“And what?” Rocky shifted to the edge of her seat.
Rae tensed. She was dangerously out of sorts—in mind and body. She reached into her purse in search of her phone. “I’m sorry, Rocky. I’m not feeling well. The jet-lag thing,” she lied. “Excuse me while I call a cab. I’ll share my idea regarding the Cupcake Lovers while I wait.”
“No need for a cab.” Rocky shoved out of the chair. “I’ll drive you.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“You’re not. Come on. You can tell me your idea in the car. You’re staying at the Pine and Periwinkle, right?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Rae followed Rocky into the hall, feeling weary and embarrassed. She’d taken on too much for one day, her first day. A fortifying meal and a good night’s sleep would work wonders. An ally in the Monroe camp would also help. “I don’t know how long I’ll be in town,” Rae said as they pulled on their coats. “I might even … There’s a chance I might move back for good.”
Rocky raised one brow while looping a scarf around her neck. “Aside from Sugar Tots and the Cupcake Lovers … does this move have anything to do with Sam?”
“No.”
“Luke?”
For the first time this day, Rae pulled a Rachel and averted her gaze. “It’s complicated.”
“Mmm.” Rocky opened the door then paused and turned. “Are you and my brother involved in some way? Did he come on to you when you worked at the Shack? Is that why you blew out of town? Things have been tense between Sam and Luke and I wondered…”
Rae flushed and she knew in that moment that she’d verified Rocky’s suspicions.
The woman sighed. “I love Luke, but you do know he’s a player, right?”
“We’re not involved.”
“Then why do I sense trouble?” Rocky waited a tense full minute then grunted and ventured outside.
Rae followed and climbed into her jeep. She had no intention of confiding all in this woman. Not yet. But she was desperate to strike some sort of truce. “Can I ask you something? Was it easy for you and Jayce?”
“God, no.”
“But worth the fight?”
“At the risk of encouraging you, worth every battle scar.” Rocky keyed the ignition and cranked the heat. “The thing is, Rae, we were in love. We’d been in love for years. Are you saying you’re in love with Luke? I mean, I get it. Women fall for his boyish charm all the time. And Luke, Christ, if you ask him he’ll tell you he’s been in love a hundred times.”
Rocky wasn’t telling Rae anything she didn’t already know. And she didn’t have any illusions where Luke’s feelings were concerned. Her own feelings, however, were a bit of an enigma.
“Sam probably wouldn’t appreciate me saying,” Rocky said, “but I’m pretty sure he’s still carrying a torch for you.”
“I told Sam I don’t feel that way about him.”
“That doesn’t negate his feelings. You’re the first woman he’s expressed any interest in at all since Paula,” Rocky went on. “I don’t have to tell you what a good man Sam is. If you’re attracted to my brother, you should tell Sam. Please don’t let this thing blindside him.”
Rae rubbed an ache in her chest. It seemed pointless to deny what she’d already hinted at. “I’ve been … infatuated with Luke for a long time. It’s a mess and I’m not sure it can be fixed, but you’re right, I should let Sam know my heart is elsewhere.”
“With Luke.” Rocky sighed. “You could have any guy in the world…” she said as she backed out of the drive.
Rae smirked. “Because I’m rich?”
“And beautiful.”
“Believe it or not, that’s not always a blessed combination.”
“You’re also smart and kind.”
Rae cut her a glance.
“Like you said, you’ve only changed on the outside.” Rocky smiled a little, the way she used to smile at Rachel. “Just took me a minute to get that.”
ELEVEN
By the time Jayce got home, Rocky was stripped to her undies and a cami and snuggled under the covers with a fashion magazine. She’d bought a copy of In Style and two others like it on her way home from dropping off Rae. For the first time in her life she was seriously contemplating a makeover.
She tossed aside the shallow periodical when Brewster jumped on the bed and muscled in to snuggle. “I missed you, too, fur-boy.” Rocky hugged the mixed breed then smiled into his big dopey eyes. Brewster was a rescue dog, a gift from Jayce, and her biggest source of joy—aside from Jayce himself. She glanced at her sexy fiancé while ruffling Brewster’s lopsided ears. “How was your meeting in Pixley?”
“Interesting. How was your meeting with Rae?”
“Enlightening.”
Jayce eyed Brewster with a scant smile then jerked his thumb. “Off.”
The dog leaped to the hardwood floor then curled up in his own pillow-soft, fleece-lined bed along with his plush stuffed tiger. Brewster was a tad spoiled.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jayce leaned over Rocky, eyes sparkling. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey.” The sight of Jayce Bello always tripped her pulse, but the nearness of the man scattered her senses to the four winds. It had been like this ever since she was ten.
The sinfully gorgeous bad boy nodded toward her abandoned copy of Vogue. “What’s up with the glamor mag?”
“I was thinking about a makeover.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “How do you think I’d look as a brunette?”
“Hot.”
“What about a redhead?”
“Hot.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What if I shaved my head bald?”
He angled his head as if conjuring the image. “Wildly fuckable.”
She gave his shoulder a playful thump. “A lot of help you are.”
He grinned. “Babe, I’d have a hard-on for you if you had a blue Mohawk—although that wasn’t a suggestion.” He kissed her then, a deep kiss that fired up her girly parts.
She smiled when he eased away, traced her fingers over his sexy goatee. “You should be naked when you kiss me like that. Makes me want to jump your bones.”
“Hold that thought.” He pushed up and leaned over to unlace his boots. “So what did Rae have to say about the Cupcake Lovers?”
“She thinks she can use her celebrity status to respark the publisher’s enthusiasm for our project.”
“Makes sense.”
Rocky nodded. “Except I don’t get the feeling she’s all that comfortable with drawing attention to herself.”
“I thought that was Rachel’s MO. Shy, modest.”
“Believe it or not, obscene wealth and fashion taste aside, Rachel and Rae, are pretty much the same.”
Jayce angled his head as he unbuckled his belt. “You think so, huh?”
Rocky shifted to pull his T-shirt over his head. “You know different?”
His silence spoke volumes.
She jerked her thoughts from his muscled torso and focused on her new theory. “Remember that night I walked into the kitchen and interrupted a discussion between you and Luke?”
“The night before Christmas Eve.”
“Luke was angry and blew out the back door without saying good-bye to anyone. Then he skipped out completely on Christmas Eve. So not Luke. He said it was a personal emergency with an old friend. I asked you if you knew anything about it and you said—”