Page 49 of Valor on the Move
“Hi, Rafa. Are you feeling better?” Her pretty face pinched in concern. He didn’t really know Hadley well, but she’d always seemed nice. “Chris was worried.”
Does she know I’m gay too? Probably. “Uh-huh. Thanks.”
“Oh, good. You look great. All ready for the photo shoot? Your favorite thing, right?”
“Yeah. More in your wheelhouse. Oh, congrats on that new movie.”
Hadley’s teeth gleamed as she smiled. “Thanks, Raf. I’m pretty excited. It’s a more dramatic role than I’ve had. I’ll actually get to act and not just stick out my boobs and wait for the hero to rescue me. And hey, just think—before long you won’t have to deal with People Magazine unless you want to.”
On the second floor of the residence, they joined the rest of the family aside from his father. Adriana and Matthew tapped their phones. Matty’s hair was a too-long mess, and he was ignoring their mother as she nagged.
“Shouldn’t you cut that mop for aerodynamics?” Camila asked.
Matty shrugged. “It’s under a cap in the pool.” At least he’d changed his usual flip-flops and shorts for slacks and a buttoned shirt.
Chris watched Rafa with a furrow between his brows, and their mother turned to peer at Rafa closely.
“How are you feeling, dear? You didn’t look well last night.” She licked her finger and patted down a stray lock of his slicked hair.
“I’m good.” He forced a smile. “You look beautiful.” And she did, wearing a subtly patterned purple dress that flowed around her knees.
“Thank you, my darling. They’ve requested an Oval Office shot. Let’s walk over.”
They trooped down the stairs, picking up a tail of agents when they reached the first floor and headed to the West Wing. Rafa only let himself glance back at Shane once, keeping his gaze on his feet the rest of the time. Shane hadn’t been looking at him, which shouldn’t have hurt, but it did.
I’m such a freaking mess.
He’d wanted to call Ashleigh after the birthday party torture had finally finished, but it had been the middle of the night in Paris. By morning he’d curled up in bed with the curtains drawn, and even talking to Ash had seemed like too much of a mountain to climb.
Ramon sat behind his desk in the Oval Office, talking to a few of his aides. The middle-aged PR staffer sitting on one of the couches stood as they filed in. Their security details waited in the hall. There were three agents already stationed inside the office, standing silently around the room.
The PR woman smiled brightly. “Good afternoon! The People reporter and photographer are just coming through security. Are we all ready? Do you have any questions about the talking points?”
“Do you know I’m gay too?” Rafa asked. “Is that why you get the reporters to ask so many questions about my girlfriend? To try and convince anyone who suspects that we’re the perfect little hetero couple? Because apparently I haven’t been fooling people as much as I thought.”
He hadn’t planned on saying anything at all, let alone that, but somehow the words were suddenly out, and the PR woman’s eyes widened as the air was sucked from the room in a whoosh. In the silence, Rafa could feel everyone’s gaze swivel to him. He didn’t breathe, and it didn’t seem like anyone else did either.
As he stood, Rafa’s father barked to his aides, “Out.” As they scurried away, he ordered, “Cancel the interview” to the PR staffer. The woman rushed out, and the three agents glanced at each other. Ramon flushed red. “You too. Out.” They obeyed silently, the detail leader closing the door behind him.
“Rafael, what is the meaning of this?” His mother stared at him, and it was the first time he could remember her appearing truly flummoxed. The rest of the family watched with wide eyes.
“Don’t pretend you’re surprised.” Rafa’s voice was amazingly steady considering his heart was close to pounding right out of his chest. “If Dad suspected, there’s no way you didn’t.”
His parents shared a glance, and Camila sighed. “This isn’t the time for this discussion, and it certainly isn’t the place.”
Ramon shook his head. “Certainly not, Rafael. Son, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but—”
“You knew all these years, didn’t you? Years. Do you know how hard it’s been, trying to hide who I really am? How hard I’ve worked at it? I was so scared to tell you. So scared to mess things up for you. Terrified you wouldn’t accept it. Wouldn’t accept me. But you already knew, and you never said a word. You never…dropped any hints that would let me know you’d be okay with it. Because you’re not.”
His parents had another silent conversation. Then Camila motioned to the couches. “Why don’t we all sit down and talk about this reasonably.”
“No! Why didn’t you say anything? Why did you let me pretend? Even if I wasn’t out to the world, I could have stopped hiding with you guys.”
