not she wanted him. The thought, once lodged in his brain, wouldn’t go away. She was wrong for him on every level except the one that mattered most. He desired this woman like crazy. He wanted to know what would happen if they indulged the banked desire and took what they both wanted.
But he didn’t get the chance.
His mother ignored his request to go inside alone. Keeping an arm around Sara’s shoulder, she steered her into the house, where the entire clan had gathered by the front door, eager to meet Uncle Rafe’s girlfriend.
Thanks to Toni, the designation was sure to stick.
Whether it was true or not.
CHAPTER FIVE
R AFE HAD A BIG FAMILY. A really big family. As in a lot of people sitting around the dining-room table all talking at the same time. Thanks to the fractured dynamics in Sara’s family, she’d never been part of one big happy clan. The scene in front of her was a foreign one, but she couldn’t say she minded. Food passed from person to person until Sara lost track of what she’d put on her plate. Although she’d already had dinner, she felt too guilty saying no to Mrs. Mancuso’s generosity.
And truth be told, everything smelled delicious.
“You can pick at what you want and just push the rest of the food around,” Rafe leaned in close and whispered.
At his husky tone and heated breath against her ear, warm flutters took up residence in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t focus on anything but Rafe. His nearness. The raw, masculine scent of his cologne.
But rapid-fire questions shot at Sara from all corners of the long dining-room table, drawing her attention.
“Are you originally from New York?”
“Did Rafe really save your life?”
“What’s it like to be a female cop?”
The questions came fast and furious, giving her little if any time to answer before another one was lobbed her way.
“Do you like living in Manhattan?”
“Are you really Rafe’s girlfriend?”
The last question stopped her cold. Unfortunately, it had the same effect on the rest of the table, because everyone grew silent and turned her way, waiting for a reply.
“Sara and I are friends,” Rafe said, jumping in to save her from embarrassment. “ Good friends.” He reached down and squeezed her leg.
He meant to relax her, but his big hand, fingers splayed over her thigh, had the opposite effect. Tension spiraled through every corner of her body.
Sexual tension.
Yearning.
Desire.
Since they’d been ushered inside the house, they hadn’t had any time alone for her to explain why she’d come. Or that she’d need to stay with him while she was here.
One look at him on the porch with his niece, looking gruff and sexy, yet kind and gentle all at once, had her thinking crazy thoughts about exploring theobvious chemistry between them. Seeing where this need took them. And it was obvious now. There was no more wondering if he reciprocated. No more other woman between them.
She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She lifted a crystal glass, taking a long sip of cool water.
She felt a poke and glanced down into inquisitive brown eyes.
“Do you like Uncle Rafe?” Toni, the young girl she’d met on the porch, asked her.
Sara bit the inside of her cheek. “I like him a lot,” she said honestly.
“Me, too. Uncle Rafe is smart. He even gave me advice about a boy.”
“He did, hmm?”
Toni nodded. “He said guys like to feel needed and that I should pretend I need help swinging the bat in softball to get him to notice me.”
“What are you two ladies talking about?” Rafe braced his arm behind Sara’s chair and leaned closer.
His body heat nearly swallowed her whole. “Toni was telling me you gave her advice about boys.”
He grinned. “I was a little out of my element. It’s been a while since I’ve played games with the opposite sex.”
She wondered if his statement was true literallyor figuratively. Since his broken engagement, had he sought comfort with other women? Or
But he didn’t get the chance.
His mother ignored his request to go inside alone. Keeping an arm around Sara’s shoulder, she steered her into the house, where the entire clan had gathered by the front door, eager to meet Uncle Rafe’s girlfriend.
Thanks to Toni, the designation was sure to stick.
Whether it was true or not.
CHAPTER FIVE
R AFE HAD A BIG FAMILY. A really big family. As in a lot of people sitting around the dining-room table all talking at the same time. Thanks to the fractured dynamics in Sara’s family, she’d never been part of one big happy clan. The scene in front of her was a foreign one, but she couldn’t say she minded. Food passed from person to person until Sara lost track of what she’d put on her plate. Although she’d already had dinner, she felt too guilty saying no to Mrs. Mancuso’s generosity.
And truth be told, everything smelled delicious.
“You can pick at what you want and just push the rest of the food around,” Rafe leaned in close and whispered.
At his husky tone and heated breath against her ear, warm flutters took up residence in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t focus on anything but Rafe. His nearness. The raw, masculine scent of his cologne.
But rapid-fire questions shot at Sara from all corners of the long dining-room table, drawing her attention.
“Are you originally from New York?”
“Did Rafe really save your life?”
“What’s it like to be a female cop?”
The questions came fast and furious, giving her little if any time to answer before another one was lobbed her way.
“Do you like living in Manhattan?”
“Are you really Rafe’s girlfriend?”
The last question stopped her cold. Unfortunately, it had the same effect on the rest of the table, because everyone grew silent and turned her way, waiting for a reply.
“Sara and I are friends,” Rafe said, jumping in to save her from embarrassment. “ Good friends.” He reached down and squeezed her leg.
He meant to relax her, but his big hand, fingers splayed over her thigh, had the opposite effect. Tension spiraled through every corner of her body.
Sexual tension.
Yearning.
Desire.
Since they’d been ushered inside the house, they hadn’t had any time alone for her to explain why she’d come. Or that she’d need to stay with him while she was here.
One look at him on the porch with his niece, looking gruff and sexy, yet kind and gentle all at once, had her thinking crazy thoughts about exploring theobvious chemistry between them. Seeing where this need took them. And it was obvious now. There was no more wondering if he reciprocated. No more other woman between them.
She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. She lifted a crystal glass, taking a long sip of cool water.
She felt a poke and glanced down into inquisitive brown eyes.
“Do you like Uncle Rafe?” Toni, the young girl she’d met on the porch, asked her.
Sara bit the inside of her cheek. “I like him a lot,” she said honestly.
“Me, too. Uncle Rafe is smart. He even gave me advice about a boy.”
“He did, hmm?”
Toni nodded. “He said guys like to feel needed and that I should pretend I need help swinging the bat in softball to get him to notice me.”
“What are you two ladies talking about?” Rafe braced his arm behind Sara’s chair and leaned closer.
His body heat nearly swallowed her whole. “Toni was telling me you gave her advice about boys.”
He grinned. “I was a little out of my element. It’s been a while since I’ve played games with the opposite sex.”
She wondered if his statement was true literallyor figuratively. Since his broken engagement, had he sought comfort with other women? Or
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