Page 208 of Love Unwritten

A crease appears down the center of her forehead. “Meaning?”

“He’s taken.”

“You are?” Her hand falls away.

Rafael glances down at me, giving me the power to determine how much I want people to know about our relationship.

I nod. “Yeah, he is.”

The woman’s wide-eyed gaze swings between the two of us. “Oh.”

I lift my hand and wiggle my fingers with a smile. “Now, if you don’t mind…” I keep my tone light, not wanting to cause unnecessary drama with someone who lives in town.

After a quick apology, the woman turns in a rush and abandons the bar altogether.

Rafael grabs on to my hand and drops a kiss across my knuckles. “Jealousy looks good on you, Elle.”

I brush my palm down his arm, erasing the invisible stain left behind by the other woman. “You’re not…upset?”

He chokes on a laugh. “What? Fuck no.”

I exhale. “I didn’t like her touching you. It made me…”

He curls an arm around my waist and pulls me against him. “Possessive?”

“Murderous.”

His lips twitch. “I’d apologize, but seeing you stake your claim was hot.”

“I was…” Totally staking a claim.

Shit.

He tucks his hand beneath my chin and raises it. “Now it’s my turn.”

His eyes drop to my lips, and I sway on my feet. “People are looking.”

“Good.” A small smile breaks out across his face before he crushes his lips against mine. I can hardly hear the people around us hooting and hollering over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears, but I don’t care.

This man is all mine, and come tomorrow, everyone in town will know it.

With time quickly running out before my trip to Europe, I want to take advantage of every moment with Nico, so I decide to spend Sunday morning with him and Rafael despite usually having it off. After breakfast and a morning ATV ride around the farm’s property, I head to Main Street and meet up with Willow at the Early Bird Diner. With most of the town still recovering from yesterday’s Strawberry Festival, the diner is relatively quiet and empty for a weekend.

Willow props a menu up to cover our faces and beckons me forward.

“Are we hiding from someone?” I look around the restaurant.

“Jessica is good at reading lips.” She tilts her head in the direction of the older woman seated at the countertop. “And Cami is an eavesdropper.” She tips her chin in the direction of Alana Castillo, Callahan Kane, and their daughter, Cami, eating brunch a few tables away from us.

My gaze swings back to hers. “What’s going on?”

She glances around one more time before whispering, “Remember Operation Fake Fiancée?”

“Hard to forget given the growing stack of possible candidates on your coffee table.”

She makes a face. “Well, good thing I won’t have to interview anyone else.”

“You found someone?”