When they got back to the house, it was a little after sunset. Rafe spotted his uncles’ cars and Eddie and Hector’s bikes when he pulled in. Carrying the ice inside, he ran into Eddie and Hector in the driveway.
“Yo, we just met your girl. That’s the doctor?” Eddie asked.
“Yep. Feel free to shut up about it at any time.”
“Nah, man. I gotta know. How in the fuck did you land a chick like that? She’s fine as hell.”
“Yeah, man. Sheisfine,” Hector agreed.
“Did you scare her away?” Rafe looked around the side of the house and didn’t see her in the yard.
“Nah, she went inside to make a phone call.”
“Cool. I’ll be right back.” Rafe filled the big cooler with ice, then went inside where he found Sloan pacing in the kitchen. She smiled at him, scrunching up her nose.
“I miss you too. So, so much. The house is so empty without my babies.— Yes, I’ll see you so soon. — No, I have a half day tomorrow, so I’ll come to the airport to pick you up. — I’ll ask Rafe if he wants to come too.— Okay, I love you, love you, love you both. Goodnight.” Then she ended the call and turned to him. “Hey.”
Rafe sat at the table and reached for her. She came right over to him and took a seat in his lap. “How are they doing?”
“Fine. Their dad took them out on his boat today.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. They had a good time, but I’m ready for them to come back. I met your friends.”
“Eddie told me. Did they go easy on you?”
“They did. They’re very nice. I had a chat with Monica too.”
“God, what did she say.”
Sloan chuckled a bit. “It was fine. She just wanted to confirm that we were actually together, as a couple. Then she told me I should be able to fire you if I’ve caught feelings.”
Rafe shook his head. “My own mother. Damn.”
“And then she said I shouldn’t be ashamed not to fire you—something about women working for their husbands for decades, and stay-at-home dads being a thing, and millenial feminism. I tried to explain that we weren’t quite married yet and she casually changed the subject. She did tell me to bring the girls over when I was up for it. I thought that was sweet.”
“Yeah, maybe. She might be using you for placeholder grandchildren. Be on your guard. She’s got a lot of pent up grandmothering in her.”
“I’ll keep my head on the swivel. How was your ice run?”
“Ice was secured, but mostly my dad just wanted to sing your praises in private.”
“I’m sure. That was the longest twenty minutes of my life. Can I have a kiss?”
“Oh, I’ll kiss you.”
Rafe turned his face upward as Sloan placed her hands on either side and pressed her lips to his. It was a tame kiss, but that didn’t stop the soft press of her mouth from flooding his senses. He could go on kissing her for a long, long time.
“You’re cute, Dr. Copeland,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Why, thank you,” she whispered back before kissing him again.
“Ewww!”
He pulled away and saw Gracie standing in the door with the instant camera she’d gotten for her birthday.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he asked.
