by Zoe York
They moved forward again, silently this time. Even when he found his voice again, he wasn’t going to ruin the perfection of the moment. It was hot and heady and everything he couldn’t figure out on his own.
It felt like a first date.
A really, really good first date. So he didn’t say anything, just held Liv’s hand and savoured the warm press of her hip against his thigh. She didn’t say anything either. Probably didn’t want to risk goading him into saying something even more outlandish. Which he would, if it made her laugh or turned her on—or even better, did both at the same time. She might have landed a direct shot, but dirty teasing was his specialty when he wasn’t blindsided by it. He’d have another chance soon enough.
Two wagons came in back to back, and the line leapt forward by forty people. Pretty soon it was their turn and they found a hay bale at the back of the wagon. Rafe sat first, secretly hoping Liv would choose to nestle into his side. He wasn’t disappointed. He wrapped his arm around her and rested his cheek on the soft fleece of her hat.
The driver snapped his reins and off they went, the wagon bumping and swaying gently into the night. In the distance, spooky music promised a scary good time, and the kids in front of them were bouncing in anticipation.
Rafe knew the feeling. “So…”
She smiled up at him. “So?”
“I’m surprised to see you here tonight.”
She looked at him for a long moment. There was more in her eyes than she was willing to say out loud, and his heart thumped against his chest. Shut up, hope, there’s no place for you here. Except it felt like there really was. “We might want to use the park at night. This is easier than asking Tom for an after-hours tour.”
We, huh? “So the job is going well, eh?”
She nodded. “Yeah, actually—“
The driver slowed the wagon to a stop and Liv cut herself off to listen to his opening spiel.
When they started moving again, Rafe decided a real conversation could wait until they weren’t going to be interrupted every few minutes. He cleared his throat. “Are you giving candy out on Tuesday?”
Liv nodded. “I bought a giant bag of Snickers and another of Rockets.” His favourites. “If you come over, I might give you some. If your costume is decent, of course. I have standards.”
He chuckled. “What if I wore one of my uniforms?”
She smoothed her hand over his knee. “Hmm. Not very original. I’d like to see a French maid costume, or maybe a tiny red devil dress.”
He didn’t say anything. Most of his responses weren’t hayride-appropriate. She laughed gently against his side. They reached the first station and his brother Tom stepped forward. He wore his park ranger shirt, but his pants were a ripped-to-shreds replacement for his usual ones, and his face was made up in the most gruesome way. He made an excellent monster. “Turn back,” he warned in a booming growl. “No good lies ahead.”
The driver of the wagon laughed, an unexpected interaction that made even Rafe jump a little. The driver gestured to the people sitting behind him. “You think your zombies are any match for these soldiers?”
Oooh, zombie warfare. Tom had changed the show this year. Liv squeezed his knee as the kids in front of them huddled closer together.
Tom stomped around the wagon, shining a flashlight here and there, muttering threats of death and destruction as he moved. Finally he stepped back into the shadows of the woods, yelling a final warning as he faded into the darkness. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, good people of Pine Harbour.”
With a jerk, the wagon started again, this time with a lot more nervous chatter as they headed around the bend in the dirt road. Murmurs turned to screams as they encountered the first wave of zombies, moaning and groaning at them from the side of the road. The actors followed them to the next bend, then faded back to their staging position.
The driver kept the suspense levels high as they encountered more zombie stations, and then he jerked the wagon to a stop when his radio crackled to life.
This time, it wasn’t zombies that came out of the woods, but two of Tom’s fellow rangers. They leapt onto the wagon and urged the driver to go again. They gave everyone on the wagon instructions to stay seated no matter what, then made a big production of giving the driver a map for a short cut. He begged them to stay with them and get out safely, but they said there were other wagons of innocent people in the park they needed to find. He slowed to a stop, they jumped off, and then he made one final turn.
Into what looked like a wall of zombies.
The wagon moved forward agonizingly slowly, and all around them, actors banged on the sides. Their hands were wrapped in what looked like torn clothes covered in blood, and as they moaned and gnashed their teeth at the wagon, Rafe thought this was probably the best Haunt the Park ever.
Mostly because Liv was practically in his lap, but the entertainment factor was pretty high, too.
When the wagon burst into a clearing on the far side of the administrative building, everyone cheered and a few people close enough clapped the driver on the back.
The unloading zone was at the opposite end of the parking lot from where they got on. Before they disembarked, the driver turned in his seat. He scrubbed his face with his hands and waited for everyone to give him their full attention. “Listen, folks. I know this is going to be hard to do, but you can’t tell anyone else what we saw in the woods. The park rangers will make sure we clear the park safely, but if we tell anyone over there—” He gestured to the crowd waiting for their turns. “It will just cause panic.” And then he winked, which caused everyone to laugh. “Now, if you want to head in the direction of Butterfly Hall, you’ll find hot chocolate and apple cider, courtesy of Anna’s Kitchen, and a really excellent silent auction. There’s also colouring tables for the kids, and zombie face-painting for a dollar.”
As they were at the back of the wagon, they were the last ones off. The group headed for the main doors of Butterfly Hall, but Rafe had other plans. He had a few minutes before Dean would be looking for him. He intended to make the most of them.
— FOURTEEN —
BREATHLESS and vibrating with excitement, Olivia let Rafe pull her toward the post-Haunt activities until she remembered that his family was serving the community mugs of cocoa on the other side of the building. She said his name a few times, finally yanking on his arm to get him to stop.
He turned and looked at her. Why did he have to be so good-looking? Dark hair, strong jaw, gleaming eyes. She mock scowled at him and he laughed. “Regretting this already?”
“We haven’t done anything untoward.” She crossed her arms over her chest and hopped up and down. It was cold enough that just standing around wasn’t fun.
He winked. “Not yet.”
“Your mom is serving hot chocolate, so we can’t just walk up hand-in-hand.”
He gave her a scathing look. “Please. I’ve got ten minutes before I need to go back to work. You think I’m wasting that on hot chocolate, my mother or anything to do with other people?” He notched a thumb in the direction of the side door. “We’re going in there.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Why?”
He moved closer and slid his hands up and down her upper arms. “To warm you up.” He got a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Maybe from the inside out.” She started to say his name, loading it with reproach and concern, but he cut her off with a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll keep our clothes on.”
That didn’t fill her with confidence, even though she’d been the one to draw that boundary. There was a lot that Rafe could do to her with their clothes still on that would make it difficult for her to think straight enough to drive home. “Is this just because you have fond memories of necking with teenage hussies here?”
He laughed and pushed her toward the building. “Jealous?”
Maybe a little, but she still scoffed. “Of something you did like, twenty years ago?”
“Ouch, you’re aging me a bit
more than necessary, baby.” The side door swung open silently and he wrapped an arm around her waist. The possessive hold twisted around more than her body. “Maybe I just missed you.”
She’d missed him too. She didn’t think he’d intended his absence from her space to inspire such longing. The last time she saw him, he didn’t give any indication that he was playing hard to get. More that he was trying hard not to get. Being good.
But it was a futile effort, avoiding the chemistry between. And now… “I believe that. The feeling is mutual. We actually have a lot to talk about.”
He pressed her up against the wall and lifted her chin with the point of one finger. “That’s definitely what we should do right now. Talk.” He winked, and even in the shadows of the dimly lit hallway, she could tell he was teasing.
What could it hurt to scratch the itch one more time? She ignored the obvious answer—it could hurt both of them in a really big way. It would hurt both of them. But it also seemed inevitable, the slide back together. Maybe if they could control it. Boundaries to protect their hearts and ensure that no one else would ever find out.
Ha. Unlikely. If they did this, it wouldn’t be a fling. It would be the start of something big and messy. And awesome, right up until they ran into the same old problems.
“I’m not working Friday night, we could talk then. Over dinner. Maybe go dancing.”
She laughed. There wasn’t really anywhere for them to go dancing, unless one counted the sketchy dive bars in Owen Sound. She did not. Stag and does and weddings were pretty much it for that kind of thing.
“Is there a dance at the legion you want me to meet you at? You tried that, remember? I’m not ready for that kind of public statement.”
“I remember you giving up before we even got a chance to dance.”
“What is it with you and dancing lately?” Although she had liked having his arms wrapped around her at the bonfire.
His lips curved into a naughty smile that made her melt on the inside. “It’s the only type of bumping and grinding I’m going to get with you, right? We can do anything as long as the clothes stay on?”
She propped one hand on her hip and wagged the other in his direction. “Yes, and don’t you forget it.”
“Then I want to…dance with you, a lot. You’re not leaving for four months, two weeks and one day. I’m going to ask you to some sort of event that has dancing every single week until you leave. And at some point, you’re going to forget that you don’t think we should dance naked.”
Oh god, he had a countdown to when he thought she was leaving. She was doomed in the most delicious way. “That’s not dancing, that’s sex.”
He pressed into her, slowly and deliberately, and lowered his head, stopping just a hair’s breadth away from her mouth. His eyes were dancing, the cocky bastard.
“Why are you so confident this is going to work?”
“Because we’re made for each other, Liv. I can survive without you, but it won’t be living. That’s powerful motivation that we didn’t have the first time round. If you give us another chance, we’re going to get it right. I’m going to get it right.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You keep saying that.”
“Does it feel like a lie?” His hands dusted her hips, close enough for her to feel the heat radiating against her body.
She shook her head slowly. “I know you’re going to try.”
“I’m going to succeed.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Rafe, I need to tell you something.”
He stilled around her, a frozen mountain of a man. “Yeah?”
“I might not be moving in March.”
“Oh?”
Why was she dragging this out? Because he’d be happy? Because she wasn’t sure she was happy? Rip off the bandage. The moral of their divorce, really. “They’ve offered me a full-time job for the duration of filming. It’s only until June or July, but—“
She didn’t get any further before his mouth cut her off. Hard and hungry, his kiss poured out two years of pent-up desire and need and pulled her under. She clung to him as he wrapped himself around her, kissing her over and over again. He raked his hands into her hair, loosening her ponytail just enough for his fingers to gain purchase and then he held her head just so as he plundered her mouth.
He licked and sucked and teased, and she gave back as good as she got. He tasted like cold and hot and everything she’d been missing. Her heart pounded in her throat and she wrapped her arms around his neck, sliding her fingers over the shoulder straps of the bullet-proof vest—trying desperately to gain some leverage to pull herself up his body. He splayed his hands, strong and sure, under her bottom and lifted her effortlessly. She wrapped her legs around his hips, awkwardly bumping into his utility belt and all the things attached to it, and they rocked together.
Ten minutes, she reminded herself. He had to go back to work, even if it was just parking lot monitoring. And somewhere nearby was his—
“Rafaelo Minelli, what in God’s name are you doing?” His mother. Holy frigid moment in hell.
Olivia groaned and buried her face in his neck. Rafe froze against her, his grip on her bottom still steady, but any second now he would drop her and she’d be left—
“Go away, Ma.” He brushed a kiss across Olivia’s brow and whispered that he was going to set her down when it became clear that his mother was going to do no such thing. Her feet found the ground and he kept a tight grip on her, making sure she was settled before he turned, keeping her tucked safely behind his back as he took on the dragon lady. “Seriously? You couldn’t turn around and give us a minute?”
“No, and I can’t believe you’d suggest such a thing. You two have no shame.”
“I may have no shame when it comes to my wife. She was dragged in here entirely against her will, I assure you.” He laughed when his mother made a shocked and offended harumphing noise. “What are you doing, spying on me?”
Olivia peeked out from behind Rafe. Anne pointed to the open office door she was standing next to and frostily explained she’d been getting more paper cups from their supplies. Olivia pressed her face into the back of Rafe’s vest. Maybe if she stayed there until Anne left, she could pretend this never happened.
Between them, her chest started vibrating. Saved by the bell. She fished out her phone. The Dancelight office number displayed on the screen. She could call back in a minute…or she could get the heck out of the most awkward encounter with her mother-in-law in almost two years.
She tapped on Rafe’s back and he turned around, glancing at her phone as he did. “I gotta take this, sorry. See you around?” And with that far-too-glib-for-what-they-just-did blow off, she skedaddled back out the side door Rafe had dragged her in just a few minutes earlier.
— —
The call had been from Johnny and she’d answered his question before she even got to her car. She could have turned around and waited to say goodbye to Rafe, but something told her to go home. A gut feeling that they should do this in baby steps, and walk away while an interaction could be called a success.
Not that being caught by Anne hadn’t put a damper on what they did. But her heart was still thumping hard—in a good way—at how Rafe had kissed her.
The barn doors were wide open. They were definitely doing that again.
Dean gave her a knowing wave as she navigated her way past the crowds and out of the parking lot.
She drove home humming the entire way, and once inside her warm, cozy little home, she poured herself a glass of wine and opened her laptop. It was time to buy some new lingerie. Something told her she’d need something sooner than later. Definitely by Christmas.
Her curves were a little too generous for Victoria’s Secret, but Deena had clued her in to British lingerie shops and their amazing online stores. Even with international shipping, the prices were reasonable. And the silk and satin? Totally sexy.
And with her new income, and her credit card alm
ost paid off…it was time to indulge her secret love of lace and ribbon.
When the knock came on her door two hours later, she wasn’t surprised, but part of her wanted to text him and tell him to go away. That she had a date with a fantasy Rafe in her dreams and tonight had been perfect, so they shouldn’t mess it up with talking that would inevitably lead to fighting.
But on the other side of the door lay a good probability of another smoking hot kiss.
She may have been a little breathless when she wrenched open the door. She covered it up with a bright smile. “Is this about me ducking out?”
Rafe cocked one eyebrow and moved right into her personal space. He closed the door behind him and cupped her face in his hands, pressing a hard, hot kiss against her mouth. “This is about us having a lot of unfinished business.”
Heat unfurled in her belly and she pressed her lips together as he took off his leather jacket. He’d changed out of his uniform and now wore a black thermal henley over dark green cargo pants. He looked every bit the bad-ass soldier and cop she knew he was—but that just underlined some of that unfinished business between them, and not the good kissing kind. He sat on the bench and unlaced his boots, then held out his hand. She let him lead her to the couch, where he moved her laptop out of the way and took a seat at one end. She sat at the other.
“Did I interrupt you working?”
She shook her head and let a small smile play on her lips.
He raised his eyebrows. “What? You look like the cat that got the canary.”
“I was doing some online shopping.” Why are you telling him this? Clothes must stay on! “For lingerie.”
Laughter was not the response she’d been hoping for. “Baby, really?”
She crossed her arms. “They haven’t shipped yet, so there’s still time for me to cancel.”
“No, don’t do that.” He sobered up and gave her a hard stare. “You’re teasing me. Yesterday you weren’t speaking to me, today you’re, you’re…” He trailed off and let his sentiment be known with a bite of his lower lip and a slow up and down sweep of her body. Which was clad in yoga pants and a hoodie, quite the opposite of sexy silk, but it probably wouldn’t matter.
