Page 63 of This Time Around

She heard the frown in his voice. “What do you mean?”

Jane closed her eyes and prayed for strength. Did she really want to do this? Now, after all this time?

Yes.

“I mean why are you here, with me, on this road trip? Why bail me out of trouble? Why help me at all?”

His heavy sigh fanned across her neck. “Why not?”

Rolling over to face him, she glared at him in the dark as though he could see her. “Can you not do that, please?”

“Do what?”

“That lawyer thing you do where you answer every question with another question.”

The bed wobbled and shook and she knew he was silently laughing at her. She shoved against his shoulder and his laughter grew in volume.

“Stop it, Rafe. I’m serious. Geez, when did our roles reverse? I’m supposed to be the pain in the arse and you’re supposed to be the serious one.”

His arms tightened around her and he pulled her closer, close enough to squash her belly and breasts against his chest and abdomen. The thin fabric of her pyjamas did little to buffer the erotic zing of sensation she felt at the full body contact.

“Maybe it’s time to try something new,” he said, lightly trailing one hand down her back.

Squirming and wriggling against him, she fought against the tickling sensation he lit up along her spine. Fought against the urge to rub herself up and down his rock-hard cock. He had to feel how wet she was, even through her panties.

Concentrate. “Maybe it’s time you answered my question.”

Rafe leaned his forehead against hers. “Janie.” He sighed again. “You really are so much smarter than that.”

Bristling at his jibe, she snapped, “So you keep saying. But if I really was that smart, I would have figured out by now what you’re obviously not telling me.”

“Baby—”

“And don’t call me baby or beautiful or any of the other little nicknames you call me that you know turn my brain to mush.” Her strident voice filled what little space was left between them. “Tell me why you’re here.”

His soft sigh brushed over her lips, a gentle caress. “I didn’t bail you out, I invested in a mate’s business. I’m on this road trip with you because there is nowhere else I’d rather be, and because I wanted time alone with you, to convince you to marry me.”

“But why?” she whispered, tears gathering, filling her eyes and threatening to spill out of her.

“Because I’m hopelessly in love with you.”

Tears slid down her cheeks and soaked her pillow. “No. It’s not true. You can’t be in love with me.”

Silence met her ears for what felt like an eternity, then he said, “Why not?”

“Because I’m not—” She blinked away her tears, tried to clear them from her eyes, and tried again. Her voice shook, “Because you’re a good man, and you deserve someone so much better than me.”

He pushed her hair away from her face, kissed her forehead. “Janie, there is no one better for me than you. It’s always been you. No one else makes sense.”

Jane closed her eyes and held her breath, then let the words whisper past her lips, asking the one question she’d always been too scared to give voice to.

“Then why did you leave?”

Rafe rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Of all the questions he’d hoped she’d never ask, why did it have to be that one, and why did it have to be now?

He scrubbed his hands over his face, then threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Rafe?”

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