Page 113 of My Silver Lining

“It was funny,” Rafe said, forcing a smile, as it was clear that he was now in an equally bad mood, too.

Grumpiness was contagious, and I was a super spreader.

I tried to rally. I dug deep. I forced a smile. One of those awkward smiles where you force your lips apart to show your teeth, but there’s no joy there. That was the smile I was giving. “Au revoir.”

“All righty then. Talk soon.” They ended the call, and Rafe dropped to sit, my scrunchie now on his wrist. And that earned the first smile of the day. I glanced at his other wrist, where hewore the bracelet I made him. He never took it off, and I was flattered because I knew it meant something to him.

I pushed to my feet and walked over to where my purse sat on the counter, bringing over my most recent creation that I made for Rafe this week. I was hesitant to give it to him now, as I’d planned to give it to him when I said goodbye at the airport.

“I was playing around with some new designs, and I made you one more.” I handed it to him. “We’re thinking of doing a men’s line, and I thought I’d try this out and see what you think. It’s a stainless steel-linked chain with a super rare brown ion stone. We’ll make engraving an optional addition.”

He studied the links and then the plate where I’d carefully engraved the nameRafael. “This is gorgeous. You used your new engraver.”

“I did. You were my first.”

So many firsts with this man. I always thought that my first love was a bust because I’d wasted it on someone unworthy. But the truth was, that epic kind of love that you read about in books, I experienced it for the first time with a man I never saw coming.

It was the first time that I’ve ever experienced anything like this.

Right place. Wrong time.

He clasped it around his wrist and stared down at both of them resting there together before pushing to his feet.

“I got you a little something, too. It’s nothing big because I don’t know how to make anything, so I can’t compete with this,” he said, pointing at his wrist as he handed me a pink gift bag.

I looked inside and pulled out a pair of periwinkle fuzzy socks.

A large bag of gummy bears.

A desk sign that readBoss Lady.

“You are speaking my love language right now,” I said with a laugh.

“I know you hate it when your feet are cold, so you’ll have these for the plane. And I don’t think gummy bears are very popular in France, so you have these for the plane, and I stuck a ten-pound bag in your luggage already.”

“Wow. You’ve thought of everything. And the desk sign is a nice touch.”

“You need to let them know who’s boss,” he said.

“So do you. I know Joseph was pissed off about this past weekend, but you were born to lead, Rafe Chadwick. He knows it, too, and I think it terrifies him.” I tucked the items in my carry-on bag as I spoke.

“We’re not worrying about me today. Today is about you.” He carried our coffee mugs to the sink and glanced down at his watch. “And we need to get you to the airport.”

It was time to go.

I glanced around Easton’s house and remembered that first day that I arrived. The way he startled the hell out of me, and I punched him in the throat.

It was the start of something beautiful.

And today was the start of a new chapter.

So, I pushed away the lump in my throat and tipped my chin up. “Let’s do this.”

We were both quiet on the drive, and I glanced down to see a slew of texts from Henley telling me that she missed me already.

I stared out the window, watching the mountains move by in a blur.

“Thank you for everything,” I said, as he pulled up to the small airport and put the truck in park.

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