Hating to Love You (Houston's Finest #1)

by Erin Rylie

  Rafe: Thinking about pie?

  Sophie: No?

  Rafe: Go get pie, Soph.

  Sophie: I CAN’T. This stupid app says that I shouldn’t indulge in my cravings if I want to have a healthy pregnancy.

  Rafe: I didn’t say you should eat a whole pie. I don’t think one slice would hurt.

  Sophie: But...I’m already home. If I go back to the store I could just puke again. I’ll settle for drooling over Food Network bake-offs.

  Rafe: Hmmm...sounds like you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.

  Sophie: OMG RAFE GET OVER HERE.

  Rafe: I’m working until 6 a.m. What’s wrong?

  Sophie: There’s someone at my door...at 11 at night. And Kelsey isn’t home! She’s staying with her parents. GET OVER HERE!

  Rafe: Answer the door, Sophie.

  Sophie: Are you crazy??

  Rafe: Open the damn door.

  Sophie: You had pie delivered to my house?

  Sophie: You’re my new favorite person. I may like you enough to have your babies.

  Rafe: Ha. I see what you did there.

  Rafe: You’re welcome.

  * * *

  NINE WEEKS PREGNANT

  Sophie: I think the pregnancy hormones are out to get me.

  Rafe: Crying over the ASPCA commercial again?

  Sophie: Nooooo. . .

  Sophie: There was this commercial advertising a button that older people can push. You know, the “Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up” commercials?

  Rafe: Oh jeez, that super cheesy one with the horrible acting? Sophie, you know the old guy didn’t ACTUALLY fall down, right?

  Sophie: He seemed so scared. . .

  Sophie: And he was all alone, and he’d fallen and couldn’t get up. It was so sad.

  Rafe: I promise the guy is fine, Soph. He was just acting.

  Sophie: You’re positive?

  Rafe: Yes, he’s fine.

  Sophie: Oh no. . .

  Sophie: ASPCA commercial is back.

  Rafe: Crying again?

  Sophie: Spend all your time waiting. . .

  Rafe: Don’t do it, Sophie. Don’t sing that damn song.

  Sophie: For that second chance. . .

  Rafe: Yep, you’re gonna sing it anyway, aren’t you?

  Sophie: For a break that would make it okay. . .

  Rafe: Yes, I know the lyrics. You texted them to me yesterday.

  Sophie: IN THE ARMS OF THE ANGEL. . .

  Rafe: I’m disconnecting your cable the next time I come over.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The last few weeks had been a whirlwind for Sophie. Being pregnant was already affecting her body in ways that she hadn’t expected so soon. The morning sickness had finally passed and the cravings had been brutal. She knew she needed to eat healthy, but whoever had compiled the information for this app obviously hadn’t ever eaten strawberry rhubarb pie. The stuff was like crack, honestly.

  On TV, pregnant women had always seemed so glowing and perfect and gorgeous. Sophie felt like a hot freaking mess. She was bloated as hell, had acne for the first time since high school (one zit counted as acne—IT DID), and she was having a hell of a time staying asleep. She would sleep for three hours at a time and then wake up. As a result, in addition to her acne, Sophie had bags under her eyes.

  She’d already told her boss about her situation, wanting to be completely transparent, and had been relegated to copyediting duty only. Some would consider this a punishment, but Sophie loved copyediting. Getting to really sink into a story, check for proper grammar and punctuation, and not have to worry about coming up with witty yet informative content was her version of heaven.

  She’d finished her series of features on Rafe and had gotten wonderful feedback on it. She had even done a one-article feature on Carlos, complete with a picture of him and Rafe. The women of Houston were going crazy for the partners. Some had actually tried calling the Houston Reporter offices for contact information, and they’d received more envelopes with panties and phone numbers stuffed into them than she’d like to admit. If they were getting all of this mail at the office, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what the precinct was dealing with.

  The News section had done a short piece on the impact the two men were having on the 911 dispatch center. Apparently, women were making up accidents and emergencies in an effort to see “Houston’s Finest” (as the duo was now being dubbed). The Houston Reporter had written the article in an effort to stop the madness, but Houston’s single population would not be culled so easily.

  According to Rafe, Carlos was loving the attention, but every time Sophie mentioned it to Kelsey at home, her best friend had fumed and changed the subject. Sophie knew that they’d slept together at least once, but Kelsey was surprisingly tight-lipped about the whole thing, saying only that her focus was on James and finalizing her divorce.

  Surprisingly, Rafe had been a huge source of comfort for Sophie thus far. He’d texted her at least once a day to check up on her and had, on numerous occasions, gotten pie delivered to her house. Though they hadn’t seen one another, his texts always managed to cheer her up, and she was really starting to appreciate his friendship. If, alone in her bed at night, she found herself wishing for more, she shut the thoughts down as quickly as possible. She refused to repeat the mistakes she’d made in her past.

  Today would be her first time seeing him since that initial doctor’s appointment. As promised, the Monday after the appointment, the doctor had called to inform her that she was indeed pregnant and that it appeared to be a healthy pregnancy thus far. She had scheduled a follow-up appointment at ten weeks so that they could do their very first ultrasound. She wasn’t showing yet, but she often found herself resting her hand on her stomach. She was terrified but excited at the same time. The more she and Rafe talked about their child, the more connected she became to the little girl. She was still adamant that she would have a girl, while Rafe was convinced they would have a boy.

  When she pulled into the parking lot of her OB/GYN’s office and saw Rafe’s car, she felt her stomach drop, and a smile broke over her face. She tried to tell herself that she was just excited to hear her baby’s heartbeat for the first time, but she knew that a part of her thrilled at the chance to see Rafe again.

  As she approached the front door of the clinic, she saw Rafe pacing and speaking on his phone. She paused for a moment to take him in; he’d dressed up today, trading in the Henley and jeans for a slate gray pair of dress slacks and a light blue button-down. The sleeves of the button-down were rolled to his elbow, and the muscles in his forearm were corded, flexing as he tightened and loosened his grip on the phone. If Rafe in casual clothes was handsome, in dress clothes he was devastating. The blue of the shirt made his eyes pop, and the sleeves loosely hugged his biceps as he moved. The dress pants somehow made his legs look longer, tapering off neatly to show off a pair of black dress shoes.

  “Yeah, man, the interview is today at four. I’ve heard Sergeant Oshiro is a hard guy to impress so I hope it goes well.”

  Interview? Sophie stepped closer, into Rafe’s line of sight. The moment he spotted her, his entire face lit up, a gorgeous smile transforming his features.

  “Carlos, I gotta go.” Rafe let out a chuckle. “I’ll be sure to ask her.”

  Another pause. “Yes, I’ll call you after, Mother. Bye.”

  Rafe hung up the phone and walked over to wrap Sophie in a crushing hug. “Hey beautiful,” he murmured into her hair.

  Sophie cleared her throat and pulled back, reluctantly breaking the embrace. Before she could step away, Rafe put his hand on her stomach, resting it there for a moment before pulling back.

  “I don’t know why, but I thought you’d be showing by now.”

  “From what I’ve read, it won’t be very obvious until the twelve-week mark, but…” She smoothed her big T-shirt over her belly. “There is a little bit of a bump. I’m sure it’s mostly water weight. Let’s go check in
so you can tell me about this interview.”

  Rafe held the door open for her, his hand on the small of her back as he followed her into the waiting room. Sophie’s skin fairly sizzled at the contact through her T-shirt. She fought the shiver trying to work its way up her body and checked in at reception.

  Once they’d taken a seat, she turned to Rafe. “Interview?”

  “Well, first of all, Carlos wanted me to make a request.” Sophie motioned for him to continue, and Rafe released a heavy sigh. “If our baby is a boy, he’d like for us to name him Carlos, naturally.”

  Sophie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “All the more reason to hope we have a girl.”

  Rafe shot her a grin. “Oh no, it gets better. If we have a girl, Carlos wants us to name her Carlita.”

  “Carlita? Why not Carla? Is Carlita even a name?”

  Rafe’s lips tipped up into his trademark smirk. “I’ve tried explaining that to him, but he’s dead set on Carlita. He’s also declared himself the baby’s godfather. He came into work the other day in a full suit and fedora and started spouting lines from the movie.”

  Sophie snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “If you think I’m joking you must not know Carlos well.”

  “Touché. Now stop stalling and tell me about this interview.”

  Rafe leaned back into the waiting room chair and scrubbed his hand over his face. “It’s nothing really. I applied to be a detective in the homicide unit. The whole thing is a long shot because I’ve only been on the force for four years and they typically ask for five years’ minimum experience. Sometimes, they’ll count a college degree as one year though, so I have my fingers crossed.”

  “Oh, wow. Rafe, that’s incredible! Your interview is today?”

  “Yeah, and the guy interviewing me is a real hardass; he doesn’t fuck around. Like I said, it isn’t a huge deal. It probably won’t happen anyway.”

  “Bullshit, it is absolutely a big deal! You wouldn’t apply for the position if you didn’t want it. You’re not the kind of person who does anything without putting some thought into it. In fact, what was your major in college?”

  Rafe rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. “It was, uh, Criminal Justice.”

  Sophie felt a triumphant grin spread across her face, “See? Are you trying to tell me that this wasn’t your goal when you went for that degree?”

  “Alright, alright, you got me. I really fucking want this job. But I’m still young to be considered for such a huge promotion. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

  Before Sophie could respond, they were called into an exam room. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. She was about to see her baby, about to hear its heartbeat for the very first time. She was equal parts thrilled and terrified.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The moment the ultrasound image filled the screen and Rafe saw his baby, he was a goner. Nothing could have gotten him to tear his eyes away from that picture. The baby was so tiny, but the shape was there—little arms and fingers, legs and feet already formed. When the doctor allowed them to hear the heartbeat, and the sound filled the room, Rafe let out an audible gasp. That was his child on the screen. He was listening to his child’s heartbeat.

  He had to close his eyes to keep tears from falling. He was a father. For the first time in his life, he had a family. Sophie would never be able to understand the sheer magnitude of what she was giving him. He had never loved anything as much as he loved that kumquat-sized little being.

  He felt a hand grasp his and looked down to see Sophie’s hand in his own. He squeezed her hand tightly before returning his eyes to the screen. He wanted to ask if they could get a video and picture of the ultrasound, but he didn’t trust his voice. Sophie threaded her fingers through his and asked the doctor to give them a moment alone.

  “You okay over there?”

  Rafe nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. He cleared his throat before responding.

  “I’m incredible, Sophie.” He turned to her, lightly planting a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you so much.”

  Sophie laughed, but he could see the unshed tears in her eyes as well. “Hey, it took two people to make that little girl.”

  Rafe groaned. “This again? You will give me a son, woman.”

  “Keep dreaming, big guy.”

  Rafe left the precinct that afternoon feeling as though he’d just nailed the most important interview of his career thus far. Everything had gone well; he’d answered the sergeant’s questions thoroughly and confidently, never shying away from the tough inquiries. Though the sergeant wasn’t able to give him a definitive answer right then and there, he’d told Rafe he’d done well.

  Not wanting to share this moment with anyone else, he called Sophie the moment he got into his car. They hadn’t spoken on the phone before—communicating primarily via text—but he wanted to hear her voice when he told her about the interview.

  “Hey!” she answered enthusiastically. “How did the interview go?”

  “Sophie, I fucking killed it.”

  “I knew you would. I’m really struggling not to say ‘I told you so right now.’ I won’t say it, but I did.”

  Rafe laughed. “Yeah, you did. I think today has been the best day of my life. There is just one thing that could make it better.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “Sophie, have dinner with me.”

  There was a pause at the other end of the phone. “Not like a date or anything, right? Just dinner?”

  “Exactly like a date. Dinner, movies, mini golf—anything you want.”

  “Rafe, I’m not sure. I like our friendship as it is. I don’t want to make anything awkward.”

  “Fuck awkward, Soph. It’s just one date.”

  “Alright, how about a compromise? You come with me to Becky’s birthday party tomorrow. It can be kind of like a trial run. If it goes well, I’ll let you take me on a real date.”

  “Done.”

  Sophie laughed. “Oh, you’re going to regret responding so quickly. Becky’s birthday party is at a club downtown.”

  Rafe groaned. He hated clubs. He’d gone once in his early twenties and had only made it an hour before walking out. The pounding music and drunk idiots gave him a headache. But if this was the only shot Sophie was willing to give him, he’d take it.

  “Alright, Sophie. I’m in, but if I do this, I want you to guarantee me at least five dates.”

  “Three.”

  “Four.”

  “I stand firm at three.” She laughed.

  “Fine. Just know that if you want to keep seeing me after those three dates, you have to ask me out. I want romance, Soph.”

  “Well, aren’t you confident? alright, I’ll meet you at the club tomorrow night at ten.”

  “Bullshit, I’ll be at your house at 9:30.”

  Sophie sighed and hung up on him. Rafe wore the biggest grin for the remainder of his drive home.

  Rafe pulled into Sophie’s driveway promptly at 9:25. He threw his car in park and ran his fingers through his hair. He’d actually bothered to style it a little, but was worried it made him look like a douche nozzle. He quickly got out of his car and made his way to the front door. If he thought about it too much, he’d spend another thirty minutes messing with his hair. He just wanted everything to be perfect.

  He wasn’t sure what he was expected to wear to a club, so he’d thrown on his nicest pair of dark-wash jeans and a black button-down. He despised how constricting the damn thing was, so the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the collar was open. He rang the doorbell, but only heard loud music and chaos in the house. Rafe tried knocking loudly, to no avail. After fifteen minutes of waiting, he tested the doorknob and found it unlocked. He walked inside and felt his eyes immediately widen.

  There was shit everywhere. Clothes and shoes were strewn across the living room, and there were shoes lined up on the normally immaculate coffee table.

&
nbsp; “Sophie?” he called out tentatively. He recognized the blaring music and immediately rolled his eyes. The Greatest Showman, again. Rafe knew for a fact that Sophie and Kelsey watched the damn movie almost daily.

  Receiving no response, he called out again, “Soph?”

  An auburn head popped out of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Kelsey waved at Rafe and grinned. “Take a seat, we’re almost ready.” She then proceeded to run past the doorway to the hall, allowing Rafe to catch a brief glimpse of way more skin than he needed to see from Sophie’s best friend. Apparently the girls were still trying on clothes and had only gotten as far as underwear. Rafe sighed and took a seat on the couch.

  As he’d guessed, The Greatest Showman was playing on the living room TV. Finding the remote under a stiletto on the table, he started the movie over. He needed to figure out what was so great about this damn thing. Since he apparently had some time to spare, he might as well get started now.