Rafe took a breather inside the front door, wondering what the hell he’d signed up for. He’d spent the last couple of months trying to clear his grandfather’s house out. Now, in one day, he’d just helped Gio move all his shit in. And the piles that had been dwindling were replaced with new boxes. Not that he cared all that much. It would be nice to have someone to share this big-ass house with.
He was just feeling grumpy due to a lack of sleep. Every night since he’d kissed Keeley had been restless, alternating between dirty fantasies of him in bed with her and Gio, and anxiety over what the hell he was supposed to do now.
He wanted Keeley. Somewhere over the past seven days, it had become painfully obvious to him. Unfortunately, that insight had come too late.
He’d fucked up last week at Eclectic. Gio had started to lay it on the line, had opened the door with an invitation, and like a jackass, Rafe had slammed it shut, warning Gio off and allowing Keeley to believe he didn’t want her. The worst part was, he hadn’t just screwed up his own chances, but Gio’s too, because now JT had entered the picture and…everything had gone off the rails after that.
Liza, Kayden, Aldo, and Luca had joined them at the table after JT walked away. They’d ordered more margaritas and partied the rest of the night, having a great time. Or at least, everyone except him—and Gio, who’d gone uncharacteristically quiet—had enjoyed themselves.
“Want this in the kitchen?” Kayden walked in with a box labeled dishes.
If Rafe was a better person, seeing Kayden today should have helped him put all thoughts of pursuing—seducing—Keeley to rest. However, they didn’t.
He looked at his friend and shook his head. “No. You can put it there. The kitchen is already busting at the seams. We need to unpack and incorporate some boxes before dragging anything else in. Keeley, Liza, and Gianna are in there right now, tackling some of that.”
Kayden put the box down on top of another, then wiped the sweat from his brow with the hem of his T-shirt. “How’s it feel being your own boss these days?”
“I’m slowly getting used to it. Of course, it’s gotten a thousand times better since Keeley came to work with me. That girl is a whirlwind.”
Kayden grinned, pride written on every line in his face. “I appreciate you hiring her. We were perilously close to her having to move back in with me.”
Rafe was torn between laughing and wincing. Because, while Kayden and Keeley loved each other tremendously, the two of them living in the same house would not have ended well. Keeley’s free spirit and love for partying drove her straight-as-an-arrow, in-bed-by-ten-every-night cop brother out of his mind.
“I think we can all agree that would have been terrible.”
“So things are starting to settle down? I know you’ve been working way too hard. Keeley’s told me so.” Kayden had been one of his closest friends since high school, and Rafe appreciated the concern in his voice.
“Slowly but surely,” he muttered.
“Your stepdad still being a pain in the ass about the will?” Kayden asked.
Rafe gave his friend a curious look because the two of them hadn’t talked in weeks.
Kayden grinned. “Gio told us about the scene at the lawyer’s office at one of our weekly lunches.”
“Ah,” Rafe said. “Grandpa’s lawyer assures me the will is airtight, but that hasn’t stopped Rodney from trying to find a loophole. I suspect when he doesn’t find one, he’ll move on for good.”
“For good? You mean leave your mom?”
Rafe sighed. “I think he married her because he believed she was Grandpa’s heir. The guy’s a prick. And as much as I can’t stand him, I know it’s going to kill my mother if he walks out.”
“Poor woman. She can’t catch a break in the love department, can she?”
“No. Not really. It doesn’t help that she inherited Grandpa’s impulsiveness. With him, it was businesses—find one you want and buy it. Meanwhile, Mom falls madly in love with every man she goes out with, without really getting to know them. And, predictably, in the end, it never lasts.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. For her, but also for you. Because let’s face it, you’ve been on that roller coaster with her your entire life, going through her highs of new love to the lows of her broken hearts. It couldn’t have been easy for you growing up. To see someone you love constantly knocked down, especially by a person they cared for. Something like that had to have taken its toll on you.”
Kayden was an astute guy, and empathetic. But he’d hit this nail a little too on the head. “Keeley told you my feelings about love and marriage.”
Kayden gave him another guilty grin. “To be honest, you’ve never made much of a secret about your lack of interest in marriage, but yes, Keeley might have mentioned something about it on the phone this week. You gotta understand, Keeley told our mom everything when she was growing up. And I mean everything. I overheard Mom tell Dad once that she could stand to know a little less about Keeley’s life. She was joking. Partly. After Mom died…well, Keeley’s need to talk to someone about stuff didn’t just go away. Over the years, she’s figured out who to turn to based on the topic. Her girlfriends get the love life and sex stuff, thank God, but I get the rest.”
Rafe nodded. “I don’t mind that she told you. I know it bothered her to hear.”
“It did. Probably because she couldn’t possibly understand it.”
“Yeah. And I have to admit, I’ve never really looked at my mom’s failing relationships in quite the way you just described.”
He hadn’t. When he looked back at his childhood, in his mind, his mom’s broken hearts had been her fault. Because she’d given her love too quickly, put her trust in the wrong men, set herself up for that pain. Mom always leapt without stealing a single glance beforehand.
It wasn’t that he didn’t put any of the blame on the men too. He hated them for what they’d put her through because he loved his mother. And when she hurt, he hurt. But ultimately, he’d always told himself she could save herself the tears if she would just harden her heart and shut her feelings down. Like he did.
Sooooo…great.
Now, he not only had a shit-ton of Grandpa’s boxes to empty, but also a lifetime of fucked-up emotions and Mommy issues to unpack as well.
The hits just kept coming.
Kayden put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I know life happens, man. But me and the guys were talking, and we think you should start making time for the Wednesday meetings again.”
The meetings Kayden mentioned had nothing to do with work and everything to do with simply spending an hour or two each week with friends to chill and unwind over lunch.
“You need a break from work and some serious male bonding time. Nothing but bitching about the Eagles’ shitty fucking defense this season, dirty locker room talk, making fun of Joey’s new ManPower ad—because Jesus, how much gel did he have in his hair?—and which is the best craft beer on the market. You know, the shit that really matters.”
Rafe laughed. “That sounds like exactly what I need. I’m sorry I’ve been absent the past few months.”
Gio’s brother, Tony, had started the weekly get-together at Paulie’s Diner so many years ago, Rafe had lost count. Before his grandfather’s illness and subsequent passing, Rafe had never missed a single “meeting,” always looking forward to breaking free from his piece-of-crap, fluorescent-lighting-soaked, puce-green, postage-stamp-sized office at his old job.
Of course, now, he’d broken free from the place forever.
“I’ve been so buried. Grandpa’s estate is—fuck me—a lot. I swear to God, he must have been the most impulsive businessman in history. In addition to the restaurant, there’s the nightclub, a flower shop, a used bookstore, three apartment buildings, and this goddamned haunted mansion. How does any of that go together?”
Kayden winced. “I’m not sure it does.”
“You’re not sure?” Rafe asked incredulously, as Kayden laughed.
“Okay. It doesn’t. But Keeley seems to think you’re getting a good handle on things. She’s excited about your plans to grow the businesses, and the way you’re starting the inn with Gio.”
Rafe chuckled. “She told you they were my plans?”
Kayden grinned. “Hers?”
“Hers. And they’re brilliant.”
They both looked up at the sound of Keeley’s voice.
“Let me show you the office. You won’t believe how different it looks without all the boxes. It’s the first room Gio plans to renovate,” Keeley said as she came out of the kitchen, Liza trailing behind. Keeley was carrying Cricket, who was bouncing excitedly in her arms. The dog had been a whirlwind of nervous energy all day, thanks to all the people and activity in the house. It was a far cry from the very quiet life the dog had led with Grandpa.
Both women smiled at them but kept walking past.
Rafe followed their progress down the hall and was about to return to his conversation with Kayden when he heard Liza ask, “So have you talked to JT again?”
Rafe frowned, suddenly pissed when they entered the office because he couldn’t hear Keeley’s response.
Keeley, who’d regaled him nonstop about her dating life prior to this week, hadn’t mentioned the waiter, Chad, or any new online dates, or JT, since the night the man had walked over to their table.
He and Gio had discussed whether or not they should crash her date with Chad by treating themselves to a night at the fair, but that decision had become moot when Keeley canceled the date due to a headache. He knew it was legit because she’d made the phone call in front of him, and then left work an hour early to go home and lie down.
Now that he reflected on it, she’d been quieter, more subdued this week, sneaking her phone out to text when she thought he wasn’t looking.
Rafe had been curious to know if JT had called, but he hadn’t felt like it was his place to pry.
No. That wasn’t the truth.
He hadn’t thought he needed to ask. He assumed if the guy had called, Keeley would have told him. For God’s sake, she’d been telling him everything since the day she started working for him.
Every dating horror story.
Minute-by-minute recounts of her clubbing adventures with her girlfriends.
Even a way-too-detailed synopsis of the latest season of Big Brother.
Keeley had been an open book about every aspect of her life ever since accepting the job, the two of them sitting together for hours, going through box after box after box, while he listened to her stories.
So the fact she’d been silent about JT bothered him.
There was something about the guy he didn’t trust, but he was hard-pressed to figure out what exactly it was. The man seemed nice enough, but…
He tried to brush it off as concern for Keeley—after all, the guy had hurt her—and not jealousy.
He sighed heavily.
Yeah, right.
Lately, Rafe had been getting damn good at avoiding conversations he should be having.
Like asking Keeley point-blank about her intentions regarding JT.
Like talking to Gio about where he saw this thing with Keeley going.
Though that discussion was going to be hard. There was no question he and his friend both wanted her, and sharing wouldn’t be an issue because they’d done that before.
But what happened if Keeley wanted more from them?
Rafe didn’t do commitment. So what happened if he walked away, and Gio stayed…for good?
Wait. If he walked away?
Shouldn’t it be when he walked away?
Suddenly, his palms were sweating, his chest was tight, his heart was racing.
What the fuck?
He was actually on the verge of a goddamn panic attack. Over a relationship? He took several deep breaths. If he needed more proof that he wasn’t cut out for commitment, this reaction solidified it for him.
He looked at Kayden, fighting hard to calm down, to harden his resolve.
“How are the plans for your trip coming along?” Rafe asked, desperately seeking a distraction. For him and for Kayden. Because he wasn’t about to let his friend see him freaking out.
The diversion helped, as he was able to control his breathing again after a few minutes.
Rafe listened with half an ear as Kayden detailed the upcoming hike he and Aldo were doing on the Appalachian Trail. The two men planned to hike the Long Trail portion of the AT in Vermont. And while he really was interested in his friend’s trip, his thoughts—and gaze—kept returning to where Keeley had disappeared with Liza, wishing he could hear what they were talking about.
“So all in all,” Kayden said, wrapping up, “we’ll be gone three weeks. Leaving at the ass-crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Longest vacation I’ve ever taken in my life, and I’ve been living for it. Aldo and I have become experts on dehydrating shit. The other night we dehydrated hot sauce.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. Kayden put Cholula on everything. And Rafe did mean everything, including pancakes, ice cream, and broccoli. “I’d like to say it sounds like a great time, but the only way I’d willingly trek through the woods for weeks on end was if I heard the banjo music growing louder in the distance.”
They both laughed.
The rest of the guys who’d been helping with the move walked in.
“That’s the last of it,” Liza’s brother, Elio, said.
Rafe had been surprised when Elio showed up early this morning, ready to help them lug boxes. Elio’s visits to Philly were few and far between when hockey season was in full swing. A forward on Baltimore’s team, Elio spent months on the road. However, his team was playing the Flyers tomorrow at home, and good friend that he was, he’d agreed to help with the move, claiming if it was the only way he could get some quality time with his buddies, he’d take it.
“I didn’t realize I’d acquired so much crap over the years,” Gio confessed.
“You’ve always been a packrat,” his twin reminded him. “I told you it’s easier to throw stuff away before the move.”
“I thought I’d put a pretty good dent in it, but in the end, I ran out of time. We’ve been busting our asses all week to finish the Zinczenko project,” Gio grumbled.
“Damn, I’m glad that job is done,” Luca agreed.
“Tell me about it,” Tony said, adding another box to the stack he and Kayden had just created in the foyer. “For the longest time, I couldn’t decide if Mrs. Zinczenko was an exacting taskmaster or just fucking crazy. In the end, I didn’t give a shit. Just wanted the project to be over.”
“Anybody notice the way Rhys always gets out of helping us move?” Luca pointed out.
Tony grinned. “He always says the same thing. When people stop getting sick on the weekend, he’ll be here.”
Tony’s roommate and partner, Rhys, was a general practitioner. A compassionate doctor, he was devoted to his patients, so he worked most weekends and took lots of late-night calls.
“He gets a bye,” Rafe said. “Just means more beer and pizza for the rest of us.”
Keeley and Liza walked out to join them, Cricket dancing around their feet. From the sound of dishes clattering in the kitchen, it appeared Gianna—God bless her—was still unpacking boxes and combining Gio’s plates and utensils with Grandpa Albert’s.
The kitchen, in direct opposition to the rest of the house, held very little. A simple man who entertained infrequently, Grandpa hadn’t had more than four place settings, and very few appliances, apart from the standard stove, fridge, and microwave. He didn’t even have a dishwasher, which was rocketing very close to the top of the renovations list. Rafe hated washing dishes by hand. With the addition of Gio’s dishes, Rafe was looking forward to the larger stock because, while it would mean a bigger stack of dirties in the sink, it also meant more time between washing.
Unless he could foist that chore off on Gio, a previously unconsidered perk to having a roommate.
“I ordered the pizza twenty minutes ago,” Keeley said. “So it should be here soon.”
“Yes! Pizza. Manna from the Gods,” Elio said, wrapping his large arm around Liza’s shoulders and ruffling her hair playfully. She tried to shake him off, bitching the entire time, but Elio was strong and obviously didn’t get enough time to terrorize his younger sister.
“Asshole,” Liza said, finally pushing him away. Her grin proved her complaints weren’t serious. “Go back out on the road.”
“I’m afraid I’m not staying for pizza,” Keeley said. “Got an appointment to get a manicure.”
“A manicure?” Liza asked, drawing out her tone in a do-tell way.
Keeley’s nonchalant, too-casual attitude sounded alarm bells in Rafe’s mind. “Yeah. My nails look like shit. I called the place I like this morning, they had an opening, so I took it.”
Liza narrowed her eyes in response but didn’t question Keeley further.
“Then I need to head home. I have a mountain of laundry that refuses to do itself for some reason.”
Rafe didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize Liza wasn’t buying Keeley’s story—and that Rafe wasn’t the only person Keeley had stopped sharing her life details with.
“Wanna go out for margaritas later?” Liza asked.
Keeley shook her head. “No. I’ve been going out too much lately. Really just need a night at home to relax. Rain check?”
“Okay. Sure.” Liza looked as lost as he felt. Keeley wasn’t one to ever turn down an opportunity to go out.
Kayden groaned. “Seriously, Kee? You’re leaving? This is our last day together before I take off for the trail tomorrow.”
Keeley kissed her brother’s cheek. “So we’ll say goodbye to each other now instead of two hours from now. Give me a hug.”
Kayden wrapped her up in his embrace, squeezing her so tightly, she said, “I can’t breathe!” The grin on her face said she didn’t have a problem with that.
“I’m going to miss you, kiddo,” he said, releasing her.
She patted her brother’s chest, pure mischief on her face. “I’d like to say the same, but three weeks without you stalking me on Find My Friends…texting me all hours to ask me where I am and who I’m with…sorry, bro, but freedom is going to taste very sweet.”
“You know there’s Wi-Fi on the trail,” he said. “I checked.”
Aldo laughed, then got a dig in on his hiking partner. “Don’t worry, Keeley. It’s sporadic as fuck.”
Kayden gave his best friend an exasperated look. “Why would you tell her that?”
“It’s like you don’t know me at all, man.” Aldo and Kayden shared the same close friendship Rafe and Gio did, though Aldo was hell when it came to practical jokes and teasing. Rafe wasn’t sure how Kayden, the eternal straight guy, put up with it as well as he did.
“Thanks for the info,” Keeley said, digging the knife in deeper as she stepped over to Aldo, hugging him as well. “You take care of Kayden for me. Chase away all the bears and snakes and bugs. He’s delicate.”
Kayden muttered a few choice words as the rest of them laughed.
Aldo gave her a quick kiss on the top of the head. “You got it, Kiwi. I’m on the job. Nothing will hurt him while I’m around.”
“You two realize I’m a grown-ass man, right?” Kayden muttered.
Keeley tapped her brother’s cheek playfully. “And now you know how I feel. Have fun. Don’t wipe your ass with poison ivy.” She gave him one more big hug.
“Rafe, I’ll see you and Gio on Monday.” Keeley offered him a hug as well. He kept it short since her brother was watching.
She turned, and was nearly to Gio, when she suddenly stumbled forward. Gio was quick to catch her.
“Goddammit, Albert! Stop pushing me,” Keeley said, laughing.
Gio gripped her upper arms, steadying her. “One of these days you’re going to have to stop blaming Rafe’s grandpa for your two left feet.”
“I told you. I’m not tripping. He’s shoving me. Tell them I’m not clumsy, Kayden.”
Kayden hesitated, then said, “You called me delicate,” in a tone that was pure payback-is-a-bitch.
“Sure, you’re not clumsy,” Gio teased, casting a glance at her brother and releasing her arms.
This wasn’t the first time Rafe or Gio had been in a position to catch her. She’d tumbled into Rafe’s arms twice since the inexplicable desk slide during her first week here.
Keeley, undeterred, hugged Gio. Rafe studied her in Gio’s arms and felt the same stirring that was becoming too familiar. And uncomfortable. Because watching Keeley and Gio embrace never failed to send a rush of blood straight to his cock.
“Okay. Peace out,” she said to the room at large, flipping them the peace sign.
“Pizza’s here,” Tony announced, glancing out the open front door. “I’ll go get it.”
“Cool,” Aldo said. “Come on, Elio, we can grab some napkins and the beer from the fridge. Looks like we’ll have to eat out on the porch. Every flat surface in the house is covered with boxes.”
“I’ll start moving some chairs out there,” Liza said.
“I’ll give you a hand,” Luca said, following his cousin to the dining room to start dragging out seats for everyone.
Gio and Rafe started to follow, but Kayden stopped them.
“Can I talk to you guys for a second?” he asked.
Rafe had a brief moment of panic, wondering if perhaps they’d overplayed their hand, revealed their attraction to Keeley, and Kayden had noticed.
Kayden was a good friend, and Rafe never wanted to do anything to screw that up. But his desire for Keeley was definitely testing his restraint, his resolve.
“Sure. What’s up?” Gio asked.
“I was hoping the two of you would keep an eye on Keeley for me while I’m gone. She wouldn’t thank me for asking, but…this is the longest I’ve been away from her since our parents died, and it would set my mind at ease to know you were watching out for her.”
“Of course we will,” Gio replied quickly, placing a hand on Kayden’s shoulder.
Rafe nodded his assent, guilt preventing him from speaking. He wanted to do way more than keep an eye on Keeley.
“Great. I can’t tell you how happy I am that she’s working for you, Rafe. That last boss of hers gave off creepy-ass vibes.”
“Did he harass her?” Rafe asked.
“No, nothing like that,” Kayden hastened to say. “I just didn’t like the way he looked at her sometimes. Of course, that was probably just me being overly sensitive. Keeley’s always drawn male attention.”
“Because she’s beautiful,” Rafe said, the words slipping out before he could think better of them.
Kayden nodded. “I know, dammit. Not sure how I made it through her high school years. Always a bunch of immature idiots hovering around her.”
“Doesn’t sound like that’s changed much,” Gio said. “Some of her dating stories…”
Kayden groaned. “Tell me about it. She’s a magnet for losers. It’s the only way I can think to explain it. And it kills me too because she’s grown up to be an amazing woman.”
“She really has,” Rafe agreed.
“She’s going to make some lucky guy an incredible wife. I pray every night she’ll meet a good man, someone who will love her for exactly who she is and make her happy. I keep telling her she’ll find the right guy eventually, but after so many years on her own and looking, kissing all those damn frogs, as she calls them…” Kayden sighed. “She wants to fall in love, wants what our parents had, and I can’t fault her for that because I want the same thing.”
Kayden and Aldo had graduated from high school the same year as Tony, the three of them, plus Rhys, the oldest in their gang of friends. Kayden had put a few good dating years on hold when he became Keeley’s guardian at the ripe old age of twenty-five, sacrificing a social life for his sister.
“You’re both going to find what you’re looking for,” Gio said, squeezing his shoulder. “You just need to hang in there.”
Kayden smiled, then walked out to the porch, the smell of pepperoni and cheese filling the air.
Gio started to follow, but Rafe held him back. “I think Keeley’s been talking to that guy, JT.”
“How do you know?” he asked, scowling.
“I overheard Liza asking about him.”
Gio digested that information, then turned his attention back to Rafe. “You ready to admit it?”
Rafe nodded. But Gio wanted to hear the words.
“You want her too, don’t you?” his friend pressed.
Rafe gave him a sad grin. “Yeah. I do. But, Gio, my feelings haven’t changed about wanting a long-term relationship.”
“I know, but…” Gio ran his hand through his hair. “If we pursue this, I don’t see me walking away from Keeley…ever.”
Rafe knew that was true. His friend was falling, and falling fast. “I know that, so maybe we don’t pursue it. Only you do.”
“You could do that? Walk away without ever knowing…” Gio frowned. “You’re attracted to her too, even if you don’t like admitting it. What if we leave the decision up to her?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Gio stared at him a long time, and he got the sense his friend could see more than he wanted him to. Because Gio was right. He wanted Keeley more than he’d ever wanted another woman.
Rafe schooled his features the best he could, hoping Gio didn’t see any of the confusion—or desire—drowning him.
“Might be a moot point anyway,” Gio said at last. “Do you think we waited too long to make a move?”
Rafe foolishly rejoiced over Gio’s use of the word we, even though he knew that pronoun was wrong. Then, he shrugged and sighed heavily.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”