“Five months. Raoul is so great. He’s really responsible and he loves me a lot.”
An interesting combination. Nicole thought about the stolen doughnuts, then reminded herself that he’d more than made up for his actions. She was happy to have him working in the bakery.
“Do you know where my dad is taking you?” Brittany asked.
“No.”
“I’m sure it will be really nice. He likes to take his girlfriends to nice places. A good quality in a boyfriend.”
Nicole nodded because she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t actually think of Hawk as her boyfriend.
“He dates a lot,” Brittany added. “Just so you know, he doesn’t get serious. Not that I mean anything bad by that. I’m sure he likes you a lot.”
Nicole sensed that she was being sent a message-she just wasn’t sure what it was. Did Brittany want to warn her off or help her out?
Rather than deal with the question, she dug out a big pot. “This,” she said, “we’ll use for boiling the pasta.”
AFTER BRITTANY LEFT, Nicole headed upstairs to get ready for her date with Hawk. She was more nervous than she would have expected, even reminding herself it wasn’t a real date. This was him keeping his half of the bargain, nothing more.
Still, she flipped through the contents of her closet, groaning when she realized she had nothing to wear. She decided to start at the beginning and try to figure out what was appropriate for a high-profile non-date possibly taking place somewhere nice.
As it was still pretty warm, she settled on a sleeveless floral print dress with a narrow skirt. She’d been fake tanning for the past couple of days, so her legs looked decent. With dangly earrings and low-heeled sandals, she decided she wouldn’t look half-bad.
Before dressing, she rolled her hair in hot curlers and put on makeup. She finished dressing, then got out the jumbo can of hairspray and prepared to spray her hair into submission.
The curlers came out, she finger-combed her curls, then sprayed until she coughed. The dangly earrings completed the outfit.
As she made her way downstairs, she found herself nervous about seeing Hawk again. The last time he’d been in this house, they’d been having hot monkey sex. She barely knew the man, but she’d already seen him naked. How strange was that?
There was a knock at the front door. Her stomach immediately plunged to her feet. She felt like she was going to throw up. This was a bad idea. What on earth had she been thinking?
Forcing herself to keep breathing, she opened the door.
“Hi,” she said, trying to keep her voice from coming out in a squeak.
“Hi yourself.”
The message to her brain, telling her to step back, was automatic. Which was a good thing, because she was incapable of thought.
Hawk looked amazing. He wore slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, a tie and sport coat. He looked like one of those sexy sportscasters. Or a male cover model.
He filled out his clothes perfectly-as if they’d been custom-made for him. Maybe they had. She managed to raise her gaze to his face. He smiled at her and the nerves got worse. An entire parade of butterflies began practicing their marching-band routine.
She felt weak and oddly aroused at the sight of him. Would he consider blowing off dinner and doing her instead?
“I made reservations,” Hawk told her. “The Yarrow Bay Grill. Have you been there?”
“No, but I’ve heard about it.” That it had a stunning view, an excellent wine list and incredible food.
“I don’t usually make reservations,” he grumbled. “You’d better be impressed.”
He could do her later, she thought as she smiled. “I
“You’re being snarky.”
“You picked up the phone and dialed and now you want a plaque?”
“It’s a guy thing.”
“Apparently.”
“You look great.”
“Thank you. You look very nice, as well.”
“I did the tie especially for you. I thought you’d like it.”
“I do.”
She told herself not to read too much into his words. They weren’t on a real date. They were partners in a bargain that would make most people who knew her shake their heads.
Forty minutes later they were seated in a booth overlooking the small marina at Yarrow Bay. Lake Washington glimmered with sunlight.
Hawk flipped through the novel-length wine list, then ordered. When their server had left, he leaned forward.
“Brittany called me on her way to Raoul’s house. She told me you helped her with his special birthday dinner. Thanks for that.”
“It was fun. I was a little surprised she came to me, though.”
“I would have done it, but she knows I would have given her a hard time. Teasing daughters is a father’s prerogative.”
“Mine was never much into that.” He’d always been a distant man, more interested in what was on TV than the lives of his daughters. “Brittany is a lovely girl. She thinks the world of you. You two have a very special relationship.”
He shrugged. “We do okay. I want to take all the credit, but it was mostly Serena. By the time she died, all the basics were in place.”
Nicole didn’t know what to make of the information. Should she ask more about Serena or change the subject? Honestly, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to know.
“Have you lived here all your life?” he asked.
She nodded. “Even during college. I went to University of Washington and lived at home. With the bakery, there wasn’t much chance of doing anything else.”
“Why?”
She picked up her water glass, then put it down. “My family has owned the Keyes bakery forever. I grew up knowing I would always be a part of that heritage. That I would one day take it over.”
“You have sisters, don’t you? Why do I think you have sisters?”
“I have two. Claire is my fraternal twin. You might have heard of her.”
The server appeared with a bottle of red wine. After opening it, he poured some into a glass for Hawk to taste. Hawk sipped, then nodded. The server poured them both wine and left.
“Why would I have heard of your sister?” Hawk asked.
“Claire Keyes?”
He shook his head, then stopped. “She plays piano?”
Nicole smiled. “Concert pianist. Famous soloist. She’s played all over the world, made top-selling CDs. When we were three years old, we went to a friend’s house. Claire walked up to the piano and started playing. We’d never even seen one before, so everyone went crazy. Life changed. Claire started taking lessons. When she was six, she and my grandmother left so she could study in New York and Europe. Jesse, my youngest sister, was born that year. A lot of things changed.”
“She was just gone? You must have missed her.”
“I did. It was like someone had cut off my arm. When I was twelve, my grandmother decided Claire’s schedule was too grueling for her. She came home and my mother left to travel with her.”
What Nicole didn’t mention, what still made her angry, was how happy her mother had been to go. She’d been excited by the opportunity to travel and see the world, live in five-star hotels and hang out with the rich and famous. Never once had she even hinted she would miss what, and who, she was leaving behind.
“The bakery was my dad’s but he was never much into it,” Nicole continued. “I had to handle things at home
