his tone was casual, his word choice seemed deliberately odd to her. “He doesn’t have me,” Tristyn replied.
“Are you sure about that?” he probed.
She felt her cheeks flush. “Of course I’m sure.”
“Because while you’re doing a pretty good job of pretending that you’re not looking at him, he’s not even trying to hide the fact that he’s watching you,” Rafe said.
“Josh is Daniel’s best friend and business partner, which means he’s like another cousin to me—as if I didn’t already have enough,” she said lightly.
“One of the things I’ve always liked about you is that you’re forthright and honest,” he told her. “So I’m going to assume that you’re not being deliberately deceitful now but are in denial of his feelings and your own.”
She frowned, not finding either of those options particularly appealing.
He took both her hands. “When I first met you, at Marco and Jordyn’s wedding, you completely took my breath away. After I spent some time with you, I was pleased to discover that a woman so incredibly beautiful could also be warm and witty and fun. And while it’s been frustrating—for both of us, I think—to try to mesh our schedules to spend time together, I always suspected that wasn’t the only obstacle between us.”
“Rafe,” she began, not sure what else she planned to say, just certain that she didn’t like the direction she could see this conversation headed.
But he didn’t seem to expect her to say anything else. He only dipped his head to kiss her. On the forehead.
“I have to go to the restaurant to do the prep for tomorrow,” he said.
“I thought you’d decided to stay for the fireworks and save the prep for the morning,” she reminded him.
“I think I’d rather get it done tonight,” he decided.
Tristyn watched him walk away, feeling guilty and remorseful—and maybe just a little bit relieved.
* * *
The girls were tuckered out long before dark, but they didn’t want to leave before the fireworks. So Josh, with Hanna snuggled in his lap, settled in where he could keep an eye on Charlotte and Emily, who were sprawled on the blankets spread out on the grass for the remaining children. Several of the couples with little ones had gone: Jordyn and Marco had taken Henry and Liam home after dinner; Daniel and Kenna had followed a short while later with Jacob and Logan; and Braden and Cassie had slipped away with Saige soon after that.
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