“It looks great on me.” Despite a renewed spark, her insult was weak at best. So, I kept my arrogance in place, wanting to get her riled up. Maybe then she’d get flustered and do something crazy—like admit the truth. “And jealousy looks good on you.”
Her eyes flared. “I am not—”
“There you are,” Jeremy called from the doorway. “Whoops. Sorry to interrupt.” He started backtracking when he took us in.
“No, no worries,” I said, taking my time to back up with a wink to Rae. “We were just taking a moment alone.”
“Young love. You can never have enough of each other.”
“I think I’ve had enough of you,” Rae muttered for only me to hear.
I barely choked back the laugh. “What did you need?”
“We are getting ready for a game of croquet. Would you two like to play?”
“I’d love to,” Rae answered.
“Great. I’ll see you out there.”
Once he headed toward the yard, Rae made a break for it.
I let her get all the way to the door. “By the way, you’re the only woman to wear that ring.”
She stopped and turned just enough to look over her shoulder. I held my breath, waiting for her to roll her eyes and tell me how much she didn’t care. Instead, she surprised me by lifting her chin and giving me a single word that admitted so much more.
“Good.”
She left before she could see my smile, but it buoyed my spirits. I smiled all the way out to the lush green lawn for croquet, only for it to fade when Rae apparently shored up her defenses inside and came out colder than at breakfast.
She laughed with Jeremy and her dad. Shared a glass of lemonade with her mom. Greeted each person with a warm smile as they came to join us. Somehow, she managed to be this perfect social queen while treating me like I didn’t exist and never making it obvious to anyone but me. I’d be impressed if it wasn’t undoing the progress I’d made.
As we waited for the game to start, I watched her, scrolling my mind for any ideas to knock down the wall she’d erected in record time. In the end, I didn’t need to think at all because before we started, Aubrey came in like a wrecking ball.
“Aubrey, I’m so glad you could join us,” Jeremy greeted.
“Of course. I’ve only played a handful of times, so go easy on me.”
Playing with fire, I added, “You’ll do great. It’s just like mini-golf.”
As I hoped, Aubrey laughed and brought up our past. “Oh, my gosh. We played so many rounds that summer after college. It’s probably a good thing we’re not on a team; otherwise, no one would stand a chance.”
“Such a shame,” Rae tsked with a smile. Like magic, she appeared, sliding her hands around my bicep. Chills chased her touch, my skin rising to get more.
I almost got whiplash with how fast Raelynn switched from ignoring me to not leaving my side. She swayed like a pendulum, and if I could help her swing further in the direction of claiming me, then I’d do it. Even if it meant getting singed in the process.
We lined up and started taking shots. Aubrey stood close, bringing up the different mini-golf courses we went to. I laughed but barely heard her, my mind too focused on Rae’s ire bubbling close to the surface.
“Austin, will you help me with the first shot? I want to make sure I line it up right,” Rae asked.
Barely biting back my smile, I obliged, wrapping my big body around her small frame. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I ran my nose through her hair and inhaled the sweet floral scent.
“Austin is such a great teacher,” Aubrey said. “He helped me when we went to the driving range, too.”
“Great,” Rae said before shoving her ass back against my groin.
I kept my grunt as quiet as possible but couldn’t quite choke it back completely. She huffed a laugh as if she’d won, but while Rae was stubborn, so was I.
“Careful, Raelynn. Your brown eyes are looking a little green,” I taunted.
She took control of the swing and knocked the ball through the metal arch, sending it flying too far.
“So, close,” I laughed, backing up. She turned with a subtle glare, only making me smile harder.
I barely paid attention the rest of the game, fully enthralled with Raelynn not wanting to prove me right but also wanting to show Aubrey that I was off-limits. She didn’t ask for any more help but continued with subtle touches that drove me wild.
At the end of the game, when she asked me to take a picture with her, I would have agreed to anything. I even forgot to do my usual groan.
“How are we doing this?” I asked.
“Let me check. I did a poll asking them what they wanted to see,” she explained, pulling out her phone. “Of course, they want to see more of you.”