He tipped her chin up, needing her to meet his gaze. Her eyes were closed, but she finally opened them.
“I want you to talk to Rafe. Let him tell you his feelings on the matter. I honestly have no idea where we go from here, but I know one thing for certain, I don’t want this to end. What you and I have … it’s real.”
“Is it?”
“For me, it’s as real as it gets.”
“But I thought you were leavin’.”
“When I came here, I didn’t know what I was doing. Then I met you, and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. Now it’s a matter of finding a place to live so I can put down roots. With you.”
“And Rafe,” she tacked on.
He opened his mouth, but he wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
“Are you hopin’ for that?” Bailey asked. “For the three of us…”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but none of that matters until you talk to Rafe. You might not believe it, but he’s in love with you. He told me himself. Told me that what he feels for you is ten times stronger than anything he feels for me.”
“He said that?”
Holt didn’t miss the wistfulness in her tone.
“He did. And the two of you need to get on equal ground before we can move forward.”
“Okay.”
Holt tilted her chin up as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “No matter what, remember that what we have is real.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
She nodded, her lips brushing over his. “Yeah. It’s confusing, but it’s real.”
For the first time since he walked in, Holt took a deep breath.
He wouldn’t deny his heart pinched just a little when Bailey walked out the front door a short while later. He had no idea what would happen between her and Rafe, but he hoped there’d be room for him in their lives when the dust settled. And he wasn’t referring to being relegated to the sideline.
***
After the third text Rafe sent toBailey went unanswered, he knew he would have to call her.
Problem with that was he didn’t know what he was supposed to say. How did he explain to the woman he’d been pining for—as his brother had pointed out—that, yes, he had kissed a man?
Not just any man. One he’d once been intimate with before.
One who had come to Coyote Ridge for him.
One who was currently dating the woman Rafe was in love with?
How? How did you explain that?
He had fucked this to hell and back.
Taking a deep breath, Rafe picked up his phone and tapped the screen. Before he could pull up Bailey’s number, there was a knock on his door.
Perfect. A reason to procrastinate. Just what he needed.
