Page 7 of How Sweet It Is (Willow Shade Island #3)

R elief courses through me as Rafe sits next to me at our table. I was getting the third degree, and I needed help, so I texted my handler. Thank goodness he came quickly.

He turns to Pretty Boy. “So, Levi. Tell me about yourself.”

I watch Levi squirm, and it makes me want to laugh. Rafe is pretty intimidating. He looks like a cross between a grizzly bear and a lumberjack.

Levi clasps his hands together on the table. “Me? I’m pretty boring. I’ve lived on Willow Shade all my life. Just opened a bakery. That’s about all there is.” He gives Rafe the once-over. “Tell me about you.”

Rafe smiles, but his eyes remain wary as he assesses the situation. “I’m a freelance photographer. I moved here for the amazing views.”

Levi’s gaze bounces between me and Rafe, and his eyes narrow. “You two don’t look like you’re related.”

“We’re cousins by marriage,” Rafe says easily. “My mom married her uncle. We’ve only been family for a few years, but Amelia and I grew close pretty fast.” Rafe reaches out, putting his arm around me, tugging me close.

I shoot him a look, telling him he doesn’t have to lay it on that thick, but he doesn’t notice. His arm stays around my shoulders.

“Ah, I see.” Levi folds his arms. “And do you always crash her dates, or is this a special occasion?”

I gape at him. “This is not a date.”

Rafe chuckles, a low sound in his chest. “I just happened to see Amelia sitting here looking uncomfortable.”

I side-kick his foot under the table.

Levi raises his hands in a surrender motion. “I was just feeding her dinner after her stomach made it known to half the island she needed food. No need to call HR.”

I press my lips together so I don’t laugh. Rafe motions a server over, finally taking his arm off me. “I’ll be joining this table. Can I have a menu?”

“Of course, sir,” he says. The server goes off to fetch it, and the awkwardness at the table returns.

I stare out at the ocean and try to imagine I’m on the beach and not sitting at an uncomfortable dinner. At least the twenty questions have subsided.

“What made you want to start a bakery?” Rafe asks.

Levi eyes him then picks up the saltshaker. “My mom baked a lot when I was little, but after she died, no one baked anymore. I missed it, so I started messing around in the kitchen. I found that I enjoyed it.”

A tiny stabbing pain shoots through me for what he went through at the tender age of twelve. He missed his mom, so he started baking to feel closer to her. That is so sweet. “What was your mother’s favorite thing to make?” I ask.

Levi grins, and I can see how much he loved his mother.

“Her favorite thing was angel food cake. My father would tease her because he loved chocolate. He said the dark side was more fun, and anytime she’d make cake, he’d ask for the kind you get to eat in hell.

My mom would get all flustered and tell him to stop saying such things in front of the children. ”

“That’s funny.” I laugh as a breeze picks up. I can just imagine an exchange like that.

Levi’s eyes sparkle as he talks. “My parents had the kind of marriage you only read about in books. And maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic and only looking at it from rose-colored twelve-year-old glasses, but they were so in love, you could see it in the way they looked at each other.”

I place my hand on my heart. “That’s so special.”

Rafe leans forward. “Can I ask how they passed?”

I want to hit his arm for asking such a rude question, but he’s my handler, so I’m sure he has a reason for asking. Levi fiddles with the saltshaker. “Car accident. It was a drunk driver. That’s why I don’t drink.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rafe says.

I process his words as I stare at Levi. He doesn’t drink? I would have thought he was the party type. He sure fits that stereotype. All smooth talking and only looking for a good time. I never would have guessed he’s sworn off alcohol.

The server brings Rafe his menu, and he orders.

As we wait for our food, Rafe peppers Levi with questions about his home life, his schooling, and jobs he’s had.

At first, I think it’s funny, because that’s what Levi was doing to me, but after our food comes, I give Rafe the “cut it out” signal.

He must be satisfied with Levi’s answers, because he stops and digs into his burrito.

I stab at my enchilada, pulling it apart, as it’s too hot to eat. “So, you ballroom dance?” I ask Levi, a half-smile on my face.

An adorable blush rises up his neck and to his cheeks. He quickly recovers from his embarrassment and grins at me, lifting one eyebrow. “Is this your way of asking if I’ll take you dancing?”

Rafe scoots his chair forward, and it loudly scrapes on the decking. “Oh, sorry,” he says, but he’s hiding a smirk. “Don’t mind me.”

“No,” I say to Levi. “I was just wondering if your dance with the mop was a regular occurrence.”

He shrugs and scoops up some rice. “I like to dance.”

“I noticed. Especially when you were kicking up the flour.”

“I’m a joyful soul. You should try it sometime. It’s more fun than sitting around doing math.” He shovels the rice into his mouth.

Rafe chuckles, and I shoot him a dirty look. “That’s subjective,” I say, straightening my back. I happen to like math.

“When’s the last time you let your hair down?” Levi asks me, ignoring Rafe.

“I let my hair down plenty,” I shoot back.

Levi’s gaze turns challenging. “When?”

“When I want to.” I lift my chin in defiance, but I can tell Levi isn’t buying it.

“Prove it.”

I give him a strange look. “How?”

“Do something you wouldn’t normally do. Go dancing with me tonight.”

Rafe clears his throat loudly and looks like he’s about to jump out of his chair and wrestle Levi to the ground. I give him a little headshake, then I turn to Levi. “I told you, I don’t date people I work for.”

A glint forms in Levi’s eyes, and I can see he doesn’t care at all about my no-dating rule. “It wouldn’t be a date. It would be proof that you let your hair down.”

“She said no,” Rafe growls, gripping his fork with white knuckles.

I pat Rafe’s arm, a signal to calm down. I can handle Pretty Boy. “It would be more responsible for us to work on your accounting. We need to set a budget and figure out your expenses for the next six months.”

Levi snorts. “Oh yes. That sounds like the perfect Sunday evening.”

“You’re a business owner now. If you don’t start acting like it, you’ll end up losing everything you’ve worked for.”

This snaps him back to reality, and he sobers. “All right, all right. Have it your way. Even though I woke up at the crack of dawn to bake, we can go over more numbers tonight.”

“I mean, if you don’t want to do it tonight, we can work on it more on Tuesday.”

“Why not tomorrow?”

I give him a dirty look. “You said Sundays and Mondays are my days off, but you took Sundays away. You’re not taking away Mondays.”

Levi frowns. “But I don’t want to on Tuesday.”

“Levi,” I say, interrupting, irritated that he’s brushing this off as unimportant. “You have to start taking this seriously. You have a lot of money on the line.”

He huffs. “Fine. We can work on it Tuesday after the bakery closes.”

We get done eating, and the server brings the check by. Rafe picks it up, but Levi snatches it from him. “It’s on me.”

“I’ll pay for our meals,” Rafe says, indicating the two of us.

“No need.” Levi gives the server his card, paying for the whole table.

“Thanks,” Rafe says, although it sounds more like a grunt. He puts his arm around me. “Do you need a ride back to our apartment?”

Levi coughs and waves his hand at us. “Your apartment? You live together?”

“No. We live in the same complex.” Rafe pulls me in tighter.

I wiggle away from him. I don’t need to be coddled. I just needed Levi to stop asking all of those personal questions. “I’m fine. I have my car.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.” Rafe doesn’t accept no for an answer, and he tugs me away from the table before Levi gets his card back from the server.

We get to my car, and Rafe turns to me, leaning in close. “Is he bothering you? Do you need me to interfere? We can help get you a different job.”

I bite my lip, feeling foolish for calling Rafe in to help me. “I’m fine. Really.”

Rafe looks me over. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

He steps closer. “You didn’t bother me. It’s my job to keep you safe and make sure your background isn’t discovered.”

“Yeah, but now he thinks I have a thing for my cousin .”

Rafe grins at me. “By marriage only.”

“That was smooth.”

His grin widens. “I’m good at thinking on my feet.” He taps the top of my car. “I’ll follow you home. Make sure you get inside okay.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. Rafe’s been close by, but he’s never felt the need to follow me home before. “Should I be worried?”

Rafe rakes a hand through his hair and exhales. “Victor’s gone missing.”