I squeezed in beside Jasper and made as much room as I could for Rafe, but he was a big guy, and Charlotte wasn’t allowing space for him to sit.
“I’m going to be on your lap if you don’t move over, Char-Char,” Rafe said, which caused everyone outside of Charlotte’s direct family to laugh hysterically.
Charlotte Sonnet-Wellington did not like nicknames.
“We could actually have Charlotte and Hunter stand on the end if that’s more comfortable,” Delilah said, completely unaware of how badly she was offending my cousin.
Charlotte moved over enough to make room for Rafe, but her hands were fisted so tight that her knuckles turned white.
“Okay, this works.” Delilah stepped back as Ray watched with Francois, both admiring the bookshelves in the background. “Yes. Yes. This is it. Natural smiles to start, please.”
We spent the next thirty minutes taking endless photos. Delilah had moved Rafe’s hand to rest on my knee, and every few minutes, he’d take his thumb and stroke the inside of my leg gently. As if he knew I was uptight and anxious and wanted to soothe me.
I appreciated it.
I was coming off the world’s best orgasm from last night, which was saying a lot, seeing as I was the only one touching myself. But it was the view in front of me that had gotten me there.
This tall, strong man stroking his erection as he watched me.
It was so hot, I’d never be able to get it out of my mind. I slept like a baby after that because it had been a long time since I wanted to be touched by anyone—a long time since anyone had made me want to even touch myself.
“Okay, that’s enough for me. Time to move on,” Gramps said.
Everyone agreed, and Charlotte asked to take a few photos without Rafe in them, but my parents stepped in before my grandfather did.
“We’re done, Charlotte.” My father’s eyes were hard, and Uncle Charles nodded in agreement, which surprised me.
“Okay, I’ll just hang out and take some candids while you all do the interview,” Delilah said.
Rafe gave me a look as he started to head for the kitchen to grab some food.
“Not so fast,” Ray said. “How about I start with Lulu and Rafe so they can take the boat out while I finish up with everyone else?”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Charlotte hissed. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“This is me doing my job. Laredo and MSL are huge brands, and not everyone is as interested in politics as you are, Mrs. Sonnet-Wellington.” Ray quirked a brow before turning back to me. “It won’t take but a few minutes. But I’d love to speak to both of you.”
Forty-five minutes later, he asked us far more than we were prepared to answer. Sweat dripped down my back the entire time, but Rafe handled it like a pro.
He never wavered or seemed nervous.
He told a great story about how we met, and I had no idea where he pulled that from.
He talked about my jewelry line with pride, as if he’d studied my website.
He talked about my gummy bear obsession, and then he pulled a mini bag of gummy bears from his pocket and handed them to me, making a joke about how he was always prepared.
Blasphemous.
This man was brilliant.
We made our way out to the kitchen, with my cousin Charlotte glaring at me when I told everyone we’d be back in a while. Mrs. Weston quickly packed up a few sandwiches that she was making, a large bottle of sparkling water, and some fruit in a basket, and we took it out to the boat.
“This is not good,” I whispered as we walked side by side toward the pontoon boat.
“What do you mean? I thought we did great.”
“Let’s get out on the water first,” I said.
