Page 23 of About That Pact

“Your secret is safe with me,” Charlotte promised her, pretending to zip her lips. “Since Rafe is such an exceptional uncle, I guess you can call me Charlie.”

Giddiness took over as Melanie giggled. “Want to know what else he said?”

Charlotte was definitely going to indulge Melanie for some Rafe gossip.

“Let me guess…” She paused to snag a bite of her hotdog. “Did he tell you I once had to get a stinger out of his foot? He got stung by a bee when we were teens and cried like a baby over it. I even had to ice it for him.”

Melanie’s eyes expanded. “Uncle Rafe is afraid of bees?”

“Oh yeah. They might be one of his biggest fears.”

“Wow. I mean, who likes bees anyway?” Melanie reasoned, taking some potato chips off Charlotte’s plate to eat. “He told me you two have known each other your whole lives.”

“That’s true,” Charlotte agreed. “I was friends with him even when he didn’t eat ice cream.”

“He didn’t eat ice cream!” she screeched.

“Yep. One summer, he did something called clean eating, which meant no sweets.”

“That sounds awful.” She dipped her head solemnly.

“It was for him.” Not for her, though. She ate ice cream and peanut butter cups every time she was around him. “And I was still friends with him even when he refused to watch any movie if he hadn’t read the book yet.”

“Even Harry Potter!” Her head popped up.

“Especially Harry Potter.”

Melanie paused, then giggled. “No Harry Potter and no ice cream. It must be super true.”

“What is super true?” Charlotte dragged out the word “super,” mimicking Melanie’s excitement.

“I guess that means Uncle Rafe is right. He told dad’s friends you guys were dating. Uncle Rafe has never had a girlfriend before. I guess you love him too because you have to love someone if you couldn’t watch Harry Potter.”

Charlotte’s heart raced. It was as if all her teenage dreams were coming true. Dating Rafe had never been on the table before, and suddenly it was now? Why was she the last to know? This wasn’t something they had talked about. She didn’t attempt to change the amused girl’s mind. Mainly, she had some reservations whether Melanie would believe her over Rafe. However, Rafe was not getting as lucky.

“YOU LOOKED AWFULLY chummy with Mel earlier,” Rafe said, sliding into the space next to her on the picnic table.

After two hours of being at the party, this was the first chance he’d gotten to spend time with Charlotte. Not that she’d been complaining about him catching up with his friends. Every time he’d looked at her, which had been a hell of a lot, she’d either been blissfully taking in the sun or chatting with someone.

The best part was how well Charlotte was getting along with Melanie. She was the greatest kid and meant the world to him. The worst was when one of Will’s work colleagues had mentioned how hot Charlotte was. The idiot had been eager to talk to her, and Rafe had put a stop to that immediately.

Uh-uh. No way. Not on his watch.

“Oh yes,” Charlotte gave him a tight smile, which was the opposite of her being happy with him. “Melanie had so much to tell me.”

“By chance, did she mention how charming I am?”

Charlotte slid her sunglasses down her nose so he could see her blue eyes that were shooting daggers at him. “No, Rafe. A nine-year-old child did not mention her uncle being charming. While I do think it’s cute Will’s kids call you uncle, the charming aspect stops there.”

“A man can hope.”

“Or a man can tell the truth.” Her sunglasses were back to concealing her eyes, but her tone had said enough.

“Can’t someone do both?” Rafe wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, but he was determined to be optimistic.

“Why did you tell Will’s friends I was your girlfriend? Melanie heard you and told me all about it.”

Right.