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He seemed weirdly unsurprised, so she took a steadying breath, letting go of the tension in her shoulders. “You don’t seem surprised.”
“I’m not, really.”
“Really? Because it surprised the shit out of me.”
He laughed. “There was something about you guys at William and Juniper’s wedding. You were vibing.”
“Hm, well, very perceptive of you.” Jesus, he’d noticed it before she had! She rested her elbow on the table and dropped her chin in her hand, scowling at the teapot.
“You’re not happy about it?”
“I am. I’m having a great time. But Mum caught us on the beach this morning. That’s why I’m here. She thinks I’ll let it go too far and freak Rafe out, then it’ll be over. Then for all our sakes, he’ll have to stop hanging out with us, so not only does he lose me, he loses all of you as well.”
“Bullshit.”
“You think?”
“He’s not just your friend, Mik, he’s mine too. There’s no way in hell I would let that happen.”
“You promise?”
He looked at her for a long moment. “Yes. I promise.” He picked up the cookie from the plate, taking a bite, contemplating her for a long moment. “Not that it’s necessary. You’re a good person, Mik. One of the best, in fact. And you and Rafe care about each other a lot. If it went to shit, you’d find a way to fix it, somehow.”
She had to blink back tears. “I would, wouldn’t I?”
“Of course you would. And so would Rafe.”
She blew out a breath, feeling almost weak from the relief that washed through her. “Right. Good. Okay then.” She grinned at him. “You think I’m a good person?”
“Sure, but also an idiot.” He pushed his chair back, grabbing another biscuit as he got to his feet, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as he walked by. “See you Saturday night.”
“Saturday night?”
“Trivia night at the Golf Club.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Mikayla sat there for a long moment, smiling affectionately as she thought about her brother and his broody, insightful ways.
Chapter 9
“Jesus, it’s cold.” Mikayla peered through the windscreen into the dark night as the wipers slicked back and forth. “I hate it when I’ve had my hair done and then it rains.” She assured herself that she was feeling confident and in control. This was the first time she and Rafe were out in public since they’d started sleeping together and she’d had the ensuing conversation with her mother. She hadn’t breathed a word of that conversation to Rafe, but she felt more committed than ever to making sure things between them didn’t turn sour. So, here she was, about to head into the country club for the trivia night, with the resolution that the best solution to the whole problem was just keeping her hands to herself—all night. Well, until they got back to his place, of course.
“I’ve got an umbrella.”
“Of course, you do. You’re such a boy scout.”
Rafe pulled into the carpark in front of the country club, as close to the entrance as he could. “Wait there,” he said as he took the keys from the ignition. He grabbed the umbrella from the back seat and got out of the car, hurrying around to Mikayla’s side and opening the door.
“Who says chivalry is dead?” she said as she got out.
“Well, you hardly get your hair done up nice. We don’t want to let it go to waste.” He grinned at her as he put his arm around her shoulders.
“Ha ha. Way to ruin the moment.” She hesitated for a split second before slipping her arm around his waist, figuring it would look odd if she didn’t.
There was a buzz of noise coming from the conference room when Mikayla and Rafe crossed the foyer to the wide double doors. Seeing her mother and father already sitting at their allocated table, Mikayla instinctively pulled away from Rafe. She’d devised a rough plan to make sure she didn’t sit next to him, since she wasn’t sure she could keep her hands to herself. She felt her heart sink as they pushed through the crowd and she could see William, Juniper, Callum and Leah were already seated, leaving two seats, next to each other, for Mikayla and Rafe. It was going to be a long night.
“Hey, Mum.” She bent to kiss her mother.
