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“Bombs away,” the woman called out, and another roll of duct tape fell beside him.
He frowned and moved away from the ladder, furious that someone was just tossing supplies down willy-nilly. “Hey, you can’t do that. You almost took my head off, lady!”
“One more!” A third roll of duct tape tumbled down.
Raine paused a moment to take in the sight of her. The woman was wearing some kind of flowing summer dress, and her long, curly, frizzy, flowing hair was tied up in a scarf. Altogether, she looked like … well, a fairytale kind of woman. Unreal. But he was too annoyed to appreciate it. “You can’t just throw stuff down from there and not expect to take a guy’s head off,” he complained.
The woman had a huge grin on her face and waved a hand dismissively. “I never miss, and I was very aware of you, Mr. …” She frowned and made her way down the ladder. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
The woman bent to pick up all the rolls and placed them in a basket. She had one smudge of dirt or grease or something on her cheek, but otherwise, he re-assessed the fairy thing. This woman looked like she’d just walked out ofVogue. She was well put together with her summer dress, her spiraled hair that could’ve been done by a professional, and her brown leather clogs. For a second, Raine couldn’t remember what they were talking about.
The woman finished picking up her things and then cocked an eyebrow at him. “Cat got your tongue?”
That woke him up. “Oh. Right.” He pointed to the ladder. “You could have hurt someone when you dropped all those duct tapes.”
She pushed out her bottom lip in a pouty sort of way. “Ah, did I hurt you?”
Wow, the woman had gone fromVoguemodel to the most irritating insect in three seconds. “No, you didn’t hurt me,” he retorted, feeling like his manhood had been insulted. “But you need to watch out. You may have hurt someone … not so coordinated.” He lightened up a little and gave her a half grin. “Not with reflexes like Superman.”
The woman gave him a sweeping look. Was she checking him out? “Superhero? Hmm, I don’t think so.”
Shewasinsulting his manhood. Raine was retired Army, so he kept himself in shape. Sure, he was a bachelor, and he might be scruffier than normal because of his project and the fact that he was at the beach, but he was still proud of the way he looked. “Take a picture; it might last longer.”
The woman had looked carefree, yet bossy, but now she glared at him. She did a fake laugh. “Wait. What did you say your name was again?”
“I didn’t,” he said, taking a step closer to her. She was feisty and beautiful. He put his hand out. “I’m Raine Birch. I bought the old Sam place on the south side of the beach.”
She stared at his hand for a second, then reluctantly shook it. “Hello.” Clearly, she was only shaking his hand because she had manners. Her hand did not disappoint; it was soft and smooth and small, but strong. She pulled back quickly, her face betraying a bit of disgust. “What are you doing with the place? From what I’ve seen, it’s a wreck.”
“Nope,” he said. Talking was his game. “It’s your turn. What was your name, oh bearer of the flying duct tape?”
Her lip tugged up. Bam! He’d gotten her. Over the years, he’d discovered that if he could keep a woman smiling or laughing, he was in.
“I am sorry for throwing the tape or dropping it, rather.” Her cheeks flushed red, and he thought he’d gone to heaven. “Look, I have a wedding in less than ten days. The caterer just canceled. The bride, one of my best friends, doesn’t live in town and has turned into a serious Bridezilla, and I have to get back to my shop, too. Plus I broke up with my boyfriend two months ago and we haven’t even spoken. And there’s a duct tape shortage in this town. Hence the reason I had to scavenge the upper racks and nearly take your head off.” She scowled. “So yeah, I’m kind of a mess.”
Raine was taken aback by the onslaught of emotions.
She shrugged. “Anyway…”
Instantly, he knew he liked this woman. “Then I think I’ll forgive you. If you tell me your name and do one other thing.” Truman might say Raine was pressing his luck, but it was in his nature. It had always benefited Truman, too. Even when they were young and had been thrown from foster care to foster care, Raine had always pressed his luck.
The woman cocked her head to the side again, probably deciding whether she could trust him. “What’s that?”
“Go out with me tonight.”
She looked confused. “I don’t even know you.”
“I told you, I’m Raine Birch. So what do you say? Go out with me?”
She let out a light laugh. “You don’t even know my name.”
“I would if you would tell me.”
She moved to the line at checkout, and he followed.
“Still waiting for an answer,” he insisted.
There were a couple of people in front of them. She glanced at the line, then back to him. “All right. My name is Lucy Longmont. I own the boutique on the pier with the gallery.”
