Once there, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “So, um, tomorrow morning we leave, right?”
“Yeah. I talked to Bridger, and we’re going to take the helicopter into the city so we don’t have to drive on the icy roads to get there. I got us a suite, so there’s a couch, and I can sleep on that.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s great. Thank you.”
“I’d get you your own room, but I’m afraid someone might notice.”
“No, I think the suite is a good idea,” she said.
Why was I just standing here like an idiot? She was waiting for me to leave.
This was a business deal. Nothing more.
“If you need anything, I’ll be right next door.” I took a step back. Okay, that was dumb—she obviously knew that.
“Sounds good. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you bright and early.”
“One more weekend as a couple, and you’re off the hook. You’re almost free of me, Lulu Sonnet.” I winked.
And even as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back.
Because a weekend wouldn’t be long enough for me to get this woman out of my system.
But I was starting to wonder if I even wanted her out of my system.