"Jesus fucking Christ." Chloe hung her head, rubbing a hand over her face. "You're in love with him."
I didn't respond, mulling over the words even if I wasn't ready to say them. They didn't feel untrue, as much as I wanted to be able to deny them. The truth in them hovered in the air between us as she gaped at me. "Isa?" Hugo asked, prodding me to respond. "Are you?"
"I've only known him for a few days," I evaded.
"Tell him how you feel, Isa," Hugo stressed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "For both of your sakes, just tell him how you feel."
"I guess at least if you're pregnant, you know he has the money to make sure you and the baby are taken care of," Chloe said, her voice soft despite the harshness of the words. "If you had to fuck up epically, this was a good time to do it. I'm amazed he let it happen though. A man with as much money as he must have has to be used to watching his back. How freaked out was he?" she asked.
"He wasn't," I said, furrowing my brow as I looked over at her. "He was perfectly calm. Just said he was older than me and he knows he wants kids, so it was only natural for him to not be as bothered as I was."
Hugo stilled at my side, looking down at me affectionately as he kissed the top of my head. "Well, I've never met a guy who didn't panic with a pregnancy scare unless he wanted a baby with that girl. It seems to me you aren't the only one who has some feelings to confess."
I nodded thoughtfully, pausing to start the process of walking back to their hotel to rest when I turned and ran face first into a man's body.
The familiar heat of Rafe's hands branded my skin through my sundress, comforting me until I looked up into his tense face and searched for signs that he might have overheard our conversation. He gave nothing away, bending to kiss me with that odd distance in his eyes while he nodded a greeting to my friends.
"How are you feeling, Princesa?" he asked, his face softening when his eyes returned to mine and he cupped my cheek.
"Tired," I admitted.
He nodded thoughtfully, pursing his lips as he looked to Chloe and Hugo. "Let's get you back to the suite then." His hand at my waist steadied me as he walked me toward a parking area and away from my friends.
It wasn't until I was already safely tucked into the McLaren that I realized he hadn't spoken a word to them, or even given me the opportunity to say goodbye.
I mulled over his odd actions while we hung out on the rooftop terrace for the rest of the day, letting Rafe feed me while I enjoyed the salty sea breeze on my skin. Maybe it was a cultural thing, being so possessive that he took me away from my friends with hardly anything but a glare.
I felt much better by the time late afternoon came, only slightly fighting his insistence that I would enjoy the sunset much better on his boat than I could from land.
My phone chimed with a text as Rafe steered the boat toward the tall island, keeping his distance from the island itself as he found the right position he was looking for.
I'm worried about you.
I sighed, wondering if there was merit to Chloe's message. The unfortunate truth was that I couldn't help but worry about me, too. I felt like I'd plunged into the deep end before learning how to swim. Rafe turned off the boat, joining me in the center of the lounging cushioned area at the back so that we both faced the sunset.
He pulled out a picnic basket and a chilled bottle of champagne. Moving to the edge of the boat, he tossed a towel over the top of the bottle and opened it so he caught the cork and tossed it back into the boat as champagne leaked into the sea. "You're going to get the fish drunk," I scolded.
He turned a light smile my way, shaking his head as if he couldn't be bothered with caring about the fucking fish. He poured me a glass as I sat up on the mat, accepting it with pursed lips. "I'm not sure I should drink."
"I spoke with my personal physician. You're okay to drink after taking Plan B," he said to reassure me. I nodded, taking a small sip of the slightly sour liquid as bubbles danced on my palette. Sitting down next to me, he took a sip of his own champagne and set it to the side to feed me a chocolate-covered strawberry. I took a bite of it, greatly preferring it to the champagne.
"You're awfully quiet," he observed, inching into my space until he nearly touched me as I lay back on the cushion to stare at the sky while we waited for sunset. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," I said. "I'm just thinking, really."
"Ominous," he chuckled, laying back beside me. "What has mi princesa so occupied?"
Turning onto my side to face him, I bit the corner of my mouth as I thought over how to bring up my concerns. The need to know where he stood with our relationship was real, so that I could manage my own feelings and expectations. I didn't want to have expectations at all, and I shouldn't have.
But I certainly knew that I wanted him enough to question the life I'd planned for myself.
"Just thinking about how tiny my room at home will feel after this. How much I'll hate Chicago winters after feeling this sun. Sometimes I think coming here was a mistake," I murmured, watching his body still at
