Page 76 of My Silver Lining

He turned around and caught me staring.

There were moments when I had to force myself not to touch him. To stop myself from kissing him throughout the day, because even though we said we could do it anytime we wanted, I was growing attached to the man.

None of this made sense.

Rafe turned around and set both plates down at the table before snatching my bag of gummy bears sitting beside my coffee mug. He tossed the bag onto the kitchen island and took the seat across from me.

“You can’t sustain life on gummy bears, Wildcat,” he said. “Eggs first, gummies later.”

Coach Jones, my trainer, who I worked with remotely, was always on me about my nutritional struggles, so I knew I needed to eat better, but when it came from Rafe, it felt more impactful. Like he truly cared about my health.

About me.

Why was that so terrifying?

“I mean, if I made eggs as good as you do, I’d probably eat them every day.” I shrugged before taking a bite.

Rafe was an amazing cook, and I’d been spoiled now that we were basically roommates, which meant he cooked for both of us.

Roommates who kissed and hugged and touched one another.

The gray area had grown so large that everything was basically gray when it came to my relationship with this man.

“Well, you can eat them every day while you’re here. And maybe you’ll pick up some new habits that you can take to Paris. Tell me about your meeting.”

“The launch in Paris is going to be big for our foreign market, and they are loving the new designs, so they plan to just keep adding to the collection.”

One side of his mouth hitched up as if he were oozing with pride. But not for himself, for me. “That’s fucking amazing. My girl is such a lady boss.”

I chuckled. “Thanks. You’ve got your big meeting today with the Crawford CEO, right?”

Rafe had been referred by one of his clients to the CEO of a large corporation, who was considering bringing Rafe in as his financial advisor both personally and professionally. It would be a huge win for him, and he’d been preparing for this meeting the last few days.

“Yep. It’s this afternoon,” he said, as he reached for his juice. “I plan on crushing it.”

“No doubt.” I took another bite before thinking over my next question. “So, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. And I know this isn’t really a normal situation that we’re in, but Henley and Easton are going to Booze & Brews after their dinner for country music night, and I thought it might be fun to get out.” We’d gone to Booze & Brews together several times. Why was I so awkward?

Am I sweating?

A slow, sexy smile spread across his face. “Are you asking me to be your Valentine, Lulu Sonnet?”

I tossed my napkin at him. “Well, don’t make it weird. I didn’t know if you knew that it was Valentine’s Day, and I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”

“I knew. And we’ve already got plans, but we can finish up at the bar if you want.”

“We have plans?”

“Yes. I’m taking you somewhere. It’s Valentine’s Day. It’s what people who are hanging out do,” he smirked.

He made plans.

“That was very thoughtful of you. Where are we going?”

“Not telling you that, my little control freak.”

“What? I need to know how to dress,” I said, although that was only part of the reason I wanted to know.

Being a control freak was the other reason.

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