“Hasn’t he been nice—” Cass blinked. “Oh.”
Ahri turned from the window.
“It’s like that, is it?” Cass’s expression had clouded. “That’s unfortunate. Do you know how he feels about you?”
“I don’tknow.” Ahri words came out too loud. She started pacing, fighting the words that wanted to explode from her. Cass watched her sympathetically. Over the weeks, she’d become a dear friend. Ahri let out a deep breath. “Sometimes when he looks at me . . . it takes my breath away. What if I’m imagining it because Iwantit to be real?”
“What if you’renotimagining it?” Cass pointed to the chair she’d been sitting in before. “Sit down.” She put the baby in her carrier and took the desk chair. “You’re staying at his mother’s house. Do you ever see him away from the office?”
“Until he left on this trip, I saw him almost every day.” Ahri crossed her arms over her stomach, as though that would calm the butterfly dance festival going on in there. “After the launch, he’s come after work to help with the garden. On Saturdays he takes the kids somewhere, and they always invite me to come along. We’ve been hiking and biking and mining. We went on a zip line tour. I thought I was going to die, by the way. His parents came on that one.”
“It sounds like a wonderful summer so far. I’ve been here since almost the beginning, and I’m going to be honest with you. Rafe loves his family, and he’s really attentive. But he’s never beenthatinvolved.” Cass grinned. “I don’t think you’re imagining it.”
Ahri held her stomach tighter, afraid she might throw up.
“Well, I need to get this little one home before she wants to eat again.” Cass leaned over and squeezed Ahri’s hand. “He’s needed someone to draw him away from work. I’m glad to hear this.”
“Glad to hear what?” Rafe asked, striding into the office. He looked delicious in his blue jeans and REKD T-shirt. His normally well-styled hair had a mussed look to it, as though he’d been running his hands through it.
Ahri’s heart leapt into her throat, and she shot a panicked look at Cass who merely returned an encouraging smile.
“Nice to see you, Cass,” he said to his assistant, though he continued to look at Ahri. “You look better.” He came over to the carrier and squatted down.
Cass grinned, her eyes wide as she nodded to Ahri and mouthedYou’ve got this.
“Go ahead and pick her up,” Cass said to Rafe.
He gently slid his hand underneath the infant and lifted her. For a second, his gaze met Ahri’s again. That draw to him spiked, followed by something warm and luscious. She recognized it as a fulfilling sense of peace, and she had to remind herself that he was her boss.
As she watched him coo at the baby, bouncing her as he tried to tease a smile from her, Ahri’s heart twisted. Someday, when he married, he’d hold his own baby like that. A powerful longing to share that with him hit her. With it came something she hadn’t felt in weeks: fear. She’d thought she and Zed would share a family and look where that had led.
Her father hadn’t wanted her. Zed hadn’t wanted her. Why should she think that Rafe did? Cass hadn’t been here all these weeks and had simply said what Ahri wanted to hear. There was no basis for it. He was her boss, her friend. Nothing more. The thought sat in her throat like a rock.
The baby started to fuss, and he handed her to Cass. While they talked, Ahri wondered what she was going to do when she didn’t see Rafe all the time. She had to find another job soon. Shedidn’t want to be so far away from her brother again. Maybe she could find work in Charlotte. It was a larger city but still close enough to see Kayn frequently.
Between the federal government and the Phoenix Police Department, the case of Zed’s murder was at a standstill. After her talk with Kayn about Zed, she’d wondered more and more if her late husband had known what he was involved with. If he’d been seeking money, she could imagine him convincing himself that helping a drug cartel to launder money would be an easy way to get it. But what could he possibly have that they wanted so badly? She’d been in such a hurry when she’d packed that she hadn’t looked at their things closely. Now it was too late.
She thought back to the promising jobs that had just opened up, one at the university and one with a local tech company. At some point, she’d get her life back. Ahri’s gaze met Rafe’s, a soft smile pulling at his lips. It made her heart thump hard. Yes, she would especially miss him.
“Ahri has everything ready for Saturday,” Cass said. “I’m planning to drop by.”
“In costume?” Rafe asked.
“Of course.” Cass picked up the baby carrier. “I just wish I had the figure now to wear the one I wanted. None of your champions has a matronly look about them.”
“I know.” Rafe heaved out a breath. “Ahri’s always giving Darius and his artists a hard time about their clothing choices for our female champions.”
“And lack of armor,” Ahri couldn’t help adding.
“Well, now that I’ve had a baby, I feel sorry for a couple of your lady champs.” Cass patted her chest above her large bosom. “If those women were real and ever had a baby, they wouldn’t be able to hold themselves upright.”
Ahri burst out laughing, and Rafe gave a grudging and embarrassed chuckle.
“It’s afantasygame,” he said.
“That’s what you always say. Bye.” Cass waved as she left, and Ahri returned to the desk.
“What am I going to do with you two?” Rafe asked as he headed to his office.
