Rafe shielded his eyes from the sun as he walked to his Escalade from his beach condo in Bel Harbor and swung the keys around his finger. 8:30 AM. Few people were out on the ocean and as it was a Miami winter, no local sunbathers dared the 80 degree weather yet so everything was peaceful and quiet. He hadn’t slept much last night, going over how fast his life had changed.
Today he’d see Elizabeth and Brandon, together. He had no idea what he'd say but his pulse quickened in anticipation.
His building had an adjacent parking lot where he was lucky enough to keep his car without a valet. His phone rang and he took off his sunglasses to read the number. Jennifer. "Hello?"
The ex-girlfriend who never quite disappeared and kept him close as a friend, and he owed her for yesterday.
"Rafe, I need your help."
"Jen, not now." He tugged at his collar and climbed into his vehicle. His stomach churned, demanding a Cuban coffee and eggs.
Her voice cajoled. "Rafe, it's important."
Perhaps his sister was right and he shouldn’t speak to Jennifer Gonzales again, but then Caro didn't know Jen the way he did. Jen had it much harder than they did growing up. While his mother had the stigma of being a maid, they’d always had a nice home and food on the table. Not so for Jen. He started the engine of his SUV. "What is it?"
"I need you to stop by the studio this morning."
Had Belle Jordan been found? The question popped into his head immediately. Jennifer was on a mission to win Peter Morgan back into her life. Her every action yesterday when she’d picked up Brandon for him indicated her renewed interest in the House of Morgan. He shook his head and decided to follow Caro's advice starting now. "I'm on my way to work."
"Rafe Soliz, we both know you worked late last night." Jen then changed her fast-paced dialogue to more of a suggestion. "No one is going to say anything if you come in late today."
His mind went back to high school, when he’d witnessed her own father inappropriately kissing Jen’s neck and pawing her breasts. He'd been there for her then and swore he'd be there for her now. The image stayed with him even as he shook his head. "That's not how my world operates, Jen. Police officers go to work."
"Rafe, I need to talk about what I did." Her high pitch made her sound like a younger version of herself.
"What you did? Fine, Jen. I'm on my way." This wasn't good. Whatever she had to say was probably something he didn't want to know about, ever. He turned his car toward the highway instead of breakfast.
She said, "Thanks Rafe."
He clicked off his phone and threw it on the empty passenger seat. Checking the rear view he was reminded of Brandon in the back seat, gazing at him with familiar brown eyes. He’d deal with his ex, and then he’d get to see Brandon again. His heart lifted. He'd see Brandon again.
Today was lunch with Elizabeth. He’d decided to take the whole day off. They'd set a schedule. There had to be a way he could see his son without getting too involved with any Morgan, most especially Elizabeth.
He stopped at a gas station near Jen’s studio and picked up two cafe cubanos, one with extra sugar. He also bought a pastry for himself and carried it into the acting studio. He maneuvered his way through a faux sunset at the faux mansion near the beach set and continued straight to Jen's dressing room. None of the cast blinked that he was there and a few nodded in recognition.
Once he was at her door, he knocked. The door flew open as she shouted, "There you are."
Rafe passed her a cubano that she wrapped her fingers around immediately, lowering her gaze and sipping her extra sugary coffee. He closed her dressing room door behind him. "I'm here. What's going on, Jen?"
Her eyes opened wide surrounded by long, fake lashes—she was fully dressed in a figure-hugging ball gown. "Rafe, I lied to Peter last night."
This was always the way. She wanted to do something she'd regret or she’d already done it and now had to confess. Her blue dressing room, furnished in white, was Jen’s private retreat, and Rafe sank down on the couch. "What?"
She focused on a vibrant Picasso original opposite the couch. "I made him think we had sex after everyone left his house."
His face heated with shame that she would do something like that. "Jen, why would you?"
She sipped her coffee. "’Cause all I hear in my head is how I'm a stupid cow for losing Peter Morgan and that I have to do anything to get him back."
Both her parents, in different ways, gave her a hard time that she didn't deserve. He knew that. Rafe tried to stay absolutely still and interject calm, rational thought. "Your mother doesn't live with you anymore." Her dad was in jail.
She turned and slowly descended on the couch to not rip the tight dress she wore and stared at him. "Her opinion hasn't changed."
All his life, he'd been protecting her. He stroked her arm to keep her calm. "Jen, you can't live your life in a way that pleases your mother." He took her hand.
"Nothing I do ever pleases her."
She pulled her hand free. "Look, I saw the opportunity to make Peter think of me in the morning, and I took it."
This wasn't good. He pressed his lips together. "Jen..."
Then she lifted her chin like she was the queen and had the right to look down her nose at anyone, including him, but he knew what a good actress she was. "Rafe, I'm not even that sorry about it, but I had to tell someone."
Her eyes watered. He put his coffee cup down on the table beside him. "Jennifer."
Then she crossed her arms. "Don't yell at me, okay?"
He nodded. "Can I talk now?"
She seemed so fragile, but he knew she was a lioness when she had to be. "Of course."
With this one, he had to speak carefully. Jen would assume he was jealous if he said the wrong thing. An image of Elizabeth and her quiet tears crossed his mind, but he let it go. He stared at Jen. "Peter Morgan loves Belle. Last night he heard she might be dead in a horrible plane accident—he was vulnerable, drank too much and passed out."
She straightened her dress and avoided his stare. “True. I put myself in his bed.”
This morning he’d woken to Peter's many messages with questions about the coast guard, but at no time did Peter mention Jen.
Peter and Jennifer were like oil and water together but she couldn’t see it.
She gazed at the floor.
This was a train wreck waiting to hit. "What happens to you if he finds Belle? What happens if she's alive? He loved her. When you dated him, he didn't even call you his girlfriend. You agreed to be friends with benefits."
Her lips curled in a sneer even as tears formed in her eyes. "She can't be alive.” Her voice became a shamed whisper. “This is my second chance to get it right."
Belle deserved to be honored. She'd been nice. Rafe drew on his professionalism. "Did you do anything to ensure she died?"
The tears stopped as her eyes widened. "I'm not a criminal, Rafe. I wouldn't hurt her!"
Good. He knew Jennifer wouldn’t put someone else in danger. It wasn't her. She would manipulate any situation to get what she wanted though. "Then you don't know if she's alive or dead."
With a pout, Jennifer said, "Rafe..."
"Let me finish." He spoke quickly before she could go on another tangent. He checked the time on his phone. It was getting close to lunch and he needed to see Elizabeth. His son. No matter how many times he said it, it still felt exciting. Right now his friend had to listen to reason. "Even if Belle is really gone, sex is not a way to keep Peter. It didn't work the last time you were both together. You got hurt."
"He was upset over Victoria. Then when she came to their father's funeral, risen from the dead, like one of my telenovelas, Peter wanted to reunite with his brother and sister to have a family."
She rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms again and stood. "I took your advice and ended things with him right when we found out he was going on dates outside of our relationship, that was my mistake."
"After you broke up with him, he fell in love with Belle and I never heard him say friend when he talked about her." He stood as well. Her obsession with being a Morgan and the paycheck that came with that family name motivated her.
It was why he never addressed Peter and John as more than Mr. Professional. Distance made working relationships easier and neither him nor Jen were cut out to be in the House of Morgan. They were ordinary folks. "You can't make people feel something that they don't."
She threw her hands in the air. "Stop."
"No, you're going to get hurt." He took both of her hands in his. "You're my oldest friend. Don't go down this road, Jen. It will lead to a bad end and you deserve better."
She stood up and blew out one of her scented candles. "And you are such an expert? You're not going out there at all."
Elizabeth holding Brandon in her arms flashed in his imagination, but he didn't say a word. He'd never involve himself with a Morgan romantically, at least he wouldn't have if he’d known her last name. He needed a life partner, not a princess. "Jen, I want to choose the right girl."
She ripped her hands out of his. "You can't live your life waiting for me. I can never be yours."
She had it all wrong. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets as his stomach growled at him. He ignored the hunger pain. "Jen, we were high school. That was a long time ago."
She placed her hands on his shoulder and pushed herself closer to him, giving him a whiff of her floral perfume. "You saved me from my father."
He'd simply helped her gather information, including addresses of places where her father took her to sell her for an hour or the night. Then they’d reported everything and he’d given her a place to hide out. Ancient history. "He's not leaving jail, if that's your concern."
"I believe you. You have always taken care of me and I want you to be happy as well."
The last thing he needed was Jennifer Gonzales doing anything in his life for him; he couldn’t imagine more chaos and drama that followed whatever she tried. He stepped out of her clingy embrace. "Jen, I have to go."
She crossed the room and went to the dressing room door. "Life isn't about working on cases for other people or listening to us talk about our troubles. I want you to find happiness."
He kissed her cheek. "As long as I help you with whatever you need."
She offered her other cheek, then kissed his. "We'll always be there for each other. You promised."
"I just wish you didn't always choose the hard path." With a shrug, he walked out the door, turning to meet her eyes. "You'd find someone to really love you, if you gave up your obsession with Peter Morgan."
"I'm not interested. I will get Peter back."
He closed the door behind him as he left. The click of the door meant he was done here. The hallway buzzed with people dressed for whatever scene they were about to film, and they were measuring steps as he passed the faux mansion.
Imagining Liz’s smile calmed him, and he took it as a sign that better days were ahead starting now.