Page 32 of Rocky Mountain Devil

“You’ve had a lot on your mind.” She made a show of checking her watch before stepping toward the door. “Gee, I should probably get moving. I need to do a few things before my break is over.”

She walked with him to the front door.

He turned and gave her a hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “By the way. Your mother would very much like you to come and join us for supper tonight.”

Ha. The invite wassounexpected.Not.

“Sure.” She eyed her father. “I assume Jeff will be there?”

Her father looked as guilty as he possibly could. “Yes, but it’s not a setup, or anything.”

“Of course not, because I’ll be bringing Rafe with me.”

Her father’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Dinner’s at six, but come earlier if you can. I know your mother would enjoy extra time to chat.”

He was out the door, and she turned and escaped to the bathroom. She washed her face with cold water and soaked her wrists until her heart stopped pounding.

Laurel took a deep breath and brought out her phone and called Rafe.

“Laurel?”

“We’re dating.”

Amusement tinged his voice when he spoke. “Good to know. What brings on this bold announcement?”

“A lot of things.”

“Sounds like it. Did you know we’re having supper with your parents tonight?”

Okay, that wasreallyscary. “How did you do that?”

A low rumble of a laugh hit her ear. “Your mom called. Told me to bring you over at five-thirty.”

“Seriously?”How on earth had her dad contacted her mom so quickly that she’d had time to track down Rafe?

The entire “just happened to be in the neighbourhood” thing must have been a cover-up for finding out if she really was seeing Rafe. She wouldn’t put it past her father to be sneaky. Or her mom.

“I’m so sorry, Rafe. My parents are going to be a handful. I hope I’m not apologizing for them all the time.”

“Your parents are fine. Besides, we have to eat. We’ll have dinner with them, and after that, we’re going out for real. I’ve got a plan.”

A real date. Anticipation rolled right back in, in spite of her worries. Getting to spend quality time with Rafe felt so right.

“I have work tomorrow,” she warned.

“So do I, but we’re still going out for a while. Arguing with me is useless.”

“I know that. Useless, but entertaining.” She checked her watch. “Need to get back to work. Want to meet at my parents?”

“Hell, no. I’ll pick you up at five-twenty, if you can be ready by then.”

It was a bit of a rush to make it home from the library, into the shower and get dressed on time, but no way she was going out on her first official date with Rafe while wearing what she thought of as her library uniform.

She was putting on lipstick when she realized she hadn’t dressed upjustbecause of the date, or because of dinner with her parents. It was also a gesture to Jeff as well. Alook what you lost out on, suckerkind of thing.

Figuring that out wasn’t one of her proudest moments, but with Rafe already knocking at her door, it was too late to do anything about it other than feel slightly guilty.

Chapter Seven