And that shit was not going to be easy.
Or even possible.
Rafe turned into the locker room and greeted a few of the guys changing at their lockers, tossed his own bag down, and pushed off his shoes as he unzipped the duffel.
“’Bout time.” Tate dropped to a seat on the bench beside Rafe’s and leaned back, wiping his face with a towel. His hair was damp, and a dark gray sweat stain marked the front of his light gray tee. “Where the hell have you been all day?”
Rafe’s defensive instinct was immediate and automatic, and he had to consciously, purposefully tuck it away and relax. “I told you to come to the party. It would ease your mind about her being so far away if you saw where she was going to live and met some of her friends.”
Tate’s gaze drifted to the floor, and he lifted a shoulder. “If you say she’s good, I know she’s good.” His eyes darted back to Rafe just as he pulled his shirt off. “Is she? Good?”
Rafe’s mind immediately went in a whole different direction than Tate meant. And for the first time, it wasn’t even completely sexual. Mia was good for Rafe in every way. She always had been. Rafe just wasn’t convinced he was good for her in every way. Definitely not living across the country. And especially not if he cost her these important relationships.
Rafe nodded and told him the truth. “She is.”
“So what did you do today?” Tate asked, clearly miserable over the topic, but compelled to know.
“We drove down the coast—man, what a gorgeous day. Stopped at a popular beach spot for lunch. I let her walk around, shop, sort of get the feel of the place, you know?”
When Tate nodded, Rafe went on, leaving out all the handholding, all the smiles, all the sweet caresses. All the kissing and laughing and dreaming. He left out walking barefoot in the sand, chasing her in the cool ankle-deep surf while she laughed at him over her shoulder, picking her up off her feet and twirling her around until her hair and skirt flew out behind her.
“We stopped by the apartment, talked with Cynthia, her roommate, again. Then I dragged her to a department store and got her what she needed so she wouldn’t have to worry about the logistics or the finances of it when she got here. You know how she is. I had to argue with her and call it her housewarming, birthday, and Christmas present all wrapped into one and agree to let her pay me back at least half—which was a total lie on my part—before she relented.”
“Bet that got ugly. Good call, bro.”
“We took the drive to and from work to see what that was like. Did a little research on public transportation and the price of cars…” Rafe trailed off and cut a look at Tate where he bunched the towel in his hands, thoughts turning in the wheels of his head. “You’re taking this move awfully hard.”
“I just wish she’d talked to me first. Between you, me and Dad, we could have found her something closer.”
Another thought Rafe had been tossing around entered his mind again. He braced his hand against the locker, took a breath, and just said it. “You think you might be connecting Mia leaving with Lisa leaving?”
Mention of his ex-wife brought Tate’s head up, and if eyes could throw daggers, Rafe would be a dead man. “That’s stupid. The two don’t connect at all. What are you trying to say?”
Rafe lifted his hands in surrender. “Just that it might bring back some of the same feelings, which could be making this harder for you than it should be.”
“When did you become Dr. Phil? I noticed you and Mia patched up your yearlong silence fast. You two are suddenly inseparable. Want to tell me what that’s about?”
The accusing tone burned straight down Rafe’s spine. “Forget I said any—”
“He’s doin’ her.” Kilbourne walked through the locker room from the direction of the gym, wiping his face with the hem of his tee.
Both Rafe and Tate frowned at him and his random, monotone comment to no one in particular, almost as if he were talking to himself. He reached his locker and turned his head, looked between them, then lifted his chin toward Rafe and settled his gaze on Tate. In that second, Rafe knew what he’d meant, but he couldn’t react fast enough to keep it from spewing from Kilbourne’s mouth a second time.
“He’s doggin’ her because he’s doin’ her, man. I told you weeks ago.” He opened his locker. “Shit, nobody listens.”
Fury launched Rafe the twenty feet between them. He grabbed Kilbourne by the bicep and flipped him around, slamming him back against the lockers. “Stop talking shit. That’s his sister and my friend. And she’s been nothing but nice to you. You don’t talk shit about family here, you got that?”