Page 6 of Forgetting Rafe Thomas
“Glue and Play-Doh and glitter and…this!” she squeals and hands him a bottle of perfume. Ronnie turns her nose up at what I assume is a horrible smell.
“Uh, I’m going to go wash the expensive bottle of perfume off my kiddo while you two talk. Later, Rafe,” Archer says before Indy waves and they both exit the frame. Once it’s quiet again, Ronnie redirects her attention to me.
“What do you think you should do?” she asks.
“I’m not sure. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but if she doesn’t want me then what can I do? I can’t force her, right?” I ruffle my too-long hair and sit back in my gaming chair.
“Right, but what if she doesn’t know what she wants?”
“What do you mean?”
Ronnie bites her lip and glances over her shoulder before leaning in even closer as if she’s telling me a secret. “Sometimes people are scared, Rafe. They don’t know what they want because they’re hiding from the world, lost in grief or fear or whatever it is they’re feeling. That’s okay for a while, but they can’t live there forever. Sometimes you just have to say what you want, go for it, all in, loud and clear.”
I swallow hard and remember how much Ronnie had to work to prove to Archer that love deserved a second chance after his wife died. It had to be hard for him, but now they are the happiest, most in-love couple I know…and that is saying something, knowing my family.
“I decided one day that it didn’t matter if Archer knew what he wanted. I would tell him what I wanted, what my intentions were, and if he wanted to meet me halfway, then I was there waiting for him.”
“You think I should do something like that for Luna?” I ask, wary. It could have gone horribly wrong for Ronnie, but it didn’t. That doesn’t mean that sort of luck strikes twice.
“What have you got to lose?”
Yeah. She’s right.
WhathaveI got to lose?
Chapter Three
Luna
Waking with puffy, redeyes has become commonplace for me, but what is completely out of the ordinary is a Thomas brother leaning against my car first thing in the morning with a bag of treats from Sweet and Salty and a cup of steaming coffee. I blink a few times to make sure I’m not seeing things and slowly approach the youngest of the brood. There is no mistaking that signature grin that often graces the faces of every single one of those men, but it’s early and I’m too tired from tossing and turning all night to decode what his means this morning.
“Mav, what on earth are you doing in Chatswain City?” I stop beside him and accept the goodies he offers. Breathing in the coffee is a little bit of a pick-me-up, but it’s the heavenly scent of cinnamon and sugar drifting out of the bag that really gets my blood pumping. I lean in and give him a side hug. At some point over the years, this kid grew forty-seven feet taller than me. He’s always going to be like a little brother though, so whatever he’s here about, I’ll probably cave and do.
“I assume you still like black as night coffee and extra frosting on your cinnamon roll?” He winks and steps aside so I can unlock my car. I nod, waiting for an answer to my question. “If you have a minute, I need to talk to you about something. It’s kind of important.”
I check my watch and note that I will be half an hour early if I leave right now. “Yeah, I have some time. Want to come in?” I nod back toward my building but Mav waves his hand.
“It’s okay. I don’t want to keep you that long. I just…I um…” Mav shuffles around a bit and looks away. He’s always been a bit shy with me. Well, with anyone, really, but this kid has known me since he was still scrapping in the elementary school playground.
I poke him in the ribs and chuckle. “Out with it, kiddo. Why did you drive all the way here to see me?”
He wiggles away and that broad grin takes his face, puffing out the adorably freckled cheeks of his. He looks the least like anyone else in his family, though they all somewhat resemble their father.
“First of all, I’ve missed you. That’s reason enough to drop in, isn’t it?”
I chuckle. “Yes, but something tells me it’s not that simple.”
“Okay, I’m mostly here because I’m worried about my brother. He’s a mess, Luna, and I don’t mean the kind where he’s a little sad and forgot to take out the trash. I mean he has full-on grown a caveman beard, eats pizza seven nights a week, and refuses to leave the house.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Honestly, that sounds like Rafe on one of his usual coding binges. Are you sure he’s not just deep into planning his app?”
Mav scowls and clenches his jaw. “I’m serious, Luna. He’s heartbroken that you don’t return his calls or messages, and he’s basically given up on doing anything remotely productive. SoSilas and I might have encouraged him to do something crazy, and upon a good night’s sleep, I realized we might have set him up for failure. That’s why I’m here. To make sure he doesn’t do something that will get his heart completely flattened for the third time in a row by the same woman.”
Ouch. That stung a little, but knowing me for a long time also means he’s up for total honesty, no matter how brutal. Still, it isn’tentirelymy fault, at least not this time. If he and Silas are involved in something, there is a good chance it will blow up no matter what I do or don’t do.
Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I sip my coffee and prepare myself. “What did you two put him up to, and how much is it going to cost me?”
Mav licks his lips and looks away again. “We encouraged him to do things for you, you know, like he used to when you dated, and he seems to have taken it a step farther. He’s planning something big. Like…really big.” He raises his hands to quiet me when my eyes go wide. “I don’t knowwhatexactly he’s planning. He was super quiet about it, but he was awake before I was this morning. He hasn’t rolled out of bed before noon since the wedding.”
