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“All good?”
She must have been telegraphing her mood really loudly, or Juniper was just super sensitive. There was no mistaking the note of concern in her tone. Mikayla shrugged. She desperately needed to talk to Juniper about the whole situation, but now definitely wasn’t the time.
“Hey, did you ever find out what was hassling Rafe before our wedding?”
“I did. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Sounds serious. Hang around after everyone goes.”
Mikayla nodded with immense relief. That was exactly what she needed. Billy came over and climbed into Juniper’s lap, forestalling any further conversation for the moment. He snuggled in, closing his eyes in bliss when his mother wrapped her arms around him. Mikayla reached out and caressed his curls lovingly. “Missed your Mum?”
At his enthusiastic nod, Juniper kissed him on the top of the head. “Ditto, baby.” Then she gave him a big squeeze, saying, “I’d better check the dinner.”
“I’ll give you a hand.”
In no time at all, they were all sitting around the big dining table, under the miniature chandelier. It was a six-seater table with eight people, plus Billy, so they were a little squished. Mikayla sat with her mother on one side and Rafe on the other, trying desperately to ignore the feel of Rafe’s leg pressed against hers under the table, or the feel of their fingers brushing as she passed him the salad bowl.
After everyone had finished eating, Callum asked, “You guys thinking of going skiing this year?” He leaned back in his chair, pushing his empty plate away.
Mikayla turned to Rafe, a questioning smile on her lips. She stilled, her eyes roving over his face. Really, when did he get so good looking? Had he always been this gorgeous? His black hair cropped short, his eyes dark on hers, his lips full and kissable.
“Mik?”
She started, turning her attention back to Callum. What had he asked her? “The snow? Yeah, probably. I guess?” She asked Rafe, suddenly struck with uncertainty.
“Yeah, of course. Should look into booking it.”
“Great. Mind if I tag along?”
“Really?” Mikayla asked excitedly. She hadn’t been to the snow with him in years.
“Yeah, for sure. I got a message today from a music exec, owes me a favor. He has a chalet at Thredbo that he’s offered me for a week. Just thought you might be interested.”
Mikayla’s eyes went round as saucers, then she tried to play it cool. “Interested in a chalet at Thredbo at the height of the snow season? Nah, not really.” She grinned at his laugh. “A whole chalet? Who else are you thinking of?”
“Rafe, obviously. You guys?” Callum looked to William and Juniper.
“I’ve never taken Billy to the snow. I’d love it.”
Then he turned to Leah, saying in a quieter voice, “Leah?”
“Me? Oh, I…um…”
“Leah would love to come,” Mikayla said with forceful certainty, grinning at Leah when she rolled her eyes. “That’s settled then. Book it in.”
“Great.”
The rest of the dinner passed with general chit chat, and as they lingered over dessert, Mikayla became increasingly impatient. She desperately wanted Juniper all to herself to go through these strange, disconcerting feelings and reactions she was having.
Finally, after dessert, drinks and the kitchen cleanup were done, everyone left and Mikayla could snuggle into the couch in the window alcove. She gratefully accepted the throw rug Juniper gave her and the wine William handed her.
She just had to wait until William was carrying an exhausted Billy off to bed, with the caution from Juniper to make himself busy elsewhere as this was girl time.
“Tell me everything.”
Mikayla went through it all, taking grim satisfaction in Juniper’s reactions. Perplexed at the start when she really delved into Rafe’s strange behavior, astonished at the post wedding kiss, a little amused at the way they both dealt with the fallout, then perplexed again when Mikayla relayed the conversation they’d had on the beach.
“I mean, I don’t know what it is. I thought I meant it when I said we would just forget about it, go back to just being us. And mostly we have, it’s much more relaxed and normal since the chat on the beach. So, he was right that we had to talk about it, but now I know he was a bit hot for me, it has changed. Did he just turn that off because of our conversation? Is he totally not hot for me now?” She groaned with frustration. “Because I can’t get him out of my head, Juniper. And let me ask you this…has he always been this hot?” She asked the last question plaintively, her confusion evident.
