“It’s your mom,” Rafe mouthed when she dared a glance at him again.
“Oh, thanks,” Sloan replied.
“Your daughter just walked in the door,” he told Pauletta.
“Let me speak to her.”
Rafe handed over the phone and watched Sloan’s expression as she greeted her mother while simultaneously hugging Avery to her side. It took him a half second to realize that there was nothing he could do or say to check in with her at the moment, especially in front of the kids. He turned back to the living room and started cleaning up the hair supplies.
“Can you put away your toys, please?” he asked Addison as she came skipping back from the bathroom.
“Yes, I can.”
“I just got in and it’s almost the girls’ bedtime. Can I call you back?—oh hold on. Addison, come talk to grandma. You can take the phone up to your room.”
“I’ll come say goodnight,” Rafe added. It usually helped moved the them along if they knew everyone was heading upstairs. Sloan turned and followed the girls up. Rafe gave them a while to get their bedtime routine going, finishing his cleaning and putting all the girls’ hair products back in the their bathroom. When he finally went to their bedroom, all three of them were piled in Addison’s bed. Sloan was trying to read them a story, but Addison was questioning why the young girl in the book was going camping in the woods if that’s where animals live.
“We live inside and they live in the woods. If people go stay in the woods, then bears should be able to come stay in our house. It isn’t fair.”
“I suppose it isn’t fair. But I think a bear might have a hard time getting used to sleeping in your small bed. Bears are pretty big.”
“Rafe is big. Why can’t a bear sleep in Rafe’s bed?”
“Then where would I sleep?” Rafe asked as he came into the room and sat on the edge of Avery’s bed.
“With the bear!” Avery said.
“No way, girlie,” Rafe said, deadpan.
The girls burst into a fit of giggles. Rafe’s serious side was hilarious when it had nothing to do with them. Avery hopped off Sloan’s lap and climbed under her own sheets behind him. Rafe looked down as she started lightly tugging on his arm hair. Kids were so weird.
“Should we finish the story?” Sloan asked, trying to salvage bedtime.
Addison let out a sigh then burrowed further down into her sheets, making it clear that she was pretty fucking over it. “Yeah, I guess.” Sloan finished the last few pages and after they both fielded ten more questions about which wild animals could sleep inside the house—the final answer was none—Sloan seemed to relax, laughing with the girls and tickling and kissing them both before they said their goodnights. She even smiled at Rafe when he promised the girls that they could watch bald eagle videos over breakfast, but the moment they stepped back out in the hallway, she turned off again.
“Um, I have to call my mother back.”
“Okay,” was all he could say. He got it then. Whatever had happened between them was a one-off. No big deal. It happened. Maybe she’d realized it was better if they kept things strictly professional between them. Maybe he had been too much for her, in a bad way. Maybe she just didn’t want to be bothered with him. Maybe she simply wasn’t into it. It didn’t change the way Rafe felt. Not in that moment. Still, he would handle it. They gave it a try and now it was over. He’d get over whatever was drawing him to her, in time. He just had stop himself from looking at her for the rest of his life.
They both stood in the hallway, not saying a word. Rafe finally took the hint and went back downstairs. His bed and more episodes ofCartelwere waiting for him. For some reason though, he went right to the couch and turned on the Dodgers game. Almost an hour later, Sloan came lumbering down the stairs. She’d changed into another set of cute-as-fuck pajamas, with tiny-ass pink and white polka dot shorts and a matching tiny-as-fuck tank top.
“I’m starving,” she said, setting the phone on its cradle. Rafe wasn’t actually sure if she was talking to him. He hopped up anyway.
“I made chicken enchiladas. You want me to heat some up for you?”
“Actually, yeah. That would be great.” She still wasn’t looking at him, but at least she was talking to him. That was something. And just like that, Rafe realized how desperate he was for Sloan to just pay him some attention. So completely fucked.
“Here, have a seat.” Rafe pulled out a stool from under the counter, then dug the plastic container full of leftovers out of the fridge. He put two enchiladas in the fancy toaster oven and poured Sloan a small glass of water. He got her attention then as he slid it across the island. She caught it before it went flying off the far end.
“Nice grab. What’s troubling you, stranger?”
Sloan finally smiled, a real smile, then took a deep sip. “You’re…” she started.
“I’m what?”
“Nothing.” And finally she looked him straight in the eye. “I’m being unfair.”
“Care to clue me in?”
