Page 112 of Billionaire's Matchmaker

She could refuse him nothing. “I’ll go.”

He exhaled a shaky breath that showed her how important her answer had been to him.

Although it was after business hours, he called Jeanine and said he needed a plane and the best available suite at the Sterling hotel in St. Pete Beach.

Hope drove them back to Houston. At her apartment, she packed an overnight bag, and when she walked into the living room, she found the Colonel curled on Rafe’s lap.

Hope stood there for a second, staring. How is this even possible? “After I feed her, we can be on our way.” As Hope spoke, the Colonel glared at her. “I think she might be your cat.”

“Seems that way.”

It wasn’t until Hope opened a can of food that the Colonel jumped down from his lap.

“Traitor,” Hope said when the feline entered the kitchen. She flicked her tail, then started to eat, ignoring Hope. “I feel abandoned.”

“Pets always know who’s a good person.”

“Uh-huh.”

He picked up her bag and carried it to the car. During the drive, she asked Skyler to cover, perhaps for an extended time. Then she had Rafe ask Caroline to take care of the Colonel. Caroline was shrewd. She negotiated for another spa day, a hotel stay, dinner, and a bottle of champagne.

“You drive a tough bargain,” he told her. “But yes.”

Hope shook her head. Was he going to be this much of a pushover when they had kids?

In his condo, he packed, and she watched the beginnings of the sunset unfurl across the sky.

“We don’t have to live here,” he said, coming up behind her.

She’d been so lost in thought that his approach startled her. “I haven’t said yes to marriage.”

“You didn’t say no to shacking up.” He gave an irresistible grin.

“Shacking up?”

“Living in sin? Cohabitating? Consummating? Doing the dirty?”

“Consummating?”

“We should get started on that.”

At the heat in his words, her pulse turned sluggish. “We’ll have time.”

“Yeah. We’ll go away together as soon as we can make arrangements. After the…funeral?”

When they reached the airport, the plane was waiting. Rafe held her hand through the flight, and he dozed, the stress lines around his eyes lessening. Now that it had ebbed, she recognized the anguish he’d endured since she left.

They landed after ten p.m., and they drove down the coast until they reached the hotel. “Are you sure you don’t want to go with me to see my dad?” he asked after their luggage had been brought up.

She wanted to be with him to support him, but since she hadn’t met his dad, it wasn’t a good idea. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“It will be early morning,” he warned. He dragged her against him and kissed her with the emotion he hadn’t expressed before.

Her toes curled, and her insides warmed. Having this moment was worth any risk.

“I love you, Hope. I’ll spend a lifetime proving it.”

She kissed her first two fingers, then pressed them against his lips. “Go and be with your father.”

Before leaving, he kissed her again.

She walked to the window, pulled back the heavy blackout curtain, and watched him walk toward their rental car. It didn’t surprise her when he stopped, turned, then scanned the windows until he saw her.

Beneath a light, he touched his heart, then pointed at her. He made her giddy, and her knees buckled in response. He was going through something horrendous, but he had still stopped to acknowledge the connection they shared.

After his car had disappeared from the parking lot, Hope drew a bath and sank into it. With memories of Rafe filtering across her memory, she closed her eyes. This time, though, the past wasn’t all there was. Images of a potential future appeared there too—a wedding? The baby he’d once mentioned? Like mist, the pictures themselves were shrouded, uncertain, but not threatening the way they once might have been.

She fell into bed wrapped in a fluffy robe for security, and she was asleep when Rafe returned.

He undressed her somehow, then wrapped his naked body around hers, holding her tight, as if he’d never let her go. Deep inside, she wanted that too.

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