Ginna looks at me, silent conversation flowing between us. With one stare she’s asking me two things: 1) if I’m okay with spending a couple days more with Rafe and 2) if a couple days will work for our timeline.
I send her my approval with a small nod.
“When can we leave?” Elia asks, giving me a reassuring smile, one that I desperately needed.
Rafe extends his hands above him in a lazy stretch, and in doing so, I catch a glimpse of the thin strip of bronze skin between his vest and pants. It’s hard for my eyes not to linger there, remembering all the kisses I placed there. “Does now work? I’ll need time, though, to pack up here.”
“We’ll need an hour or so, too. I’ll have to grab some of our things from back at the ship. Find some horses,” Ginna adds.
“Did you takeMidas?”
Ginna laughs. “Of course. There’s no ship better. It was your loss for leaving her behind.” She stands to leave. “I’ll be back with our things.”
“Let me walk you out,” Rafe suggests. “I need to close out a tab downstairs anyways.”
Ginna and Rafe step into the hallway, closing the door behind them, but failing to notice it doesn’t shut all the way.
I take a few cautious steps against the wall to the door, listening for their voices.
“Itisgood to see you again, Ginna. How’s Hanson doing?” Rafe asks.
“You’re really something, you know that?” Ginna hisses in a whisper.
My ear is pressed to the doorframe, but the sound carries into the room regardless.
“I wrote you a letter.”
“To me, Rafe. And that was the problem. Callum deserved answers. Hell, he still does!”
“I owe him nothing,” Rafe spits back. “He deservesnothing.”
I decide I’ve heard enough of the conversation, shutting the door with a sound loud enough that I’m sure Rafe and Ginna knew I was listening.
I turn around towards Elia, and, being the wonderful person that she is, has her arms out stretched, inviting me into her embrace. When Elia wraps her arms around me, it’s only then I realize that I’m crying.
Chapter 28
Elia
Callum’s ex is a piece of work. Based on how Callum talked about Rafe, I would have pictured someone completely different. Not a long-haired scruffy pirate dressed in all leather. The only thing I was right about is that he’s tall, dark, andveryhandsome.
But he has a terrible personality. I didn’t necessarily expect a happy reunion of course, but I did expect less hostility and anger. Rafe was even rude to Ginna, who was supposedly one of his best friends, too.
And what Callum overheard Rafe say when he was eavesdropping…
Callum didn’t deserve that.
“How are you holding up?” I ask Callum.
He stopped crying shortly after he started, composing himself as if he wasn’t allowed to show that much emotion. Instead, he’s now pacing back and forth in front of the fire, hands clenched into fists by his side. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but clearly he’s not.
He’s coming face to face with the person he loved, who was the same person who abandoned him.
I empathize with him. It would be like me meeting my parents again. The same questions that echo through my head, all the what ifs and whys, are now coming to the foreground in Callum’s mind since seeing Rafe again.
Callum stops pacing. “Better. Maybe?” He groans and settles into the chair. “I thought I was over him. Iamover him. But seeing his face… it brought up all these emotions in me that I can’t seem to shake.”
“You never forget your first love, Callum. And that’s okay. You’re allowed to express whatever emotions you’re feeling. You don’t have to be strong for anyone, especially not for me.”
