Tori—
I hang on to Rafe, and at every light, he touches my leg—a squeeze of my knee, a rub of my thigh—and I can’t get enough. My arms naturally go around his neck to give him a quick hug at each stoplight.
He takes us to the clubhouse, and when he cuts the engine, he turns to me. “I thought we could kill some time here until the party starts. You good with that?”
I love that he cares to ask. “Yes. I’m good with that.” Slipping off the bike, I wait for him to drop the kickstand, take my hand, and lead me inside.
Rafe walks us to the bar and motions Cody over, getting us two beers. Instead of sitting at the bar with some of his friends, he leads me toward the door by the stairs and down the long hall. He pushes through the door at the end, and then we’re out in the big warehouse.
A skylight shines on the empty cage where the fighting took place the other day. We walk toward the cage, and I can feel Rafe’s eyes on me as I study the huge thing, glimmering in the fading sunset light.
“What are you thinking?” he asks.
“This reminds me of your brother fighting in here that night you brought me.” I turn to him, leaning against the chain link. “Tell me about Kyle and Sutton. And you.”
He shrugs, one hand holding his longneck, the other going deep in his hip pocket. “What do you want to know? We met her at the same time.”
“Where was that?”
“The Wharf in Santa Cruz. He and me and Brayden and his girl. She was from Birmingham and had never seen the Pacific, so we took her out there to show it to her.”
“Tell me about Sutton.”
“We hit it off. I knew my brother liked her, too, but I swooped in first. It was never anything serious for me, though. I think, in the beginning, I thought maybe it could turn into something if I gave it time. She moved to San Jose and moved in with me.”
“Wow. That’s a lot. Moving here for you.”
“I don’t think I appreciated it—what she was giving up for the relationship. We were having fun.” He shrugs again. “I didn’t give it much thought.”
“How’d she end up with your brother?”
“He has a food truck. Needed some help, and Sutton didn’t have a job, so she started helping him out. It was my idea; can you believe it? Maybe subconsciously I knew they belonged together. I don’t know. Anyway, he got an opportunity for a slot at Tribe—”
“The big music festival out in the desert?”
“Yep. He needed help, so she went with him. The rest is history.” He takes a long swallow off his longneck.
“I’m sorry.”
“I was pissed, but she and I would never have been right for each other. Kyle and Sutton were meant to be.” He puts his hand on the cage, hooking his fingers in the chain link above my head. “Can’t fight destiny, right?”
“I suppose not.”
“I guess I’m a little gun-shy when it comes to girls playing games with me.” He dips his head until his mouth is almost touching mine. “You’re not gonna break my heart, are you, Tori-girl?”
Before I can answer, the back door flies open, and Rafe backs away, turning.
It’s Wolf.
“Come on, Rafe. Your mom called. It’s time to get over there and hide before your brother brings Sutton home.”
Rafe takes my hand, and we follow his father down the hall without a word.
Riding through the neighborhoods to Kyle’s place, Rafe taps my leg and turns his head, then points at a house. “That one’s mine.”
I study the cute Craftsmen style house with its 1920 architecture.
It has a lot of character, with a big bay window.
“I didn’t know you had a house.” I lean to say.
“Started as a rental, but the owner wanted to sell, so I bought it.”
We head up East San Antonio Street, then Rafe makes a turn and slows. He points at another house. “That’s Kyle’s. I’m gonna park around the corner.”
I gaze at it as we roll past. It’s a small place, and a lot like Rafe’s, but it’s in a nicer neighborhood with tree-lined sidewalks.
A red brick patio sits in front with a massive stone chimney climbing the wall.
Rafe finds us a spot, and we walk back.
A woman answers the door, and I know immediately she must be Rafe’s mother.
“Hi, Ma.” He dips to kiss her cheek as we enter. “Ma, this is Tori. Tori, this is my mother, Crystal.”
I extend my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve heard so much about you, Tori. It’s good to put a face to the name.” She turns to Rafe. “She’s lovely, son.”
He loops an arm around my neck and pulls me against him. “Absolutely.”
Crystal gestures to the rear of the house. “There are drinks in the kitchen.”
We enter a living room with a big fireplace taking up a good portion of the front wall.
The room leads to a dining room with French doors.
Through the glass, I spot a flagstone patio and built in planter-boxes overflowing with late blooming flowers.
The dining room is decorated with streamers and balloons and a big cake sits in the middle of the table.
It’s three tiers. The bottom two tiers look like ocean waves, and the top tier looks like a sandy beach with flip-flops and a surfboard stuck upright, Sutton written across it.
“Oh, how adorable,” I say.
Rafe leads me to the kitchen, where everyone is already gathered.
I barely get a chance to say hello before Crystal dashes in.
“They’re here. Hush, everyone. Get down.” She flips the lights off, and Rafe pulls me back out of sight behind the wall.
I glance around at everyone, all trying not to make a sound, and all looking at each other with grins.
We hear the creak of a screen door, then a key jangles in the lock and the front door open. There’s some shuffling.
“We didn’t have to stop at the house. I could have gone to the movie theater dressed like this,” a woman says.
A second later, we hear a switch flick, and the lights in the dining room come on.
“What’s this?” she asks. “Baby, did you do all this for me?”
Then Crystal flips the lights on in the kitchen, and everyone jumps up.
“Surprise!”
Sutton covers her mouth with her hand, and her eyes get glassy. “You guys.”
She wears a tank top with a sweater over it, a pair of shorts, and Uggs.
With her tanned skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, she looks exactly like a surfer girl, and the cake totally makes sense.
The other night at the clubhouse, I didn’t really pay her much attention, but now I study everything about her.
Kyle drags her against his side and kisses the top of her head. “Happy birthday, baby.”
Everyone starts talking at once and wishing her a happy birthday. Rafe tugs me to the ice chest filled with beer and gets us each one.
“You’re coming to family dinner, Tuesday, aren’t you, Rafe?”
We turn to see his mother.
“Sure, Ma. If I don’t have to work.”
“You’ve missed the last two,” she reminds him.
“I know. I’m sorry. They’ve kept me late at work. I’ll try to make this one.”
“And Tori, you must come as well,” she says, turning to me.
“Oh. Of course. I’d love to. Should I bring anything?”
“Just yourselves.”
“What are we having this week?” Rafe asks.
“I haven’t decided. Maybe smothered pork chops.”
“Oh, man. Those are the best. She makes them in a cast-iron skillet. They’re seared to a golden brown and then simmered with mushroom gravy. The meat is so tender. I’m drooling here, Ma.”
Crystal cuddles against her son’s side and looks at me, patting his chest. “The boy likes to eat, honey. I hope you can cook.”
“Um, not exactly.” I bite my lip.
Crystal waves her hand. “No problem. I’ll teach you a couple of his favorite recipes. As long as you have one or two in your repertoire, there’s not a fight they won’t fix.”
“Ma, don’t make her embarrassed,” Rafe says. “I’m sure her cooking is awesome.”
“There’s more to life than cooking, Rafe,” Crystal says. “And it doesn’t all fall to her. You do your share.” She leans toward me. “Wolf taught him how to grill like a champ, so you make him cook for you sometime.”
I grin. “Oh, he definitely should cook for me. I agree.”
We talk and laugh about stories from when the boys were little.
“One time, Rafe and Kyle decided to steal two shopping carts from the grocery store,” she says.
“They wanted to race them down a hill near our house. When they came to the cross street, Kyle’s cart slammed into a passing car, and he was lucky to escape with only scrapes.
Rafe’s cart went into a drainage ditch and he dislocated his shoulder. ”
Sutton enters the kitchen, and Crystal loops her arm through hers. “Come here, Sutton. This is Tori, Rafe’s girl. Tori, this is the birthday girl, Sutton.”
“We’ve actually met already at the clubhouse.” I extend my hand. “Happy birthday, Sutton.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you could come, Tori.”
For a minute, it’s awkward, and then Rafe gives her a hug.
“Happy birthday, Sutton.”
She pulls back. “Thanks, Rafe. I heard you have a new job.”
“Yes,” I cut in. “My father’s lumber mill. Sawyer Lumber. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“Can’t say I have, but I think that’s wonderful. Is that how you two met?”
She meets Rafe’s eyes.
“Yep.”
“We actually couldn’t stand each other when we first met,” I spurt out, then kick myself. This beautiful woman makes me nervous and self-conscious. She’s leggy and probably has two inches on me. And with her standing next to Rafe, they look like the perfect magazine couple.
Or maybe it’s the way he’s staring at her.
“Really?” Sutton says. “How’d that change?”
“Oh, I, um… got into some trouble, and Rafe raced up the hill to save me.”
“Save you?” She looks from me to Rafe. “My, what a hero he is.”
Kyle comes to the archway. “Sutton, come on. They’ve got some presents for you.”
When they leave, Crystal follows them out, and Rafe and I are alone in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what made me say all that,” I murmur, looking everywhere but at him.
He nudges my chin with his finger. “Hey.”
When I meet his eyes, he’s grinning.
“Is that jealousy I see?”
I wince. “Maybe a little. Okay, a lot.” I fling my hand toward the doorway and hiss in a whispered voice. “She’s gorgeous.”
He sets his beer down, puts his hands on my waist, and turns me to face him. “Babe, I don’t want her. I want you. Understand?”
I nod, but I’m still feeling insecure.
“Tori, if I had wanted to be with Sutton, I’d still be with Sutton. I’m not.”
“I’m glad you’re not, Rafe. I’m so glad.”
That gets a grin out of him. He cups my face and pulls me to him, brushing his lips lightly across mine. It makes me weak, and I droop against him.
“I can’t wait to sneak out of here and be alone together,” he whispers. “But first we better join the party for a while.”
We stay about two hours, then cut out, walking hand in hand around the corner to his bike.
It’s a short ride to his house, and he pulls up the driveway. I notice a building behind his house and gesture to it.
“What’s that?”
“A rental apartment. Came with the deed.”
“Nice. So, you have extra income, huh?”
“Unfortunately, there’s no tenant right now.”
I see the ghost of a shadowy outline in the moonlight. It’s an iron structure like a gazebo with a seating area underneath.
“That’s cute,” I say.
“I’ve done a lot of work trying to make the backyard area nice.” He leads me up onto the front porch and unlocks the door, flipping on a light.
We step into a long living room that continues through to the back of the house. Tall wainscoting comes up the walls, and the floors are the original hardwood. There’s a pretty set of corner windows with seat benches underneath and leaded glass on the top of the windows. “It’s charming, Rafe.”
“Thanks.” He hefts me into his arms, and my legs naturally go around his waist. “Let me show you the bedroom.”
He carries me into a room off to the left at the front of the house, and I realize it’s the one with the bay windows I saw from the street.
Leaded glass on the top transom of the windows floods the room with moonlight.
He drops me to my feet, and his fingertip glides along my bare shoulder, exposed by my blouse. “You have such luminescent skin. Like pearls.” He toys with the string tied in a bow at the center of my neckline. “I really like this shirt. You know what would make it better?”
“What?” I ask, staring into his heavy-lidded gaze, filled with molten desire.
“If it was on the floor.”