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Rafe sighed quietly, watching her chatter away with his family with an ease and familiarity that warmed his heart and urged his lips into an indulgent smile.
That was until he saw Charlie pull her into a hug and grin at him over her shoulder as his hand inched closer and closer to her pert little arse.
White-hot fury coursed through Rafe, as did the urge to pummel his older brother into the dirt for putting his hands on her.
Hands clenched into fists, he moved towards them, but before he could unleash his rage, Charlie—the utter, utter bastard—burst out laughing and released her, then lifted his hand to wave at their father. A hand he’d come dangerously close to losing.
As the last of the visitors disappeared down Bennett’s Road, Rafe followed his remaining family back to the house, and Jane climbed inside her rust bucket of a Jeep.
The thought of her driving around in that thing had always given him reason to pause, but now she was pregnant, he was downright terrified.
To say her car was a deathtrap was a generous description, but the woman stubbornly refused to buy a new one. He supposed now she’d been robbed blind, she couldn’t afford one anyway.
Maybe she’ll agree to marry me if I buy her a new car?
Nah. That’d never work. Jane wasn’t the type of woman you could bribe with a car. A shiny new set of hand-forged chef’s knives though….
Rafe listened to the engine turn over with a whine, wheezing to life for a brief moment before making a clunking sound and jolting the vehicle forwards.
A car door slamming shut and the creak of the bonnet being opened quickly followed, adding to the overall orchestra of hopelessness.
“Don’t do this to me, baby,” Jane said, a sweet coaxing tone in her voice. “Not today.”
He could imagine her speaking to her child the same way, and his gut clenched with need.
There had to be a way to convince her to accept him.
Ollie and Wolf stopped in front of Rafe, blocking the doorway into the house. They exchanged a glance, then stared at him.
Wolf shrugged. “I’d help her, but motorbikes are really more my thing. Besides, Sally threatened to shove her prosthetic leg up my arse if I don’t get my final edits back to the publisher ASAP.”
“And I’d help her except… I don’t want to,” Ollie added. “Besides, she’ll never agree to marry you if you keep avoiding her.” He continued down the front hallway, waving as he went. “Go get her, tiger.”
“You know you have flowers in your hair, right?” Rafe called after him.
Oliver flipped him off without so much as a backwards glance.
Wolf grinned and slapped Rafe on the back, and then he disappeared down the hall too.
“Charlie and his fucking bets,” Rafe muttered to himself, then turned around and headed back towards Jane and her Jeep. “Need a hand?”
Jane jumped at the sound of his voice. Her hand flew to her chest as her knees gave way, and Rafe grabbed her around the waist to keep her on her feet.
His hand brushed against the swell of her belly, and a rush of emotion washed over him.
Joy, contentment and…pride.
Jane shoved at his hand and took a step back. “Would you stop sneaking up on me, please? Geez.”
“Sorry,” he said, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips.
Her eyes narrowed. “No you’re not.”
His grin widened. “No. I’m not.”
“What do you want now?” she said with a sigh as she turned away and leaned over the engine.
Rafe watched her push and pull and prod at engine parts he couldn’t name to save his life. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
