“Yes,” Miles says. “But it shook everyone up.”
“Okay,” she says. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Miles does. He keeps it factual. Clear. No emotion, just detail. I listen without speaking, watching Rafe’s hands as he worries his fingers together in his lap like he’s trying to anchor himself.
When Miles finishes, Rachael exhales. “I agree,” she says immediately. “It’s time.”
Rafe’s head snaps up. “Time?”
“Yes,” she says. “Your domestic tour changed everything. You had security then. You can’t pretend you can go back to pre-tour anonymity. Especially not together.”
My stomach twists at that last word.
Together.
Rachael doesn’t know what that means for us, but she knows the optics of the band moving as a unit. She knows the label will want protection now. She knows public risk.
She continues, “I’m going to speak to the record label today. We’ll arrange something interim. In the meantime, you do not go out alone. You do not go anywhere without at least one other person. Do you understand me?”
Miles nods even though she can’t see him. “Yes.”
Rafe clears his throat. “Yeah.”
“And get home,” Rachael adds. “Now. No more stops.”
Miles’s grip tightens on the steering wheel. “We’re on it.”
“Good,” she says. “Call me again when you’re there.”
The call ends, and the SUV feels heavier after. Miles drives with total focus, the city sliding by outside. Eli tries to crack another joke, but it dies in his throat. Drew reaches over and squeezes Rafe’s knee once, a grounding gesture.
Rafe leans into me slightly again. I feel it. Feel him choosing closeness even in front of the guys, too shaken to care about performative distance. Then he speaks, voice firm despite the tremor still in it. “I’m coming home with you.”
The statement lands like a weight.
Eli glances back with raised brows. Drew pretends he didn’t hear. Miles keeps his eyes on the road like he’s suddenly fascinated by lane markings.
I hesitate. Not because I don’t want him there. God, I want him there so badly it hurts. But because my brain is already sprinting through risks. Cameras. Paps. The building. The staff. After what just happened, fear sharpens everything.
“Rafe,” I start carefully. “Maybe you should?—”
“No,” he cuts in. Not angry, just certain. “I’m not going back to the mansion. Not today.”
“We can keep you safe there,” Miles says quickly.
Rafe shakes his head. “I don’t want safe there. I want safe with him.”
My throat burns with emotion. I try again. “Is that smart? After?—”
Rafe turns fully to me, eyes burning now, the adrenaline turning into something stubborn and protective in him too. “We have two blissful days,” he says. “Two. And then you’re back on the road and I’m back to my own schedule. I am not spending them apart because some people can’t keep their hands to themselves.”
Eli whistles low. “Damn.”
Drew smirks. “He’s not wrong.”
Miles mutters, “You’re both insane.”
Rafe’s mouth twitches. “Yes.”
