Page 19 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
“Me too. I mean, obviously. I wouldn’t invite you to join me here if I were dating someone. I haven’t. Seen anyone, I mean.”
“You haven’t dated? At all?” I ask, suddenly embarrassed to admit that I have.
“No, but that was a personal choice. You’re single. You can do what you want, Luna.” It stings hearing it, but he says it…and means it.
“Rafe, I—”
“I mean it. It’s okay. You’re here, and I hope that means something. Whatever happened before you got here is none of my business.” He glances at me again and I nod, unable to speak without tearing up. He offers me a sweet half smile and looks back at the road, which still freaks me out. It’s the wrong way, my brain says, so I look out the side window and try not to think about it. “How is the exhibit going?”
“You know about that?”
“Yes?” he drawls as if I’m an idiot. I am. I screamed about the exhibit to him when I broke up with him. How could he forget it? “I was curious about it, so I looked it up on the museum website. It looks like challenging work, but I’m sure you’re amazing at it.”
“It’s hard, but yeah, there are a lot of great things about it. Unfortunately, I’ve been assigned some interns that have no idea what they’re doing, but it’s almost ready to open.”
“I’d love to see it sometime. I’m sure it’ll be great. Your determination and drive were always…” He fades and leaves the sentence unfinished as he pulls into a little market.
He’s not wrong. The market is cute as a button. Rafe parks and I wait as he rounds the car to open my door. I try not to let too many memories flood my mind. We can’t live in the past, constantly comparing the then and now. It’s the future we’re trying to work out.
“I need to dip into the shop next door, but take your time,” he says, and escorts me to the door of the market before splitting off to do his errands. I can’t stop myself from watching him, hands in his pockets, striding toward the shop next door. He looks the same walking away as he did back then, and my heart pinches.
“Oh, you shut up,” I mumble, putting my heart back in place. I have to be intentional here, focus on what will be over instead of what was.
Rafe stops midstride and glances over his shoulder. “Did you say something?”
My cheeks flush. “No, sorry, just talking to myself.” I rush into the market without waiting for a reply. Heaven help me, I feel like I did when I was just a teenage girl—head full of fluffy, gooey feelings, heart racing, and my whole body screaming at me that he’s my match. I have to get it together. I’ve spent an hour in his presence, and I’m already falling apart.
I straighten my back with determination. “All right, Luna, get it together.”
I remind myself of that as I browse the shop, trying to figure out what to cook for the next few days at least. Maybe I can just get a few things, and Rafe can bring me back when I need more? That would be nice, another trip with him.
Among other things like moonlit strolls, watching sunrises and sunsets, maybe some kissing and—no.
No, no. I need to focus. We have issues to work through before any more kissing can take place. This can’t go down like the wedding where we shared one dance and ended up in a coat closet together. If there is a future for us, we have to build it together on more than physical attraction and memories.
At least, that’s what I tell myself, but my heart has its own thoughts on the matter.
Chapter Eight
Rafe
I have no ideawhat I planned to buy. Nothing, really, but once I remembered the store was five miles from our cottages, I jumped at the chance to spend more time with Luna. She hasn’t changed much, maybe a little more guarded than at the wedding, but she’s still beautiful. My heart skips when I think about her, then immediately stutters when I think of how far apart we are.
Once again, I remind myself that she is in Ireland. She’s literally staying at the cottage next to mine, and so far, it seems like she’s open to spending time with me. After all, she’s the one who said that we can start fresh with the nerves out of the way. The problem is, I’m not sure what a fresh start means. For the day? The trip? Our whole lives from minute one?
“I’m so confused,” I say to no one, but it makes a little old lady scuttle away from me like I might be crazy. Maybe I am. There has to be some level of insanity involved in this situation. Surely, wondering what might happen between Luna and me isa setup for heartbreak, but why does my entire body speed with anticipation of whatmightbe?
“You need to pump the brakes before you crash and burn,” I whisper to myself and run my finger over a row of books. I don’t even know what genre I’m looking at, but the old lady scuttles farther and faster now. I don’t blame her.
I grab a handful of books, so Luna doesn’t think I lied about needing something in town and head to the front to pay. From the window, I spy her stepping out of the market and into the cool spring air. She takes a deep inhale and her gaze bounces from one thing to the next, taking it all in.
When my gaze falls on the cashier ready to check me out, I realize I am acting like an idiot. She stares at me with her eyebrows arched as if she said something and is waiting for a response from a practically disassociated person.
“Sorry, I was…here,” I say and hand her what is probably way too much money. “Keep the change.”
She mumbles some version of thank you, and I grab the stack of books and head out. Luna leans against the rental car with two bags beside her on the ground. When I approach, she smiles and pushes off the car. So many memories flood me at once, all the times she’s done that in the past. Such a simple thing, one little move that makes my mind trip over itself going down memory lane.
“What’s the matter?” she asks, pausing in the middle of picking up her bag.
