Rafe couldn’t help but snort. “You make it sound so easy.”
“You love her, don’t you?” Khalil demanded, his question like an arrow shot straight through Rafe’s heart. It must have shocked him into momentary silence because Khalil asked the question again and this time his tone was more insistent. “Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I love her,” he said, shifting so he could sit up in the bed. “Yes,” he said again. “I love her. A lot. That’s why I’m here.”
“All right. Now you’re talking. That sounds like the Rafe Kent I know, a guy who’s big, bad and bold, who knows what he wants and goes for it.”
“All right, all right. Get to the point.” Rafe knew Khalil. If he didn’t cut him off fast he’d jump on his soapbox and start preaching.
“My point, my good man, is that whatever problem you’re having right now just work it out. You’re a level-headed guy. Just trust your gut. I know you’ll do the right thing.”
And, as it had happened so many times before, Khalil was right. The only thing to do right now was the right thing. And what that meant was, the next time he saw Anya he had a very important decision to make.
***
Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could she have been so stupid? Why couldn’t she have kept her big mouth shut and not said a word? It wasn’t like he would have known the difference. Now he thought she’d deceived him and for that he despised her. Anya had seen it in his face. The scorn, the disgust, the annoyance. How could she face him when Monday morning came around?
And the worst part was, if he never spoke to her again she didn’t know how she would stand it. She, who had always prided herself on being strong and practical with both feet on the ground had, all of a sudden, turned into a wimp. And it was all the fault of the man who’d waltzed into her school and into her life. He was like no other man she’d ever met…because he was the man who had stolen her heart.
And that was why she’d wanted him to be the one who would take her on that ultimate journey to womanhood. Except that he’d turned her down. Flat.
Deflated and depressed, Anya spent most of Sunday moping around the house, hoping Rafe would get over his anger and just call her. And then she’d spent the other part of Sunday peeved with him. After all, what right did he have to be angry with her simply because she hadn’t been the type to sleep around? Wasn’t that a good thing? She had a good mind never to speak to him again.
And that was why, when her phone rang that evening and she saw that it was Rafe, her heart leaped for joy but then her brain kicked into gear, reminding her that right now she was not in the mood to speak to that man. And so she stared at the phone and let it ring until the call went to voicemail.
An hour later the phone rang again and when she saw it was Rafe, just like last time, her heart went tumbling over itself, eager to answer and hear his voice again. Thank God for her sensible brain to rein in that giddy heart and sit on it till it calmed its crazy self down. No, she would not be speaking to Rafe Kent that Sunday or her name wasn’t Anya Petersen.
But by Monday morning that campaign was a lost cause. She was dying to see Rafe again. Eager as a beaver she headed out to work early, hoping he’d be early too so they would get a chance to talk. Now that she’d slept on it she realized that he’d probably just been surprised. Maybe he wasn’t angry at all. If he’d been peeved he definitely would not have been calling her all Sunday afternoon.
But when she got to the school Rafe was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, she dragged herself off to her class. She could only take consolation in the fact that she would see him in the staff room after classes ended that day.
As soon as the final bell rang that afternoon Anya packed up her materials and hurried off to the staff room, happy that she would finally lay eyes on the man who had made her heart so light it made her feel like she was floating like a feather. This was the kind of thing she used to read in romance novels and each time she’d rolled her eyes in disbelief but now it was happening to her. These magical feelings were actually real. If it hadn’t happened to her she never would have believed it.
Anya plopped her supplies on top of her desk and sat down to wait for Rafe to show up. And she waited. And she waited. Where the heck was he?
The other teachers tried to engage her in chit-chat but she was so distracted they finally gave up. It was only when she saw Claire walk in that she felt a surge of relief. Immediately, she walked over to the woman’s desk and greeted her with a smile. “Hi, Claire. Is everything okay with your assistant? I haven’t seen him all day. Rumor has it that you have him locked away in the junior kindergarten closet.” She was trying to make a joke but it didn’t come out quite like one. She sounded too perturbed for it to be a joke.
“Didn’t he tell you?” Claire asked, regarding her with curiosity. “He called me yesterday to say he had to head back to the United States. He left yesterday evening.” She frowned. “I thought for sure he would have called you.”
The shock was like a swift sting to her heart. “No, he didn’t,” she said, her voice choked up. “He…” and then she stopped. Yes, he did. He’d called her four times yesterday and she hadn’t picked up, not even once. She’d been so bent on punishing him.
And then the more important part of what Claire said sank in. “He’s gone back to the United States? But why?”
Claire’s brows knitted in a frown. “It’s his father,” she said. “He suddenly fell ill. Rafe had to rush back home to be with him.” She shook her head. “He sounded really worried. I hope everything will be all right.”
“I hope so, too,” Anya murmured, feeling sick to her stomach. What had she done? Rafe had been trying to reach her to tell her about his father and she totally ignored him. Now he was gone back to the States thinking she was callous and unfeeling, ignoring him at a time when he needed a friend. She felt so low, she didn’t know what to do with herself.
She had to find him. “Did he leave a number where we could reach him while he’s away?”
“No, dear, he didn’t give me one,” Claire said. “Mrs. Coleman would probably have all his personal information on file but you know that’s confidential. She would never divulge any of that information to either one of us.”