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“So we’re calling it a first date?” He winked at her.
Her heart fluttered. “I didn’t say that. I said if we were.”
He laughed. “I’ll take it.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of this whole situation. She thought of her friend, Dawn, who was marrying a guy who had gone to prison for selling drugs, even though the truth had come out that he’d been covering for someone else. Sometimes things weren’t as they seemed.
Raine picked up a strawberry and popped it into his mouth. “So, are you afraid of me?”
Lucy tried to quiet her thoughts and listen to what she was feeling. The moonlight hit his chocolate-brown eyes just right, and with his blond hair, he could have passed for a beach bum. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. He looked like a man who was doing construction. She snorted; she must be drawn to that. “Nope.”
His eyebrows went up. “What’s that look?”
“What’s what?”
He pointed at her face. “That little snort and look. What were you thinking?”
“No. I don’t have to tell you what I’m thinking.”
“But you want to.”
“Is this what you are talking about? How you’re good at manipulating people?”
Raine’s expression turned from playful to somber. “You don’t have to answer anything.”
Lucy could tell she’d hurt him. “Raine, I was teasing.” She took a deep breath and then let it out. “I told you about Matt.”
Raine nodded. “You mean the guy who left for his ex.” She had told him some of those details earlier as they’d played Frisbee golf.
“Yeah. Well, he’ll be at the wedding in ten days. It will be the first time I’ve seen him since we … parted.”
“That’s rough.” He nodded to her. “Plus the Bridezilla.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, inevitably, you will meet Dawn—said Bridezilla. You cannot tell her I called her that.”
Raine put his hands up like he was being held up at gunpoint. “I don’t even know who you’re talking about. I don’t even know what a Bridezilla means.” His lips curved upward.
Lucy liked that he had a teasing way about him. It was refreshing, especially compared to Matt’s quiet nature.
“Okay, what is that thought on your face?”
Lucy didn’t like how he could sense everything she was thinking about. “Again, I don’t have to tell you. And if you want to fit in around here, then don’t go around acting like you can read minds.”
He laughed heartily.
A thought occurred to her. “Was that your talent? You could kind of sense what people were thinking and be able to cheat them?”
His face went blank, and Lucy knew she was right. He held her gaze. “Yeah. Kind of. I can sense things, and with the right questions, I can draw out a lot of information.”
Lucy thought about all the things she’d been telling him. “Just like you did to me tonight. I guess I was bamboozled.” She stood, her eyes stinging with angry tears.
“Hold up.” He pushed himself to his feet so he could gently tap her shoulder. “I wasn’t telling you that so I could draw anything out of you. In fact, if you think about it, I was telling you the truth about myself because I don’t want my trick to work on you.”
She thought about what he was saying, and she felt like it was true. Plus, she wanted to be the kind of person he was trying to become. More Christlike. Heck, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d read the Bible.
Raine took a step back. “Listen, you don’t have to be afraid of me. I mean, the biggest thing you learn when you deal with people is to trust intention. And to trust yourself. Lucy, if you can’t trust me, that’s totally cool. We had a good ride, and I had a good time tonight. I’m trying to be your friend. Maybe we got into my crap too quickly.” He waggled a finger at her. “Believe me, if you were in my sights as a mark, I wouldn’t have told you anything. In fact, I would’ve become exactly what you needed me to be.”
This man’s thought process fascinated her. “What’s that? What do you think I need you to be?”
