Chapter 21
twenty-one
. . .
Rafe
Easton
Happy Valentine’s Day, dickheads.
Clark
Easton is in a relationship this year, and now we get Happy Valentine’s texts.
Easton
Not my only reason for texting. Tomorrow we start the league again. The Chad-Six are back. Henley will sub when anyone has to miss.
Archer
Good. She can cover for me tomorrow. I’m swamped with work.
Clark
I have a date tomorrow, so I actually can’t make it. Do we have another sub?
Axel
You have a date the day after Valentine’s Day?
Clark
Yes. I don’t take a woman out on a holiday if we aren’t in a serious relationship. It sends mixed messages. So, we’re going out tomorrow.
Axel
Smart. I’ll be at pickleball.
Rafe
I’ll be there, but I’m not dealing with your bitchy attitude if you’re going to be all competitive and intense.
Easton
Fuck you. Bring your A game, and I won’t have to be a dick. Ask Lulu if she can sub for Clark.
Clark
I bet Lulu is a beast on the court. Watch your balls. You know she likes to take you out when she can.
Archer
What’s the deal there? You basically live together, and she comes to Sunday dinners and seems like part of the family. Are you finally going to admit it’s the real deal?
Axel
He’s been very quiet about his plans tonight, but he needed to borrow some shit from my barn, so I have a feeling our boy is more invested than he wants to admit.
I’m an open book. I like her. Pretty sure she feels the same, even if she’s cautious as fuck. But she’s leaving soon, so I’m just enjoying the time I have with her while she’s here.
Archer
You going to be all right when she leaves?
I didn’t really like to think about it. I hadn’t expected to let things go this far. I’ve never been this connected to a woman, which was ironic, considering we hadn’t slept together. I’ve had many relationships over the years, mostly casual, a few more serious, but sex had always been involved.
And Lulu and I had been open about our desires, so these rules were definitely unusual.
Yet here I was. Planning a romantic Valentine’s dinner for a girl who was clearly one foot out the door.
But there was something about her.
I wasn’t going to hold back just because she was afraid of this.
This force.
This pull.
It was impossible to miss.
I’ll be fine. I’m sure she’ll be down for pickleball because she’s ridiculously competitive, and she will have plenty of opportunity to injure me on the court.
Bridger
I hate pickleball.
Easton
I don’t care. See you all tomorrow.
“Hey, Pops,” I said when I stopped by the house to drop off some flowers for my mom. I always brought her Valentine’s flowers. It was just our thing. “Where’s Mom?”
“She’s getting her nails done.” He glanced over his shoulder when I set the vase on the island. “You have time for a quick cup of coffee?”
“Of course.”
My dad and I were tight. Always had been.
“How’s the renovation going?” he asked.
“I just came from there, and things are moving along. A few more weeks, and I’ll be back in my house, which will be great.”
So why didn’t I sound excited about it?
“That’s good news. It’s nice that you don’t have to live there through the process. That’s no fun.” He took a sip of his coffee and studied me. “How’s it going with Lulu? It seems like it’s getting serious.”
My parents weren’t fully aware of the details of our odd arrangement, nor would they ever push. It wasn’t their style. They also didn’t know that I wasn’t staying in the guesthouse anymore. Not that it mattered, she wasn’t in my bed.
“I don’t know,” I said, scrubbing a hand down my face. “We’re good. But she’s moving to Paris in a couple of weeks, so it’ll be coming to an end.”
“Yeah, I know she’s moving. But I was asking more about how you feel about her.”
I reached for my coffee and took a sip as I thought about how I wanted to answer the question. I couldn’t tell him that the whole thing started out as a lie. That I’ve fallen in love with a woman who wouldn’t put her guard down long enough to say she felt the same. Nor could I tell her how I felt, because she’d probably take off running and never look back.
“I like her. She’s great.”
He narrowed his gaze. “You seem different with her than I’ve ever seen you with anyone before. You two have a comfort with one another, and it’s refreshing.”
“Yeah. I’d say she’s become a good friend, as well.”
“That’s an important part of a relationship,” he said.
“It can’t go anywhere, Dad. If that’s what you’re asking, this thing has an expiration date, and we’re both very aware of that.”
He nodded. “Feelings don’t expire, son. So if you are as crazy about her as I think you are, don’t hold back. It doesn’t come around more than once in this lifetime, so my advice would be to make sure you put it all out there while you have the chance.”
I scratched the back of my neck. “Not everything is that simple.”
He grabbed my hand that rested on the table and covered it with his. His calloused hands were a reminder of how hard this man had worked all of his life. “Things are only complicated if you allow them to be. Love is simple. You either love someone or you don’t. And if you do, you figure it the hell out. Life is complicated enough. If you’re lucky enough to go through it with your favorite person by your side, everything will always be fine.”
I chuckled. “You are one sappy old bastard today.”
“Well, it’s Valentine’s Day, and this is the day that I told your mother that I loved her for the first time. So we celebrate that every single year.” He clapped the top of my hand, just as my mother came through the door.
Of course, she gushed over her flowers, even though I brought them year after year.
We visited for a little bit, and I headed out the door.
I worked remotely this morning, and I was still flying high from my meeting yesterday, where I signed a new client.
A client that would make it so breaking off on my own someday, maybe in a year or two, would be possible.
I had just enough time to get home and showered before dinner with Lulu.
When I pushed the door open, I heard the music blasting from her room, and I hurried to my room to catch a shower.
Once I was out and dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a black sweater, I glanced at my watch. We were right on time.
I sent a text to Dolly Rogers to let her know we’d be heading there soon. She replied and told me everything was set, and her son, Jacob, who’d I’d paid very generously to serve dinner, was already there waiting for us.
I came out to the kitchen to find Lulu standing with her back to me. She had a black sweater that hung off one shoulder, exposing that golden skin of hers, along with baggy faded jeans and high-heeled boots. Her wrists were covered in bracelets, and she turned around to find me staring.
“Hey, you look handsome.”
“Hey yourself, beautiful. You ready?”
“Yes. You’ve been very mysterious about tonight, Rafael.” She grabbed her red purse off the counter and followed me to the door.
I helped her into the truck and drove the short distance to the dance studio, parking in the back. She glanced out the window, looking for hints, but the lot was on the back side of the building, so she wouldn’t figure much out just yet.
I helped her out of the truck, and we walked around the building to the front door, where she paused when she saw the sign.
“We’re going to a dance studio?” She quirked a brow.
“Is that what this is?” I asked, my voice teasing, as I pulled the door open and then locked it behind us.
Her hand was tucked in mine, and the place was dark, just as I’d requested.
“Are we supposed to be here?” she whispered.
I didn’t answer as I walked her through the front lobby and down the hallway, pushing the door to the studio open. The room had several fake trees covered in twinkle lights, with large floor lanterns and white candles spread throughout the large space to light it up. There was a table in the center, set for two, and I walked her over.
“What is this?” she whispered.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Wildcat. I wanted to do something that I thought would be special for you.”
She blinked a few times as she took in the table, which had several candles lit, along with two tall vases of red roses.
Turns out, I was a romantic dude when I wanted to be.
I just usually didn’t feel the need to do it, but I did with her.
I pulled out her chair, and she took her seat, just as Jacob appeared. I barked out a laugh. He was wearing a black tuxedo, which I had not requested. The kid was only sixteen years old, and Lulu and I weren’t even dressed up since we’d be heading to Booze & Brews after this.
“Hey, buddy. You didn’t need to be so formal. This is Lulu. Lu, this is Jacob. His mom, Dolly, owns the studio.”
“Hey, nice to meet you,” Jacob said before turning to me. “My mom made me wear this. I was the best man in my uncle’s wedding last year, so she insisted I put it on.”
“Well, I appreciate the effort,” Lulu said with a laugh.
Jacob had two large bags in his hands and set them down beside me, looking up for guidance. I hadn’t really planned on him doing more than being here to receive the takeout food I’d ordered, and Dolly had been kind enough to give me a key to lock up after we left.
“I can take it from here. I appreciate you waiting for the food.”
“Your champagne is in there, too.” He took a step back. “Ya’ll have a great night. Leave everything here, and I’ll be back first thing in the morning to break it all down before my mom’s first class, just like we discussed.”
I nodded.
“Thanks. Have a good night,” Lulu and I said in unison as the kid hurried out of there.
“Poor guy was forced to wear a tuxedo for all of five minutes,” Lulu said with a laugh as I started unloading the to-go boxes.
“Yeah. His mom was Emerson’s dance teacher, and she’s a good friend of my mom’s, so she wanted it to be nice.” I set the containers in the center of the table because we’d always been big on sharing our entrées. I popped the champagne and filled the flutes as Lulu pulled the tops off the containers.
“You thought of everything,” she said.
You deserve everything.
We held up our champagne flutes and clinked them together.
“Cheers to a good night,” I said.
“It’s always a good night with you.” She smiled up at me as she scooped some pasta onto her plate, and I did the same. “Thanks for doing all this. And I’m not just talking about tonight. I’m talking about everything.”
Her eyes were blinking rapidly again.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked, reaching for her chair and pulling her closer.
“I’m sorry I’ve made this all so weird.” She shrugged. “It’s not because I don’t feel this. Because I feel it, Rafe. I’m just—I know I’m leaving. I know you’re staying. I know this will end soon, so I’m trying to be cautious.”
“I know you are. And that’s okay. I’m not pressuring you. I like what we have. Even if just for a short time.” I pulled her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “I like you, Lulu Sonnet. Whether you live here or on the other side of the world, that won’t change.”
She turned to look at me. “I want to have sex with you.”
I barked out a laugh. She was quite possibly the most unpredictable woman I’d ever met. “I’m never going to argue with that. But how about we have dinner first, yeah?”
“Yeah.” She chuckled before putting one hand on each side of my face. “And I like you, too. A lot. More than I want to admit. But here I am, admitting it.”
“See? Was that so hard?”
“It was painfully hard,” she said, resting her forehead against mine. “Okay, I’m going back to my chair to eat.”
She kept her chair close to mine, and we ate, her legs nestled between mine, as we couldn’t seem to sit close enough. We laughed and talked, sharing our plates and having a good time. We polished off the bottle of champagne and half of the bottle of wine that I brought when she reached into her purse.
“I have something for you.” She handed me a black box.
I pulled off the lid to find a very cool bracelet that managed to be masculine at the same time.
“I made it for you. I used antique silver and this really cool walnut wood that I intertwined into the design. Walnut is symbolic for intelligence and wisdom. And the silver is representative of healing. I feel like you’ve healed me in a way. And I didn’t even know I was broken,” she chuckled.
“You’re not broken,” I said, running my thumb over the wood and metal that were intertwined together. “And this is the nicest gift I’ve ever received.”
Her lips turned up in the corners, the widest grin spread across her face. “Well, look in the bottom of the box. There’s one more thing in there.”
I looked inside, and a gruff laugh escaped.
“A condom?”
“Extra large.” She waggled her brows. “I was ready to take things to the next level long before you rented out a dance studio and lured me here with delicious pasta.”
I clasped the bracelet around my wrist and moved the foil packet between my fingers. “This is the gift that keeps on giving.”
I reached down beneath the table where I’d left the gift bag for her earlier today when I stopped by to make sure things were getting set up. “First things first.”
She eyed the package before tearing off the red velvet ribbon and lifting the lid to the box.
She didn’t speak, which made me a little nervous. I asked Henley what exactly I should order for her, and she told me her favorite brand and gave me her sizes for everything.
Maybe I fucked up.
“Rafael,” she whispered as she pulled the pink leotard out of the box and studied it. She reached inside for the ballet shoes and sighed. “You got me a dance outfit.”
“I know you miss it. And I was sort of hoping you’d dance for me tonight. It was sort of a gift to myself, too.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and she smiled. “I can do that.”
And then she leaned forward and kissed me.