“Have you had any?” Sydney asked.
She put a hand to her hip. “Well, Roman’s been tasting more than cooking.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Roman said, “Everything smelled so good.”
“Go on downstairs and eat,” Sydney said. “Go on. You don’t have to hang out waiting for me.”
“But you’re the reason I came over here to make this,” Rainy said. “Roman was worried about what to feed you.”
“Are you a chef? You don’t look like a chef to me,” Sydney asked Raina, looking at her with a curious expression.
“I’m not a chef. I’m an attorney. But I’m working in a green market right now.”
Roman chimed in with, “She decided she didn’t want to give her life to the law firm.”
“Smart girl. And very beautiful,” he added, making Raina blush. He turned to Roman. “But instead of bringing her here to spend time in our kitchen, you should be taking her out to dinner at a nice restaurant.”
“How about it?” Roman said.
Rainy looked embarrassed. “You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“But I want to.” Roman took her hand. “Please.”
“Okay.”
“Good,” Sydney said. “Now go downstairs and eat your soup so I can slurp mine in peace.”
Down in the kitchen Roman and Rainy ate their soup and zucchini bread and finally he got his serving of the mousse. But this time he dipped his finger into his own bowl, scooped up some of the creamy white fluff, and painted Rainy’s lips with it—just so he could lick it off.
Chapter 5
Rainy looked in the full-length mirror and frowned, then turned to Kendra and Shannon. Her cousin and sister had been so thrilled that Rainy finally nailed a date with the elusive Roman Burke, that they had insisted on coming over with sexy clothing and makeup to prep her.
“This just isn’t me,” Rainy said. They had dressed her in a tight burgundy-and-pink knee-length pencil skirt and a pale pink silky low-cut blouse with ruffles at the wrists.
“Sorry, sweetie,” Shannon said, “but your wardrobe consists of boring business suits fit for the court. Or else cargo pants. A lot of fancy peeps are still here in November or they come out to the Hamptons for the weekend.”
“And we all know Roman dates some of them, so you’ve got to be able to compete,” Kendra added.
“Ya know, you two have always ganged up on me, even though you’re younger and I’m the one who should be telling you what to do.” Rainy looked from Kendra to Shannon and couldn’t help but note the family resemblance, although Kendra had green eyes and auburn hair, while Shannon and Rainy were brown-eyed brunettes.
“Oh, you bossed us around plenty,” Shannon said, coming toward her with a lipstick.
Rainy held up a hand. “Wait a sec. I just use a plain lip gloss.”
Her sister rolled her eyes and made a tsking sound. “This is the perfect color for that outfit and you are going to wear it.”
Rainy obediently sat in a chair by the desk in her bedroom at the farmhouse that was now her home in Water Mill. She had always preferred the homier North Fork to the South Fork out here on the eastern end of New York’s Long Island, because of all the showy people and expensive homes. But her uncle had made her realize that the South Fork also had its share of warm local people and wonderful farms.
“Voila! Now you are ready,” Shannon said, stepping back with a gleeful grin.
“What about these earrings?” Kendra stepped close with a pair of silvery danglers.
“I think I’m going to be overdressed,” Rainy protested. “He’ll probably just be in jeans.”
“It doesn’t matter. The most important thing is that you knock his socks off.”
“But I’m still only getting to know him,” Rainy said.
Kendra laughed. “Ya know, for a woman who goes head-on with some pretty nasty folks in court, you sure are a wimp when it comes to boyfriends.”
“There’s the door,” Shannon said and started down the stairs.
“Oh, great,” Rainy moaned. “Now he’ll know it was a group effort to get me ready.”
Kendra waved her off. “Just tell him we stopped by unannounced or something.”
When Rainy walked into the living room where Roman and Shannon were talking, his eyes immediately met hers and that same feeling of weightlessness hit her.
And he went silent. Roman just gazed at her and she could tell he liked what he saw.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Shannon gloating as she witnessed his response.
Okay, I stand corrected.
As they made their way to his SUV, the touch of Roman’s hand on the small of her back warmed her to the core. She tried not to imagine what it would be like to have his hands touching her bare skin. The thought would only make her lose her train of thought when he was trying to make conversation.
“My dad loved the soup. And the mousse. And you.”
“That’s great. I liked him too.” She’d had a feeling his father’s opinion of her would matter greatly to Roman. She just wasn’t sure what that meant. Maybe it only meant Roman loved and respected him. She hoped that was all.
“I know he kind of kicked us out, but he was just trying to be considerate.”
“I understood that.”
“He has a reserved and studious nature, so it usually takes a while for him to warm up to someone. So I was surprised he opened up to you as much as he did.”
Rainy’s surprise in the conversation came when Sydney said he had no time for romance or marriage. Yet he and Roman called each other son and father. Did that mean Roman was adopted? She didn’t feel comfortable asking, or that she had a right to. But she guessed there was a story there behind it all. And if Roman wanted her to know, he would tell her when he was ready. She would just have to wait.
When they reached the refurbished Tuscan-style farmhouse that had become Nick & Toni’s restaurant, a big favorite in the Hamptons, they were led to a table where two people were already seated. A linebacker-sized Black man with a shaved head and a tiny woman with delicate ivory skin and bright red hair.
As Roman pulled out a chair for Raina at the round table, he said, “This is my best friend, Thurman Moody and his wife, Ciara. Guys, this is Raina Rocklyn.”
Rainy greeted them and while a part of her was glad to have two other people to help keep the conversation going, she also wondered if this was Roman’s way of keeping a buffer between them so they could maintain their “friend” status. Which made her think she may have misinterpreted this as a date, when in fact Roman meant it only as a thank you to a friend.
When the waitress arrived, Raina decided she needed to relax a little, so she ordered a vodka martini; Roman ordered a local craft beer.
“Thurman and I went to med school together at Stony Brook and did our residencies at the hospital there,” Roman said. “He works in my dad’s practice now.”
Ciara smirked. “Trying to get either of these two to do something without the other is next to impossible.”
“You’re lucky,” Raina said. “Not many friendships hold up over that much time.”
Thurman nodded with a smile, but she could tell he was studying her, and Rainy couldn’t help but feel this was yet another test. First the father had to approve, and now the best bud had to approve before Roman would move forward? Did he have any mind of his own?
Well, maybe her jury was still out too.
“So,” she said, “Thurman, you must know some juicy secrets of Roman’s.”
Thurman’s dark skin paled and he flicked a glance at Roman. Rainy had tossed off the remark as a joke, but now she began to wonder. Was it the adoption issue or did Roman have some kind of history with a capital H?
Ciara jumped in with a rescue. “What about that time Roman got drunk and felt like singing during talent night at this bar in the village. So he staggered his way on to the stage, then puked on the mic and two girls in the front row.”
/> They all burst into laughter.
“That’s not all. He got a standing ovation.”
Roman just shook his head. “You’re a cruel woman, Ciara.”
Thurman pointed at Rainy. “Tell the truth. Yankees or Mets. Be careful how you answer. You might end up walking home.”
Rainy smirked. “Dodgers. I grew up in Southern Cal.”
“Ouch. For that you may have to swim home tonight.”
To Rainy’s relief, she found herself right at home and having a great time. Gone was the case of first date jitters—was this a date or not?
The Rock Shrimp Bolognese and organic salad greens she ordered were fabulous. One of the reasons Rainy loved Nick and Toni’s restaurant was because they were supporters of local farms and fishermen.
As the dinner progressed, the conversation flowed easily, and Rainy went through a couple more vodka martinis than she’d planned.
The best part was that she kept catching Roman looking at her in a way any woman would want.
After dinner, followed by a chocolate truffle cake and coffee, they were all mellow and ready to call it a night.
Feeling light and breezy with a little help from the company combined with those delightful martinis, Rainy stepped outside the door of the warm little restaurant and into the balmy spring night air beneath a sky filled with stars and magic. A classic film buff, she recalled Jean Simmons rollicking with Marlon Brando in the moonlight in Guys and Dolls. Maybe that was what inspired her to turn to Roman and say, “Why don’t you ask me how I feel?”
To which he replied, “Nah, don’t need to ask. Good thing I’m driving you back tonight.”
Not quite the response she wanted. And definitely not the equivalent to what Marlon said to Jean. Even so, it was close enough for her to open up about her all-too-often highly contained soft side. “You know, Roman, I guess you’d say beneath the surface for the most part, I’m just your regular easygoing, live and let live kinda gal.”
Then came the faint yet unmistakable sound of plastic crunching. Rainy recognized it immediately as she dashed down the row of stairs leading to the parking lot.
“Where’s she going?” Thurman asked.
A lady of the law on a mission. Ms. Live And Let Live swung into action.
“Not on my watch,” Rainy yelled at a blonde forty-something woman pulling her white Land Rover out of a parking slot. Next to the woman driver sat a female passenger. They stared over at Rainy with poker faces, unbothered and ho-hum. Never mind the crushed headlight they’d bestowed upon the black Lexus in the space across from them. Pretty sloppy job of backing up, thought Rainy.
Rainy raced across the lot and cut off the cars path yelling, “Stop!”
Roman, Thurman and Ciara followed her from behind.
The scofflaw’s car slowed to a halt as Rainy intercepted their path and stood directly in front of it, blocking it from the exit. “Leaving the scene of an accident in the state of New York could get you in big trouble.”
“Please get out of the way,” the woman driver said.
“You are violating statutes of the State of New York.”
The obnoxious driver honked and moved the car forward.
Determined to play by the book, Rainy pressed on. “So far we’re looking at a misdemeanor. Roughly speaking I’d say your troubles might vary between a couple hundred bucks in fine money and or fifteen days in the slammer. Of course if you decide to hit the gas and run me over, then you’re upping your game to an A1 felony and that spells twenty to life.”
“That car’s light was already broken.”
Bluff time. Rainy held up her phone. “Got it right here. Caught it all on video. Turn up the volume and you can even hear the sweet sound of plastic crunching as you backed straight into the car.”
The lady got out of her Land Rover. “Gimme a piece of paper.”
Rainy went into her pocket book.
As the driver jotted down her information, Rainy looked over at Ciara. “Go inside and ask for the driver of the black Lexus. Tell him to get out here.”
Ciara took off.
“Shit,” Thurman said. “In a nanosecond girl goes from Clark Kent to Superwoman.”
When she glanced at Roman, he just stood there looking puzzled.
Chapter 6
The day after their dinner date—was it a date or not?—Roman showed up at Halley’s Green Market just as she was closing. She stood there feeling kind of frumpy in her baggy gray cargos and navy blue zipper hoodie. Oh well.
“Do you need something from the store, Roman? I can open it up for you.”
“No, I just came to see you.”
Uh-oh. He had that look. He was going to end it. “I’m sorry about last night, Roman. I…I get carried away sometimes.”
“It’s all right.”
“No. I ruined the night. We were all having such a good time and then I…” She shook her head.
“Listen, are you headed anywhere now?”
“Just back to the farmhouse.”
He gazed out across the open fields. “You have all this beautiful land around you. Let’s take a walk.”
Rainy knew ‘let’s take a walk’ was the equivalent of ‘we’ve gotta talk’ and it always meant one thing—breakup time.
Except they hadn’t really even gotten started. Maybe it was just as well. Men didn’t like bossy women. She’d be better off as a spinster.
As they began ambling along, Roman said, “Is your uncle going to make this a vineyard?”
Hmm. Not the conversation she was expecting. Was he nervous about it? Should she help steer him there? “I don’t think he’s sure yet. He just wanted to get it off the market. Aside from wanting to keep as many Long Island farms alive as possible, Uncle Matt is also dedicated to sustaining our family roots.”
“But your family history is in the North Fork.”
“Actually, my cousin Jeff wasn’t the first in the family to defect to the South Fork. Back in 1870, a Rocklyn cousin built this farm. At one point it was sold outside of the family, luckily to another farmer, so it didn’t get cut up into suburban housing. When my Uncle Matt saw what had once been a Rocklyn family farm on the market again, he bought it.
“So the Rocklyns went back to the 1800s on Long Island?”
“Longer than that. My ancestors, on my dad’s side, were here before the Revolution, and the Rocklyn vineyard is on land that was in our family since then.”
“Wow. Sydney’s family is considered an old family in the business and medical communities, but they only goes back to the turn of the century.”
Raina noted that he didn’t say “my family” but Sydney’s. “Were you adopted?”
Roman stopped walking and just looked at her as if he was considering when to say. “Yes, that’s right,” he said, and started walking again.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Rainy said. “I won’t ask anymore about it if it makes you uncomfortable. But I’d be happy to listen if you want to tell me at some point in the future.” She cleared her throat. “That is, if we have a future.”
He turned to her with a dismayed expression. “Why would you say that?”
“I thought…well, after last night…” Could she have gotten it wrong? “Aren’t you here to break up with me? Not that we’re—”
“No. Why would you think that?”
“I can get so—”
“Bossy.” He grinned, all white teeth and sexy mouth, and suddenly heat flooded her and she wanted that mouth on her. All over her.
She shook off the distraction, reminding herself of his annoyed vibes during the drive home from the restaurant. “I tend to have this obsessive need to enact justice and order, but who do I think I am? I apologize for my behavior last night.”
“Well, then I apologize for being so impatient over something that was important to you.” He let out a short laugh. “And to the couple with Lexus.”
He bent over and plucked a purple trillium and slid the stem above her
ear through her long straight hair. An automatic reflex almost had her saying something about not picking native wildflowers, but she nipped it in the bus, no pun intended.
“Shannon told me your mom died when you were eleven and your father traveled a lot for work, so you ended up being the parent to her and your little brother.”
Rainy nodded and looked into the distance. “Aside from handling my kid brother and sister, I think it was my way of trying to exercise some kind of control and create order out of a very dysfunctional situation. You see, my mom killed herself and my sister and grandmother blamed my father and my brother blamed himself and my dad went into a depression. That was when I went into policeman-caretaker mode.”
“I’m so sorry,” Roman said, looking like he wanted to pull her into his arms, but Rainy still wasn’t sure what was going on between them.
She strolled away from him as if she was looking at some other flowers. “Trouble is, I never got out of that policeman-caretaker mode and I’m not sure I know how.”
“Isn’t your decision to live and work here a start? Isn’t that what this is about?”
She turned toward him. “Yeah, it is. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Just being here and watching the way each season’s harvest has a special beauty all its own has a deeply moving effect on me. Something I’d never experienced, having spent my life in California.”
Rainy stared at Roman’s silhouette against the setting sun as he stood in the field of early spring wildflowers that glowed in yellow, blue, and white at his feet. He looked gorgeous as hell when he turned and watched her approach.
“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” she asked, hoping he would assume she meant the field.
“Yeah, and she’s walking toward me right now.” His tone was full of heat, and her heart quickened the moment their eyes met. Rainy was already half intoxicated by the exhilarating smell of April flowers and moist earth, but when Roman reached out and pulled her into an embrace, surrounding her with his usual cedar and citrus scent, she was one hundred percent gone.
Rainy Day Lovers (The Rocklyns Book 3) Page 5