Page 22 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
He chuckles. “Yeah. I haven’t seen any, though. Probably not a big deal.”
“Well, don’t hit any sheep on your way back. I’m going to call Alex and congratulate her, then go to bed.”
Rafe leans in and kisses my forehead before grabbing the keys and heading out the front door. Before he closes it, he pauses and looks at me. There’s a heaviness in his gaze, almost as if he’s weighing how to say what’s on his mind. Frankly, his openness today has been more than I expected, and I don’t want him to clam up now.
“What is it, Rafe?” I ask.
“Are you happy?” he asks, his voice almost a whisper. “Did I do the right thing here? I mean, assuming you’d come and setting it up? I had this awful thought that you felt obligated.”
A wave of emotion warms me. As much as I need to hear him say what he’s thinking and feeling, I realize he needs toknowhe thought and said the right thing. He needs encouragement, direction, and above all, he needs to know his efforts have not gone unrecognized.
“I’m very happy, Rafe. There’s no guilt or regret at all.”
His lips part and he nods. “Okay. Night, Luna.”
“Sleep well.”
“You too, sweetness.” He closes the door behind himself, leaving me to my own thoughts.
Despite knowing that our mutual friend Alexandra always liked Hayden, it’s still weird to know they are getting married. It’s been a long while since I spoke with Alex, but I feel comfortableenough hitting her up for a video chat to congratulate them. I scroll through my contacts until I find her, then settle into the cozy chair by the fireplace.
The phone rings for a bit, then clicks on and a hazy image of Alex appears. After a moment of shuffling, the picture clears and her pretty face fills the screen.
“Hey, Luna!” she says, eyes bright and smile wide. “Long time, no talk. How’s the exhibit going?”
“I know Rafe told Hayden we broke up,” I say, knowing full well she wants the details but is afraid to ask. She covered it with the question about the exhibit, but the girl was never good at hiding her emotions.
She presses her palms to her face and scrunches her nose. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to lead with that.”
I chuckle. “Well, let’s start with congratulations on the engagement.”
She beams and holds up her hand to show me her ring. “I guess I saw it coming, but it still took me by surprise. We haven’t set an exact date yet, but I hope you can come to the wedding. I’d love to see you.”
“Oh, that ring is gorgeous, and I’ll be there for sure. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And, maybe if things work out on this trip, I won’t be alone.”
Concern fills her face. “Do you think it’ll work out? I hate you two not being together. Ever since Hay told me, I’ve been so sad.”
“Well, I’m not sure what Rafe told Hayden, but he planned this big trip to see if we can work it out. I’m in Ireland right now in a cottage right next to him. We had a good day today, which included a lot of awkward talking, but in a good way. All we did was drive to the market, then came back, chatted, and had dinner together.”
“That sounds promising. Do you want it to work out? You seem like you do.” Her hope-filled tone cannot be missed.
“I do. At least, that’s why I’m here, but there’s still a small part of me that worries we’ll fall back into the old routine of not communicating and making rash decisions.” Admittedly, I should have been more open with Rafe about the job in Chatswain City when it was offered to me. He might have had some input if I had eased him into it rather than telling him I was going with or without him. Even so, the longer I’m in this country, the more I want things between us to work.
“What happened between you two? I mean, if you want to tell me. Obviously you don’t have to, but I never in a million years would have thought you’d break up.” She tucks her dark, wavy hair behind her ear and settles in.
“You know I took the job in Chatswain City, but I didn’t really give Rafe much input. I told him I accepted the position and I was moving, but he didn’t say anything. He just…let me go. Not an ounce of fight at all.”
She scrunches her nose again. “That seems like you left a lot out, but for the purposes of keeping it short and to the point, there is no way the dynamic duo of CC High doesn’t end up together and in love for the rest of their lives. It’ll work out, but I think you know you have to be super up-front and honest about everything. I love you both, and I really would hate it if miscommunication kept you apart.”
I frown and lean back deeper into the chair. “He did go out of his way to plan and pay for this trip, which is very unlike him. Spur of the moment is not his style, never was. Earlier at the local market, we had a moment of misunderstanding and he commanded it like a champ. I like this new take-charge version of him.”
“Listen, maybe you should come up with some ideas of your own and present them to him.”
“You mean like date ideas? I think he might have his own plans.”
“Dates, fun stuff, yeah. Maybe he does have some plans of his own, but you both need to learn to communicate, right? Put some effort into planning too, and see if you can function like an actual couple again, only better this time. Once upon a time, you two read each other better than anyone I know. There is no way that natural connection is gone.”
I ponder her words for a while. In the background, Hayden’s face appears.
