Keeley walked around the house, searching the living room and kitchen for Rafe before heading to his office. She and Gio had been surprised when they’d woken up to discover him gone. The three of them were sleepy starters ordinarily, usually dozing for a few minutes past the alarm before waking each other up in such a manner that they didn’t get out of bed until waaaay past the alarm.
Gio had frowned when he realized Rafe wasn’t there, but he’d covered up his concern quickly, coming up with a bunch of lame reasons why Rafe had probably risen early.
Keeley hadn’t been fooled by any of them. She knew what today was. The date had been circled in red in her brain ever since Gio had asked her to stay with them until Kayden returned from Vermont.
The day Rafe said they would decide where they all stood.
So many times last night, she’d opened her mouth to tell them both she loved them. The feeling simply wouldn’t be contained anymore. Mercifully—and just barely—she managed to wait until Rafe fell asleep so that she could at least, finally, say the words to Gio. And he’d said them back.
But as magical and wonderful as that had felt, she’d still wanted to tell Rafe the same thing. Fear of losing him for good had held her back.
Given his absence in the bed this morning, it didn’t seem to matter if she’d said them or not.
“There you are,” she said, forcing a cheerful tone. She walked around his desk and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Rafe made no move to return the kiss with a hotter one. Instead, he gave her a wan smile—and just like that, she knew.
It was over.
Keeley was instantly reminded of the night her parents died. Kayden had walked in. She’d taken one look at his face and known they were gone. He didn’t have to say a word.
The same was true now. One glimpse into Rafe’s eyes and she could see what was coming.
Rafe’s gaze traveled to the door.
“Gio’s taking a shower,” she replied to his unspoken question. She wondered if he would wait until Gio was here to do this or if he preferred to say it to her in private.
Rafe nodded, but he remained quiet.
Keeley took a deep breath, fighting for composure as she tried to figure out the best way to handle this. If she remained in this room too long, the pressure would break her, and she’d fall apart.
She was going to fall apart regardless, but she didn’t want to do it in front of Rafe.
He’d never promised her forever, never alluded to the future.
Nope. He’d told her at Aspen Rose that for him, what they shared would only be sex. She walked into this with her eyes wide open, so she couldn’t be mad, couldn’t yell or scream or call him names, even if that was exactly what she wanted to do.
Because he’d never lied about what this was. Not once.
Her anger…God…her sorrow over him breaking this off was her fault because she’d let herself hope, let herself dream that he’d change his mind.
Ugh. She cursed herself. A wise woman wouldn’t have started this damn affair to begin with. Especially not with her boss.
What the fuck had she been thinking? She wasn’t a robot. Maybe Rafe could keep his emotions under lock and key, turn his feelings off like a light switch, but she wasn’t that person, wasn’t capable of the same.
“I’m going to work from my office at Eclectic today. Actually, the whole week,” she said, hoping he couldn’t detect the tightness in her voice. Her throat was constricted, closing fast.
He nodded. “Okay. I’ll come by later this afternoon if I have time. I’d already decided to spend this week stopping by all the other Baros Corp. properties. Just to make sure things are running smoothly.”
“Great. I, um…” Keeley felt like Gio should be here for this part, but if he was…
There was no way she could keep it together if he was there too.
“Kayden comes home today.”
“I know,” Rafe said.
She was tired of tiptoeing around him. It was time she forced him to show his hand. Not knowing how he felt killed her.
“So I’m going to pack up my stuff and head back to my place for tonight.”
She held her breath, waiting for Rafe’s response. As always, the bastard took his time. Damn him and his constant thinking. She wanted to scream at him to just fucking say it already, but she managed to keep that primal, furious response inside.
“Okay.” He paused, then he stood up. “Listen, Keeley…”
Oh fuck no. She thought she could stand here, let him say the words, and be okay with it. After all, she’d managed to stay and listen to those horrible words from Kayden.
“Mom and Dad aren’t coming home. Their plane…the storm…”
She couldn’t do it this time.
“It’s over,” she said for him.
Rafe frowned, for just a split second, clearly surprised by her words. Then he nodded. “I think it’s better for everyone if we don’t let the affair continue.”
Affair.
She hated that word as much as the word crush. Because what they’d shared had felt like so much more.
He rubbed the back of his neck, something he did whenever he was stressed out, and she could tell that it was bothering him. She’d given him a massage one night when he confessed his shoulders had been tight for months.
“You and Gio want different things,” he began. “And I think the two of you have a chance at making something real, something good. I think…we were wrong to give in to the attraction.”
He thought what they’d done was wrong?
The most incredible time of her life was wrong?
“I’m holding you and Gio back. If I step away now, the two of you can begin the rest of your lives together. He’s crazy about you, Keeley. Head over heels. I’ve never seen him like this.”
Keeley nodded, her voice failing her. She wanted to yell, “What about you?!” but the words wouldn’t come.
They held each other’s gazes for a long time, neither of them speaking. She’d always marveled over the way Rafe and Gio were able to say so much without talking.
She wished she could manage the same because right now, all she saw was a stone wall, nothing to give her the slightest hint to what he was thinking or feeling.
When the silence drifted for too long, she went for broke.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Rafe winced, as if her admission had physically hurt him.
He didn’t return the sentiment. Didn’t say a damn thing.
She waited as long as she dared, then turned away because tears were starting to blur her vision.
“I’ll go pack then. Goodbye, Rafe,” she said as she walked out of the room. Part of her waited—hoped—for him to call her back in, to offer her one of those amazing hugs of his, but he said nothing. Just let her walk away.
She went upstairs to get her things, swallowing hard to dislodge the lump in her throat. She didn’t have a clue what Gio would say. One look and he’d know what had happened.
He had experience with this part, so would he take it in stride? Or, like her, would he be pissed as shit, hurt as hell?
When she entered the bedroom, she could tell it was empty. She checked the bathroom, but Gio wasn’t there either. Walking to the window that overlooked the backyard and outbuildings, she spotted him walking into his workshop.
Typically, they all ate breakfast together before going to work.
What the hell was going on? Did Gio know this was coming? Had he tried to make himself scarce?
She quickly packed her things, somewhat surprised by how much stuff she’d brought over from her apartment. It took her half an hour to gather it all up. Walking downstairs with her bags, she glanced through the open door to Rafe’s office. It was empty.
He’d made a quick escape.
Coward.
Then she acknowledged that she’d intended to play the same card, staying away from the mansion until she could face him without falling apart. She suspected she would be good to go in about five to ten years.
Keeley loaded her stuff in her car, then walked around the house just as Gio was coming out of the workshop.
She needed to know where he stood before she went home and cried her eyes out.
“Hey, gorgeous. Tony needed some specs on the cabinets, so I came out really quick to—” He stopped mid-sentence. He’d been reaching out for her, his original intent a kiss. She knew him well enough to know that, but he pulled up short when he saw her face. “That motherfucker.”
She blinked a few times, wiping her eyes, willing the tears to stop. “You didn’t know?”
Gio scowled. “No. Keeley—” he started.
“I’m okay,” she lied.
“No, you’re not. He really broke it off?” he asked, clearly needing confirmation.
She nodded, unable to say the words.
“Without me there.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I’m kind of glad you weren’t. You’ve witnessed enough of my dating rejections.”
“Goddammit. This is bullshit! He’s not getting away with this.” Gio started toward the house, and Keeley was suddenly glad Rafe had cleared the premises. In his current state of mind, Gio was looking for blood.
“He left,” she said quickly.
Gio stopped and turned back toward her. “It wasn’t supposed to end.” He paused, then hastily added, “Not this way.”
Keeley had suspected Gio wanted the same as her, and with those words, he’d confirmed it. He’d come into this affair—fucking shitty word—hoping for the same thing she had. And after three amazing, perfect weeks, Keeley had truly believed Rafe would change his mind. How could he not see how good the three of them were together?
“We knew it wasn’t forever. He told us that. Point-blank.”
“He did, but I still…” Gio raked a hand through his hair, mussing it up.
“Me too,” she confessed.
Gio looked equal parts resigned and angry. Then he tilted his head. “You think he heard us last night? Heard us say…” he mused.
Keeley hadn’t considered that. She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if he did. I told him I loved him…just now. God, you should have seen his face. He acted as if I’d plunged a dagger straight into his heart.”
“You said it?” Gio mused.
She nodded, then forged on. “We knew this was temporary, Gio. We all sort of agreed to this day as the deadline.”
Gio shook his head. “No, we didn’t say this was the deadline. We said we’d reevaluate and decide what to tell people. I thought these last three weeks would have convinced him. Made him see—” Gio’s hands clenched into fists. “Fuck!”
Keeley took a shaky breath, and Gio noticed.
“Aw, little one. Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her, and she clung to him, needing his warmth, his comfort.
“He told us it was just sex. That it wouldn’t be more,” she said, her voice muffled as she pressed her face against his chest. “It’s my fault for—”
“No, it’s not,” Gio interrupted. “I don’t give a shit what he said. Because I was there for those past affairs, and Rafe didn’t act like this with our other lovers. He was different with you, Keeley. I really thought…”
He didn’t finish, and she wasn’t sure if that was because he’d been blindsided or if he was protecting her feelings. Probably both.
“I think we set our expectations too high. Rafe has never been in love. After so many years of watching his mom suffer heartbreak after heartbreak, it makes sense that he’d view that emotion as something negative.”
Gio considered that for a moment. “He told me once that he didn’t think he was capable of falling in love.”
Keeley rejected that outright. “He’s wrong. He probably loves more deeply than anyone I know. He just refuses to acknowledge it.”
Gio gave her a rueful grin. “I think you’re right. Love is hard for Rafe, but it’s the relationship part that’s harder. His childhood was one guy after another playing dad. Rafe doesn’t talk about it much, but the first couple stepfathers were decent men, ones he’d wished had stuck. The worst part was that when they left his mom, they left him too. He’s not in contact with any of them. So here’s this kid with a rotating door of dads who cut and run every three to five years, leaving him fatherless once more with a devastated mother.”
Keeley didn’t know much about that part of Rafe’s history. Then something else occurred to her. “I don’t think it helped that Grandpa Albert was so madly in love with Marta that he chose to live alone for fifty years rather than open himself up to someone else. He hid himself away with a ghost story.”
“You’re right,” Gio said. “He associates love with pain and leaving. That’s all he’s ever learned from his role models.”
“So it’s hopeless?”
Gio shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”
She appreciated his optimism, the tears she couldn’t hold at bay finally drying up. Although Rafe’s departure was only one of the things upsetting her. “What if we can’t convince him to come back, Gio? What does that mean for us?”
He frowned, and she got a sense he was mad at the question. “Are you seriously asking me that? I’m not going anywhere. You’re mine, Keeley. Mine,” he stressed, cupping her cheeks, forcing her to hold his gaze so she could see that he meant business.
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts. I know what you’re thinking, what you’re afraid of, but I need you to put those fears away and listen to me. Really listen to me. I love you. I’m in love with you. And I’m here for the long haul.”
She smiled. “I love you too, but…you haven’t given up on him, have you?”
Gio shook his head. “No. I haven’t. I think—”
Her phone rang, and he stopped speaking.
She pulled it out of her back jeans pocket, hoping perhaps it was Rafe, praying he’d had a change of heart, that he regretted breaking things off.
“Kayden,” Gio said before she’d even glanced at the screen.
Of course, it was. She was so upset, she hadn’t even realized it was her brother’s ringtone.
She started to put it away, but Gio grasped her wrist. “Answer it or he’ll worry.”
Keeley answered the phone. “Hey, Kayden. Didn’t expect to hear from you so early. You on the road?”
“Actually, I’m home. Aldo and I decided we’d had enough of the sleeping bag life, so we left Vermont after dinner, got in at one a.m. Gotta tell you, there’s nothing like a good night’s sleep in your own bed.” It was good to hear her brother’s voice. He always knew how to cheer her up, how to make her feel better. Part of her was tempted to drive to his house right now, to unload every miserable feeling, so that he could hug her and reassure her that everything would be okay.
She forced a carefree laugh. “I can’t believe you thought sleeping on the ground for three weeks was ever a good idea.”
“So what are your plans for tonight? Because I was hoping we could do dinner together. I’ve missed you like crazy, kiddo.”
“Dinner? Tonight? Um, yeah. That would be great. I missed you too.”
Gio gave her an encouraging smile. She knew there was a lot they needed to say to each other, but maybe taking a night away would help. Kayden would distract her with stories of his great adventure, then she’d crawl into her own bed—unlike her brother, she hadn’t missed hers at all—and sob her heart out. Then tomorrow, she’d figure out where to go from here.
“Awesome,” Kayden replied. “Why don’t I swing by your place to get you? Six o’clock okay? I know you’ve been working long hours.”
That wasn’t going to be a problem for the foreseeable future. She didn’t have a clue how long it would take for her to be able to work around Rafe again. She’d been such a fool.
“Six works just fine,” she replied.
“You can pick the place,” Kayden said. “See you tonight.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up.
“Dinner with your brother, huh?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I know the timing isn’t great, but…”
“Actually, I think it’s pretty good. You, me, and Rafe have been in each other’s faces for three solid weeks. We need a reboot.”
She gave him a curious look. “A reboot?”
Gio nodded. “A night away from each other to clear our heads. And then tomorrow, we come up with a plan. I’m taking you on a date.”
“What are we planning?” she asked.
“Before I answer that, tell me something. Do you want us to go it alone from now on? Or do you want Rafe to be a part of this?” Gio waved his hand between them, and she loved it. She’d never really been part of a “this.”
“I told you, I’m in love with Rafe too.”
Gio grinned, and she marveled at his complete lack of jealousy. “Well then, you and I are going to lay a little groundwork. But we can discuss that tomorrow night.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, the two of them walking back toward the house. She pointed to the driveway. “My stuff is in my car.”
He sighed. “I hate that.”
“Me too. I’m going to work from my office at Eclectic today.”
“Okay.” Gio gave her a quick squeeze. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
They stopped when they reached her car. Gio cupped her cheeks and gave her a soft kiss, full of promise and love.
And as sad as she was at the moment, she couldn’t deny that she was also hopeful.
The next week flew by, but not in the same way as the previous three. After their date on Tuesday, Gio and Keeley had decided to keep their dating a little closer to home…something that had obviously caught Rafe off guard.
It was clear he’d expected to be odd man out, expected them to carry on their romance somewhere out of his line of vision.
Too bad, so sad. Because that wasn’t what he was going to get.
Gio had told Rafe outright last Monday that he was going to continue to see her, that he was in love with her. Rafe had reassured Gio he would be fine, pointing out that he always had been in the past. They’d counted on that response, perfectly aware that Rafe was determined to treat this just like one of his and Gio’s past affairs.
What Rafe didn’t know was that Gio and Keeley planned to put that resolve to the test.
Last Wednesday, she’d shown up after work with a couple of pizzas and told them they needed to continue working on the renovation videos. Rafe—shocked by her appearance—had gone along with it, and in the end, she’d gotten some amazing footage. She’d uploaded five videos so far. None of them had gone viral, but the views were adding up slowly and steadily, just as she’d hoped. Neither Rafe nor Gio were hard to look at, and once they’d gotten into talking about the house and the ghosts, they were quite funny.
She’d sent an email to Joey, along with the link to the videos, asking him if he had any advice for future shows. Joey—God love him—had responded immediately, telling her what she’d done was great and promising to promote the videos on his show, which was set to begin airing in a month. And while that was exciting, it meant they needed to get more videos up quickly.
Gio had congratulated her privately on devising the perfect reason for the three of them to spend lots of time together.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday had passed in the same way—with Rafe and Gio working on the office, while she filmed it and kept them talking and laughing.
Things felt exactly as they had when the three of them had been together. It was all so effortless between them…the conversation, the teasing banter, even the way they tackled household chores.
Keeley didn’t mind washing dishes, so she took on that chore while Rafe dried and Gio put them away. Rafe cleaned one hell of a bathroom, while Gio, who’d been too long without a lawn to care for, took over mowing and weed eating.
Because Rafe insisted on believing their relationship was merely a physical one, based on lust, not love, Gio and Keeley had decided to take that out of the equation for now. Every evening, after they finished filming or hanging out, Gio gave her a sweet good-night kiss, then she’d steal a hug from Rafe.
Rafe’s responses to those hugs had been stiff the first couple of nights, but he’d quickly reverted back to giving her the amazing, warm embraces they’d shared when they had just been friends.
Then she drove home.
Alone.
Which sucked.
This last Monday, they’d taken a break from the renovations, opting for a lazy night in front of the TV with Chinese takeout. She and Gio had forced Rafe to watch Crime Scene Kitchen, and while he grumbled about it, she noticed he’d had strong opinions about what the mystery dessert was.
The three of them had settled on the couch, just as they had the month before, Cricket nestled on the cushion between her and Rafe. Their hands brushed once or twice when they reached to pet the sweet dog at the same time. Keeley had wished every time that he would take her hand in his, but he’d simply pulled away.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, she told herself, seeking some consolation.
They hoped that by recreating everything they’d shared—minus the sex—Rafe would realize that what the three of them had wasn’t just an affair. It had been so much more.
Last night, she’d gone out to dinner with her brother again, so she hadn’t seen either of her guys. She refused to think of them any other way. She still hadn’t told her brother about Gio or Rafe. Not that she thought he’d be angry or upset, and not because she wanted to keep it a secret. It was just that until things were settled—please, let them settle the right way—she wanted to wait. She wanted to be able to look at Kayden and tell him that she was madly, deeply, truly in love with Gio and Rafe, and know that they felt the same way.
So now, it was Wednesday night again, and they were back in the office, after putting the finishing touches on the room. Thus far, Keeley had shown bits and pieces of the office on video, but hadn’t given a total panoramic, waiting until the work was finished so she could do a big reveal show.
Tonight, they were finally there, and the three of them were thrilled with the end result.
“And that’s a wrap,” she said, hitting the red button to stop recording. She spun around once more, marveling at the room. “I can’t believe this is the same room! When I started working for you, Rafe, this was floor-to-ceiling boxes with little more than a path to the desk.”
“I know.” Rafe’s smile was huge and contagious. “I can’t…Jesus, I never imagined.” He looked over at Gio. “You outdid yourself.”
Gio waved the compliment away. “We outdid ourselves. You were right beside me every step of the way, man.”
“Yeah, but I never could have come up with this. My idea for renovating it was slapping some paint on the walls. This…”
Gio’s vision had gone quite a few steps further and included stripping and refinishing the molding and hardwood floor, adding a vintage rug they’d found at an antique shop, repairing the gorgeous bookcases that lined two walls, removing the heavy curtains to let in more natural light, replacing the gross, dusty lamps with recessed lighting that worked with a dimmer switch, making the useless fireplace functional again…and then, slapping some paint on the walls.
In addition to restoring the historical aspects of the room, Gio had updated it with some hidden, contemporary touches, because this room—once the inn opened—would serve as the business center.
“Well, one room down, forty-seven more to go,” Gio joked as he slapped Rafe on the shoulder. “At this rate, we should have the inn ready to open by our ninetieth birthdays.”
“We could break all the records for longest-running renovation show on Facebook,” Keeley joked.
Rafe chuckled, but before he could respond, his phone rang. He answered it, turning his back to them and walking to the window.
Keeley could tell it was his mother. Rafe had a “mom voice,” which was sort of similar to the tone he used to use on her, when she was flirting shamelessly.
Patience and affection.
“Oh, Mom, I’m sorry to hear that,” Rafe said.
Keeley and Gio exchanged a glance, both of them coming to the exact same conclusion. Rodney, the stepdick, had left. Keeley felt the slightest twinge of panic because, while there was no love lost between Rafe and Rodney, she couldn’t help but wonder what that would mean for the three of them. Would this set Rafe back? Restrengthen his convictions that love and relationships were bad things?
“I’ll come by tomorrow morning to see you, promise.” Rafe paused, then said, “It’s all going to be okay. Bye, Mom.”
After hanging up, Rafe stared out the window, into the darkness.
Keeley studied his reflection, hating the heaviness that replaced what had been genuine happiness just a few minutes earlier.
“Rodney leave?” Gio asked, breaking the silence.
Rafe nodded as he turned around. “Does it make me a terrible son that I’m glad the asshole is gone?”
Keeley shook her head and walked over to him. “I think it makes you a good son. From what you’ve told me about the guy, he was a total jerk and not good to your mother.”
Rafe lifted one shoulder miserably. “And yet, she loved him.”
Keeley acted on instinct, hating how sad he looked. She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m sorry, Rafe.”
Unlike the past couple of nights, Rafe didn’t immediately return her hug, his arms remaining by his sides. Keeley didn’t care. She wasn’t letting go.
Once that became apparent, Rafe lifted his arms, wrapping her up, holding her tightly. She breathed in his scent, relishing this too-infrequent closeness.
When his grip began to loosen, she lifted her head from his chest, turned her face up to his. She could feel his breath, could see all those emotions he’d been trying so hard to hide written in his eyes.
“Rafe,” she whispered.
He lowered his head and kissed her. Kissed her with the same passion and power she’d come to expect from him. Rafe never merely claimed. He consumed. And she loved it.
Their lips parted as the kiss deepened. Her fingers closed in his shirt, while his found her hair, his fist closing around it tightly until her scalp stung under the delicious intensity. He used his grip to twist her head, to control her, to put her exactly where he wanted her.
And then, as quick as it started, it ended. Rafe broke the kiss and took two steps back. She started to follow him, but he held his hand up, and she knew she’d let this go too far, too soon.
It was just…he’d been hurting.
Rafe’s expression was one of regret and apology, especially when he turned to look at Gio.
Keeley followed his gaze, took one glance at Gio, then her eyes flew back to Rafe, perfectly aware he wouldn’t like what he’d seen.
The apology lingering on Rafe’s lips died the moment he saw Gio’s smile, his pleasure at watching the two of them kiss. After all, Gio had allowed his best friend to assume they’d moved on, that they were fine with following the standard protocol of Rafe walking away and Gio continuing the relationship.
Gio’s smile. Her kiss. It gave them away.
Rafe’s eyes narrowed.
They’d overplayed their hand. Revealed their true intentions, hopes, desires.
“That won’t happen again,” he said coldly.
Four words. That was all Rafe said before he left the room.
Gio sighed heavily. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” Keeley agreed. “Fuck.”