Page 30 of My Silver Lining

Hunter smirked like Rafe was kidding. Most of my family was appalled by the way Hunter spoke to his wife, aside from Charlotte’s parents and her brother.

“Come on now, we all know a woman’s place is in the home.” And then he leaned down between me and Rafe and whispered loud enough for Charlotte to hear. “Particularly in the kitchen and in the bedroom.”

More obnoxious laughter from the jackass standing in front of us. Charlotte’s lips were in a perfectly straight line, and I gave her a sympathetic smile, because as awful as she was, she didn’t deserve him.

“Come on, Congressman,” Charlotte said, her voice even as she cleared her throat, most likely in an attempt to hide her irritation. “I think you’ve had one too many scotches. Let’s go get you some water and check on lunch.”

“He may be the worst person I’ve ever met,” Rafe said, his lips grazing my ear. “But I like your grandfather and your father. They’re very nice.”

“Yeah, they’re great.”

“Lulubelle,” my grandmother called out as she strode over with my father’s sister, Aunt Jaclyn. Her children, Meredith and Jasper, were much more tolerable than Charlotte and her brother, Barron.

I made introductions, and Rafe pulled them into a hug one at a time, which they seemed to be just fine with. They, in turn, hugged me, which wasn’t really the norm.I guess Rafe and I aren’t the only ones faking it at the moment.

Rafe was charming the hell out of my entire family, so I’d clearly picked the right guy for the job. Beckett had stood out like a sore thumb at these family events. He’d get drunk and just give everyone a lot to work with when it came to critiquing him.

But Rafe Chadwick was the gold medal of boyfriends.

I glanced over at him wearing that fitted gray V-neck sweater with a white tee beneath, and his dark jeans that accentuated his long legs. His hair was wavy but cut shorter on the sides and a bit longer in the front. His peppered jaw had a bit of scruff, but in that polished sort of way, and those dimples had a way of charming the hell out of everyone in the room. His large hand was wrapped around mine, and I glanced down at the size of it.

And then I glanced down at his feet.

Also large.

I wondered if the old saying was true.

“Hello, my darling,” my mother said, wearing a bright, colorful caftan dress, pulling me from my dirty thoughts.

“Hey, Mom.” I hugged her and then pulled back. “This is Rafe.”

“I just greeted him, my dear. Wow, you must have had your head in the clouds.” She chuckled before gushing all over him, and of course, he hugged and flattered her, winning her over with ease.

My mother turned back to me. “After you say hello to everyone and have lunch, I’d like to sit in on a session with you and Rafe and have you meet with Francois.”

I groaned. “Mom. We just got here. Can we skip the psychic readings until tomorrow?”

“What? No. He’s dying to meet with you both. He wants to get inside those heads of yours. Rafe already agreed to it.”

“Of course, he did. He has no idea what we’re getting ourselves into.”

Rafe did the most unexpected thing when he turned me to face him. He bent down so he could rub the tip of his nose against mine. “Baby, we’ll be fine. There isn’t anything about you that I don’t love.”

What the swoony hell?

This man was so good that I almost forgot we were pretending.

His hand moved to the side of my neck.

“This must be the new man everyone is talking about.” My cousin Meredith’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Yes. Hey.” I pulled back and faced her, and her brother, Jasper, and his girlfriend, Serena, were walking in behind her. “Meredith, Jasper, Serena, this is Rafe Chadwick.”

They smiled, and Meredith waggled her brows at me over his broad shoulder when he pulled her in for a hug. Serena was my favorite, and I was thrilled she was here, as she rarely came to family gatherings anymore.

“He’s so pretty,” she whispered in my ear as she hugged me.

“I’ve always had an eye for pretty things, right?” I asked, my voice all tease.

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