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“I mean, God, it just whacked him in the side of the head and he caught it on instinct.” Mikayla chuckled at the memory. “But when he realized what it was and dropped it.” Her chuckle turned to full laughter.
“I think Violet making him pick it up and keep it was the highlight for me.”
“God, yes.” As Rafe pulled into her driveway, she said, “You wanna come in for coffee?”
“Sure.”
Had he hesitated? She flicked a glance at him but he was already getting out of the car so she did the same. She stepped up onto her porch, reaching for the front doorknob, frowning when she found it locked. “Typical. Bloody coldest night of the year and I’ve locked my door.” She rummaged through her little purse for her house keys. “Seriously, it’s a tiny purse. They’ve gotta be in here somewhere, unless I’ve left them at Juniper’s. No, here they are.” She pulled the keys out, found her house key and slid it into the lock.
She looked up at Rafe with a triumphant smile. All the breath left her body and the smile faded. She stared at him, spellbound. He was gazing at her with such heat, such need, that her stomach turned inside out. Her heart thumped hard against her ribcage. Mindlessly, she leaned into him, breathing him in. The aftershave she’d given him for Christmas, underlaid by the essence of him, so familiar to her, but also, suddenly, wildly exotic. Without thought, she reached up and with her hand on the back of his neck, pulled him towards her, raising her lips to his, brushing lightly, softly. It wasn’t enough so she opened her lips, thrilled when she felt him do the same. She felt his hand slide into her hair, tilting her head for better access. Their tongues met and she sighed, opening her lips wider, allowing their tongues to tangle. She tightened her hand on the back of his neck, barely holding back from wrapping herself around him. Some subliminal part of her consciousness, at least, was able to acknowledge that this was Rafe she was kissing. A slow, languorous flush spread from her core through her whole body and she wanted more. But he pulled back, staring down at her for the longest moment.
Then she snapped back to reality. Shit! “I…ah, I just remembered…I’ve gotta go do…a thing.”
“Yeah, me too. I have to…” he trailed off, stepping off her porch without finishing the sentence. She turned the key in the lock without looking back, slipping inside and closing the door. She leaned back against it, taking deep breaths. She pressed her hand over her heart. Holy hell, that was HOT! She ran a fingertip over her tingling lips. Then she frowned. This isn’t happening. She absolutely could not go around kissing Rafe. It’s Rafe! Her best friend. The last thing she wanted was to complicate things between them. As she moved to her bedroom and slipped out of the bridesmaid’s dress, her mind whirled. She was really going to have to think about this. How to deal with it.Especially with this mystery problem he had going on. She really didn’t want to add any more pressure to whatever was bothering him. Slipping into bed, she laid there for a long time, gazing up at the shadowed ceiling. She tried to marshal her thoughts, but they were continually distracted by the memory of Rafe’s lips, warm on hers—his fingers in her hair, her body warming as their tongues tangled. And even though it was Rafe, her best friend and therefore completely off limits, all she could think about was how much she wanted to kiss him again.
Chapter 4
The morning after Juniper and William’s wedding dawned soft and cloudy and confusing for Mikayla. After a restless night, she desperately needed someone to talk to and with Juniper already off to the Maldives on her honeymoon, that left Leah. Rolling over, she looked at the clock on her bedside table. Seven-forty-five. Confident that Leah would already be up, she rushed to the shower. Her mind worked overtime as she washed her hair, got dressed, raced down to Coco’s, to grab croissants and coffee and headed over to Leah’s. By the time she was easing her car down the pitted dirt track that masqueraded as a driveway to Leah’s, she was almost bursting. The little shack looked quiet in the morning mist, nestled in its private bush setting. Its outward appearance was hardly improved by Leah’s meager attempts at gardening. It had been a dilapidated mess when she’d bought it with her divorce settlement and, Mikayla knew, with Leah spending all of her energy on her work with Juniper for now, she was only able to work on her house here and there.
Holding the coffees and croissants in both hands, she tapped at the front door with her foot, jiggling impatiently as she waited for it to be opened. She kicked the door a bit harder when she couldn’t hear Leah moving about inside. Shit, maybe she wasn’t up, Mikayla thought, just starting to question her impulsive visit.
“Alright! Hold your horses! If that’s you, Mik, you’d better have coffee!”
Mikayla grinned as Leah swung the door wide, clad in silky floral pajamas with her hair all mussed. “How’d you know it was me?” She stepped inside, handing over the coffee and croissant, following Leah through the tiny house and out to her back deck.
“Who else would rock up at my house at the crack of dawn?”
“Oh yeah, only me. It looks great out here. Where’d you get this?” She gestured to a long bench nestled under the dining room window, covered in a weatherproof cushion and a throw rug. It was perfect for lazy days and ocean gazing.
“Picked it up on hard rubbish.” She sat down on the bench, pulled the rug across her legs and gestured for Mikayla to sit next to her. “But I’m pretty sure you haven’t driven out here to ask me about my outdoor furniture. What gives?” She placed her coffee on the arm of the bench, inhaling the scent of the croissant as she opened the bag.
Mikayla dropped down on the bench, pulling part of the blanket over her lap. “I kissed Rafe last night.”
Leah choked on her croissant. “No! Did you really?”
Mikayla, satisfied that she’d got the appropriate reaction, nodded before turning her gaze out to the ocean. She’d made the statement baldly, with maybe a bit of bravado, but truth be told, she was very unsettled. It wasn’t just the kiss; it was also what came after.
“Then, in the middle of the night, I had this really vivid dream, of me, with Rafe. We were…you know.”
Leah nodded.
“When I woke up, I was really hot so I ah…you know…” She couldn’t find a way to finish the sentence.
“Pleasured yourself. While imagining yourself with Rafe, where you were…you know…” Dropping the croissant in her lap, Leah made an O with the finger and thumb of one hand and pushed the forefinger of her other hand through it, repeatedly.
Mikayla’s eyes widened in appreciation despite her blush. “Jesus, you have been hanging out with me way too much.”
Leah shrugged. “I’m trying to be more, you know, relaxed about it. More open.”
Mikayla rubbed her arm affectionately. “Good for you.”
Leah smiled, her gray-green gaze warm. “I’m not sure I can help you with this, though. It sounds more like a Juniper conversation, to be honest.”
Mikayla sighed. “I know. But I’m hardly gonna ring her on her honeymoon, am I?” She frowned. “It’s just that I’ll see him at work tomorrow and I have no idea how to handle it.” She sipped her coffee, forcing herself to take a bite of the croissant. She wasn’t really hungry.
“You should talk to him about it.”
She recoiled instantly. Maybe if it had just been the kiss, she could brush it off, but the dream, well, that really made it complicated.
