Lawful Lover (Eternal Bachelors Club #2) (8 page)

Sabrina took the bowl and placed it onto the top shelf in the refrigerator, then turned back to Raffaela. “Now what?” she asked eagerly.

She was suddenly excited about learning how to make a traditional Italian dessert that was Daniel’s favorite. Maybe someday she could surprise him with it when he got back home from work.

“While the dough is chilling, we’ll make the filling,” Raffaela said in a sing-song voice and then laughed. “Did that just rhyme?”

Sabrina found herself laughing along with her. “Guess it did!”

While Raffaela deftly mixed ricotta cheese and an array of other ingredients into a large bowl, and explained what she was doing, Sabrina asked, “Is there anything else I can do?” She felt bad just standing around and not doing anything.

“No, just watch. Next time you and Daniel are here for the weekend, I’ll let you make them on your own.” She winked mischievously. “That will be your test.”

Sabrina laughed. “If I knew there’d be a test, I would have taken notes.”

“No worries, you’ll pick it up quickly.” Then she removed the spoon from the bowl and tasted the mixture. “Hmm, yes, that’s done. Can you please put this in the fridge, too?”

Raffaela wiped her hands on her apron, and then began to dip metal tubes into oil, placing them on a rack to drain. “Now we wait,” she said.

“For how long?”

“Maybe just half an hour. Then the dough should be ready and we can fry out the shells on those metal tubes there.” She pointed to the rack. “Come, we’ll sit on the back porch and watch the boats on the water.” Raffaela grabbed two bottles of water and headed for the back door.

Sabrina followed her and sat down on a cushioned Adirondack chair next to Raffaela. A beach stretched in front of them, and gentle waves lapped at the sand.

“Wow, this is a gorgeous view.”

Raffaela nodded. “It was this view that sold me on the house. I thought it was ridiculous to own something so large, but then I came out and saw this… I knew immediately that I wanted to spend my mornings drinking coffee out here and looking out at the water.”

“It’s so peaceful.”

“Yes it is.” They were silent for a moment, and then Raffaela spoke again. “How do you like living in the city?”

“It’s an adjustment from San Francisco, but so far I like it,” Sabrina said.

It wasn’t entirely the truth. Admittedly, the city was exciting and new to her, but she would enjoy it even more if Daniel spent more time with her exploring it. But she didn’t want to tell Raffaela that her son was rarely home.

“Daniel mentioned you were a lawyer. Are you with a firm?”

“No, not yet, but I’m looking to go back to work. There are several firms in the city that I’m applying to.”

“There are days when I miss working, too, but I guess that comes with retirement.” Raffaela smiled.

Sabrina glanced at her. She didn’t look old enough to be retired. In fact, Sabrina had assumed that Raffaela chose not to work.

“What did you do?”

“When Daniel was in school, I volunteered as a teaching aide, and when he went off to college, I worked the desk at the local country club. I even did some party planning for a while. I enjoyed that. You know, meeting people, talking to them. I miss that.” She fell silent for a moment, and then asked, “So, Tim set up the blind date between you and Daniel?”

Sabrina’s stomach made a flip and her heart began to race. “Yes.” Maybe if she kept her answers short and to the point, Raffaela would drop the subject.

“Tim’s a character, isn’t he?” Raffaela laughed as if remembering something funny, a memory Sabrina didn’t share.

“He sure is.” She’d met Tim only once just before she and Daniel had left for New York. “My friend Holly and Tim are friends. I was very reluctant at first, because you know how blind dates can be.”

“Oh yes, don’t I know it? I’ve been on a few doozies myself. My best friend in high school set me up with her older cousin. He got so nervous he threw up all over my shoes. Needless to say, that relationship didn’t go anywhere.”

Sabrina cupped her hand over her mouth and laughed. “I went on a date once and the guy kept taking my picture so he could blog about it the next day.”

“Technology has ruined chivalry, hasn’t it? What will they come up with next?” Raffaela looked at her watch and stood. “I think we can go finish the cannoli now.”

Sabrina followed her back into the kitchen, and once again watched as Raffaela expertly prepared the Italian dessert. As she rolled out the dough, then used a pasta machine to make the dough even thinner, Raffaela explained everything she was doing, sharing her secrets for making sure the shells weren’t too thick or too thin.

“See, and then you’ll dip them into the hot oil and fry them until they’re crispy,” she explained, and demonstrated it at the same time.

After a few minutes in the oil, Raffaela pulled the shell out again. “Now, the trick is to slide the shell off the tube without breaking it. It’s really simple once you’ve done it a few times.”

Sabrina sighed. “You make it look easy, but I’m sure when I do it, they’ll crack!”

“Try the next one,” Raffaela encouraged her.

Sabrina nodded. When Raffaela pulled the next cannoli from the hot oil, Sabrina carefully slid the crispy shell off its metal casing and was surprised to see that it remained intact. “I did it!”

Raffaela grinned at her. “Perfect.”

Soon, they developed a rhythm, working alongside each other silently, the only sound that of the sizzling oil as Raffaela dipped the shells into it.

“I’ve never had a homemade cannoli,” Sabrina said. “I’ve bought some from the store, but they were often rubbery.”

“Well, you haven’t had a real cannoli until you’ve tried one of mine.”

“I can’t wait.” She smiled. “What will we do after all the shells are fried?”

“Once the shells are cool and we’ve filled them with the cream mix, we’ll have to hide them.”

“Hide them?” Sabrina asked curiously.

“Because if my husband or Daniel find those before dinner, they’ll eat them. They can’t keep their hands off them. Around cannoli, those two are worse than kids.”

Sabrina laughed. “Yeah, I can picture Daniel like that.”

“That boy can be a handful.” Raffaela shook her head and handed Sabrina another cooked shell.

Carefully, Sabrina removed the last shell from the tube and placed it on the rack to cool.

Raffaela retrieved the filling from the refrigerator and placed it in front of Sabrina. “I’ll have you scoop all of this into a large Ziploc bag.” She placed one in front of Sabrina.

Sabrina spooned the cream filling into the Ziploc bag and closed it. “Okay, now what?”

“Snip about half an inch off one of the corners.”

By doing so, the Ziploc bag turned into a pastry bag. Raffaela showed her how to hold the shells and squeeze the filling into it.

“Don’t worry if the ends don’t look pretty. We’re just going to dip them into toppings anyway.”

There was something calming about the monotony of picking up a shell, filling it, and then setting it back down before repeating the process.

“Shall we try one?” Raffaela suggested, lifting one of the filled shells to Sabrina’s mouth.

Without hesitation, Sabrina bit into it and chewed. The contrast between the crunchy shell and the creamy filling was perfect, as were the flavors that complemented each other.

“Hmm, it’s amazing! That’s the best cannoli I’ve ever tasted!”

Raffaela beamed.

“Last time Daniel visited, he brought Audrey with him. I asked her to help me make cannoli, too, and she asked why make them when she could just buy them. And that the bakery she went to in New York made better ones than anyone else.”

Sabrina almost choked on the shell. “How could she say that without even giving yours a try?”

How heartless of Audrey to insult the mother of her then-boyfriend. Sabrina put her hand over Raffaela’s hand holding the cannoli.

“Yours are the best ever, and no bakery in New York or anywhere else can hold a candle to them.”

Then she took another bite of the divine pastry.

“I think you and I will get on splendidly,” Raffaela assured her and smiled broadly. “Absolutely splendidly.”

9

“Would you like some more pasta, dear?” Raffaela asked, hovering over Sabrina’s plate, spoon poised and ready to scoop out more food.

“Oh, no thanks.” Sabrina put her hand on her stomach. “I’m stuffed. I couldn’t possibly eat another bite. But thank you, Raffaela. Everything was delicious.”

Raffaela turned to her son. “Daniel?”

“No thanks, Mom.” Daniel set his napkin on the table, indicating he was done eating. He reached over and put his hand on Sabrina’s leg, giving it a gentle squeeze and smiling at her.

“You two barely ate a thing,” Raffaela exclaimed as she sat back in her chair. “Well, Sabrina and I made dessert this morning, so I hope you saved room for cannoli.”

Daniel laughed. “I always have room for cannoli, Mom, you know that.”

Sabrina smiled at the look on Daniel’s face. He seemed very excited by the idea of cannoli. Maybe she really would have to make them one day as a surprise for him. He’d come home from work one night and she would be wearing some sexy lingerie, holding a plate of freshly made cannoli in her hand.

“You know, the fair is in town this weekend. You should take Sabrina,” Raffaela said as she stood and began to clear dishes from the table. “Show her around town. There will be a lot of people out and about.”

Daniel turned and looked at Sabrina. “What do you say? Would you like to go to the fair?”

Sabrina smiled. “That sounds like fun. Let me help your mom clean up first though, okay?”

“Nonsense.” Raffaela waved her hand dismissively. “You two go and enjoy yourselves. I’ll clean up and when you get back, we’ll have cannoli.”

“Are you sure?” Sabrina asked.

“Yes, of course.” Raffaela laughed. “Now, you two get out of here and go have some fun.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Daniel stood, pulled out Sabrina’s chair and offered her his hand. She took it and stood.

“The best part about living here is that we’re within walking distance of the town and the fair,” he said once they were outside and started to walk along the street with its old style street lamps.

“It’s a beautiful night for a walk,” she agreed.

The air was warm, the stars were bright, and the moon was full.

Daniel laced his fingers with hers. “How did you enjoy your time with my mom?”

“I had a lot of fun,” she said honestly. “She’s a great woman.”

“That she is. I’m glad you and she got on well.” He smiled.

“We did. She talked about you a little. About how you love cannoli.”

He chuckled. “I love more than just cannoli.” He tossed her a hungry look.

She decided to ignore it, considering that they’d already reached a more populated area with people walking on the sidewalks and cars passing. This was not the place for a passionate kiss. Instead, she changed the subject.

“It must have been wonderful growing up here. It’s so peaceful.”

“It had its perks and its disadvantages.”

“Disadvantages?”

He motioned to the people around them. “Everybody knows everybody.”

“And that’s not a good thing?”

“Not when they constantly poke their noses in your business. Like the Boyds.”

“Oh.” She knew Daniel had a point. But every town had people like the Boyds. It was unavoidable. Though she wished the Boyds didn’t know Audrey. Would Daniel’s ex-girlfriend always come up whenever they came to visit his parents?

“Are the Boyds very good friends of your parents?”

Daniel shrugged. “Rather acquaintances, I’d say. Mom never got very close to Linda. She finds her too cold and superficial. But dad likes to play golf with Kevin, so Mom often gets stuck with entertaining Linda.”

Sabrina sighed. “I feel for your mom having to be nice to Linda when she doesn’t really like her.”

“She does it for Dad, really. I guess that’s part of being a couple, accepting the other’s friends, or at least tolerating them.”

Daniel’s words made her think. Would she have to put up with friends of Daniel too and pretend to be pleased to see them even if she didn’t like them?

“I’m a little worried about meeting your friends,” she confessed.

He whirled his head to her, his eyebrows snapping together in confusion. “But why? Trust me, they’re nothing like the Boyds.”

“It’s just, what if they don’t like me? Or what if I don’t like them?”

“Of course they’ll like you!”

“Did they like Audrey too?”

Daniel stopped walking and faced her. “Why are you bringing up Audrey?”

She pulled in a deep breath. “Because somebody will always bring her up. If not the Boyds then one of your friends.”

Daniel ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. “I have a past, Sabrina. We all do. I can’t change that. I can’t change the fact that Audrey and I dated and that my friends know her. We’ll have to deal with it as best we can.”

She nodded. “It’s just… ”

“What?” he asked encouragingly, his voice soft and pleading.

She lifted her eyes to meet his. “Linda Boyd’s words made me feel so inadequate today. As if I wasn’t good enough for you. I mean, in a way she’s right, isn’t she? You could have any woman you wanted, but you chose me.”

“Exactly. I chose you. Because you’re exactly what I need and what I want. Don’t listen to people like Linda. There’s only venom coming from her mouth.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re together, and nobody can change that.”

Slowly, she nodded. “I’m just scared. Everything is so new. We barely know each other.”

Daniel caressed her cheek with his knuckles. “Yes, it’s new. And a little scary. I get that. But we’ll make it. We belong together and we’ll prove it to everybody who might think otherwise.”

“You think we can do that?” she whispered, moving closer.

“I don’t only think so, I know so.”

He dipped his head for a kiss and she savored the brief moment their lips touched. Daniel’s love was giving her strength. She wouldn’t disappoint him; she would do everything so that his friends and family accepted her.