The sun was beginning to set and it was time for Sylvia and the kids to drive home. It had been a good weekend for Merrill. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, but most of all he felt as if he had become closer with his daughter. Over dinner they chatted about old memories from when Sylvia was younger and used to bring home stray animals. Then the kids had a good laugh as Merrill told them stories about Duncan and his crazy antics. He also managed to convince Sylvia to give her husband another call before they left.

Except his warm, fuzzy feeling over getting her to call George fell short as he said his goodbyes to her. When he asked her if their conversation had gone well, she forced on a smile and replied that everything was ok. However, that didn't sit well with Merrill. Sylvia was holding back the truth and as much as he wanted to push it, he knew deep down that it wasn't the right moment. He needed to be patient and let her reveal the truth once she felt ready to. It was a tough lesson to learn over the years, but his wife had taught him that sometimes people just needed a little patience and then they'd open up. After all, flowers didn't just bloom as soon as they were planted, they required time, and Sylvia was his flower at the moment.

There was, however, still one last thing plaguing him and he needed to get to bottom of it before Sylvia left. All weekend long she kept ignoring her phone whenever it rang and at one point Merrill caught a glimpse of the caller ID. It was Aaron. As soon as the kids were loaded up in the car, he decide to ask why Sylvia had been ignoring him.

"Honey," he said as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't help but notice that Aaron has called you several times and you've ignored him. Why?"

Sylvia gave him a hesitant look and looked back at the kids already situated in the car, then back to Merrill.

"He knows about your trip to Breeze Bay..." she looked down as if she was guilty of something. "After I came to visit while you were gone, I drove back home and George was surprised to see me back so soon. So I told him how your neighbor Duncan said you were on vacation in Breeze Bay." Sylvia bit her lip. "Well the next day George told Aaron at work and he's been bugging me for details ever since."

"Well if he wants to know so badly why doesn't he just call me and ask!" Merrill said with irritation.

"I know Pop, but you know how Aaron is. He's always so busy and never has time for anyone."

Merrill looked down and shook his head. "I don't know when your brother became such an arrogant prick."

"Dad!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"Well he is! Never brings the kids around, wants to sell my property... I'm not stupid. I know that was all his idea."

"Don't worry Pop, I won't tell Aaron that you're leaving for Breeze Bay again. Just, please call me and let me know when exactly you leave. Otherwise I'll be worried all day."

"Sylvia I'm going to take off at around four or five in the morning."

"I don't care. Call me and then call me again once you get there. I don't care how late it is."

Sylvia climbed into her SUV and a piece of Merrill's heart ached as he watched the taillights of her SUV disappear down the road. Now that he knew about Aaron finding out about his escape to Breeze Bay, he felt an uneasiness creep in. He could feel, deep in his gut, that something bad was crawling up on the horizon.

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Back in Breeze Bay and in the cafe, Lucinda was elbow deep in suds as she washed dishes in the large industrial sized sink. As she rinsed them off she handed them to Raif so he could dry them. She knew he was trying to talk her out of going to the Riptide by the way he kept hinting how tired he was. However, Lucinda was not having it.

"Raif, you need to make it right with Chuck. He's your friend and I didn't even have to ask for his help. He just volunteered out of the goodness of his heart." She handed a wet dish to Raif and continued. "He could have been spending that time at home or helping Isabel around the bar, but instead he chose to help out a friend in need."

"I know what you're doing," Raif said with a grin as he shook his head, but Lucinda kept going.

"I would assume that you would be grateful for him helping you today."

"Alright. We'll go!" Raif finally gave in and kissed Lucinda's head. A smile spread across her face as she unplugged the sink and dried her hands.

"I wiiiiin," she sang with a little sass.

"Chuck is lucky to have you on his side." Raif laughed as he gave a light spank to her bottom.

"Hey!" She whipped her head toward him. "Shouldn't you be the one getting spanked?"

She picked up the wet towel on the counter and began snapping it at him, but Raif was too fast. He darted away from her, which only made Lucinda chase after him. They dashed around the island in the small kitchen of the cafe, while Lucinda continued to try smacking Raif's bottom with the towel. On the third lap, Raif stopped and spun around causing Lucinda to crash right into him. He captured her by wrapping her in his arms and attacking her face with kisses. She squirmed in his hold.

"No faiiiir!" she yelped with a laugh.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, but didnt stop kissing her all over her face.

"Ahhk!" she cried with a huge smile as she tried to avoid his lips.

"Forgive me, Lucinda," he said again.

"Fo what?" she stopped squirming and looked him in the eyes.

He smoothed the hair out of her face and kissed her nose. "That's better," he said as he held her tighter. "Well? Am I forgiven for being a jerk today?"

"I already forgave you earlier."

"I know, but I need to hear it again, because I swear I'll never shut you out like that again."

"I know you won't." She took a deep breath and added, "I trust you, Raif."

"Good," he sighed with relief. "Cause I know things have moved at a fast pace with us, and we haven't really talked about what this is yet, so the last thing I want is to do something stupid that breaks your trust."

Feeling brave, Lucinda decided it was time to define the relationship. "Well, as long we continue to dance around what we are to each other then I think the confusion and mistrust, on my part, will never go away. So Raif, what are we doing?"

"Hmm." He tapped his chin. "This is coming from the woman, who when I told her that I love her, didn't say anything back..."

"It's just." She paused and tried to collect her thoughts, because she did feel an overwhelming amount of love for Raif, but how could she express it and still feel safe? Saying those three words would make her completely vulnerable to him. "It's just difficult for me to say it without feeling exposed to the possibility of being hurt. I don't say those words casually. When I say them, I truly mean them and the last person I said them to ended up ripping my heart out. So please understand why I'm safeguarding those three words right now."

"Lucinda..." he cradled the sides of her face tenderly. "I am not your ex fiancé. Don't punish me for what he's done to you, but if you need more time to say it, then that's ok, I'll give you time."

"Thank you." She closed her eyes with the relief.

"However," he added and Lucinda popped her eyes back open. "I will insist that you call me your boyfriend and I'm not backing down from that one."

With a squeal Lucinda threw her arms around him and kissed him repeatedly. When she was satisfied she rested her forehead against his. "So it's official then? You're mine, and I'm yours?"

"Yes. Now take off your clothes."

"What?" She gasped.

"I've always wanted to make love in this kitchen and now I can." He bobbed his brow at her.

Moments later, Lucinda and Raif were panting as he held her against the wall. Her legs felt like jello, but they remained wrapped around him, with their bodies still connected. Pressing firm a kiss to her lips, Raif eased himself away and gently lowered her down. Untangling themselves was bittersweet as they tried to catch their breath. Makeup sex definitely lived up to the hype!

After putting their clothes back on and making sure they were both presentable, they left the cafe like a couple of naughty teenagers. Never had Lucinda imagined doing something like that in such a public place. Sure they were back in the kitchen, away from view, but it still felt taboo. Perhaps that's what made it so thrilling? Lucinda was still coming down from the high of it as they walked over to the Riptide holding hands and giving each other little kisses on the way.

It was the happiest and most calm either of them had felt all day, until a car's bright lights lit up their walkway. It approached so slowly, making its presence that much more menacing as the mist floated past the car's high beams. As it got closer Raif stopped and stepped in front of Lucinda as if shielding her from harm. His eyes widened once he recognized the old Mercedes Benz and then irritation took over when Eaddie Harlow rolled down the window.

"You won't be so in love once we serve you with child support papers!" she snarled at Raif, with a look of disgust Lucinda's way. "My lawyer even says Rachel might be able to get awarded with back payments from the time my grandson was a baby."

"You know that's against Rachel's wishes Eaddie," Raif said through his teeth.

Eaddie scoffed. "It's not about what Rachel wants. It's what's best for her son and I'm not going to stand for Ms. Hotsy Totsy over here taking away what's owed to him!"

"Are you referring to me?" Lucinda asked in complete surprise. "I'm not taking anything away from him!"

"Oh I'm not stupid. I know how girlfriends like to manipulate 'baby daddies' and I won't stand for it!" Eaddie shouted.

"Well," Raif raised his voice. "What I won't stand for is you meddling in what should just be between Rachel and me. We're done here Eaddie! And please stay away from my cafe!"

"Once my lawyer is through with you, you won't have a coffee shop to screw your little girlfriend in, anymore! I heard the two of you back there in the kitchen as I stopped by to tell you I got the news of the paternity test. Wait till I tell allllll of my friends that you have sex in your precious cafe!" Eaddie roared, and then peeled down the street at full speed.

Raif covered his face and let out a frustrated yell. "That woman is crazy! Why can't she just leave me alone!"

Lucinda immediately wrapped her arms around him. She didn't know what to say, so the best she could do was just embrace him. She could hear his heart pounding and truthfully hers was too. Neither of them had even considered checking to see if the cafe door was locked before making love in the kitchen. If Eaddie told people in town about what she and Raif had done... it could hurt his business. They remained standing there for a moment with her arms wrapped around him and his breathing started to become normal again.

"I'm sorry for what she said to you," Raif said into Lucinda's neck.

"It's ok. It was just words. She didn't hurt me and we're going to get through this together. If anything I'm just embarrassed that she heard us."

"Don't be." He pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes. "I made love to a woman that I'm in love with and there's no shame in that. Plus, the cafe is private property after closing time, so she was trespassing. If she even tries to say a foul word about you, I'll have sheriff Sanchez pay her a visit. I can play dirty too."

"No... you don't want to stoop to her level. She'll only make matters worse."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Raif took her hand again and kissed her knuckles. "It just makes me so angry that she direct her hatred for me, onto you and embarrassed you in the process. I'll never let anyone hurt you, Lucinda, especially not that woman. I know I acted like a jerk today, but I'll always protect you from people like Eaddie Harlow."

"I know," she replied and stood on her tip-toes to give him a kiss. "I know I'm safe with you."

He smiled with a sigh of relief, and stroked a finger across her cheek. After steeling one more kiss, he weaved his fingers through hers and they continued to walk to the Riptide, hand in hand.

"You know," he began to say. "This day started off rough, but over all it's been pretty good and it's thanks to you, Lucinda. You're my sunshine on a cloudy day."

"Oh gosh, don't start getting all cheesy on me now, Raif." Lucinda tossed her head back with a soft laugh.

"I'm not," he replied a little defensively. "You ARE my sunshine. I'm not sure what exactly I was doing before, but ever since you walked into my cafe, it's like the curtains on my life have been pulled wide open. I used to roll out of bed, wash up, get dressed and head for the Barrel Wave. Then I'd work all day and sure I'd chit chat with people and maybe even have a late drink at the Riptide--"

"And have a few flings with tourists..." Lucinda added with a smile and Raif winced.

"Yes, some of those too, but that's not the point I'm getting at." He squeezed her hand. "What I'm saying is, I thought that I had everything I wanted. A nice home, a successful business, good friends and yes, a pretty woman every once in a while, but it was all kind of... grey. Then you come into my life with your bouncy blonde hair I just had to touch, and suddenly I wanted more. Suddenly my world had color in it and it's because you've shined your light on it." He leaned into her ear and whispered, "my little ray of sunshine."

Lucinda's cheeks filled with warmth at his words. He wasn't cheesy at all. Raif was the man she had been waiting to find. As they came to a stop in front of the Riptide, she blocked his path as he reached for the door. When he looked at her puzzled, she rested her hands on his chest and smiled up at him.

"Well, I guess that makes you my prince charming, and I had to kiss a lot of frogs to get to you."

He narrowed his eyes at her playfully. "Just how many frogs?"

"At least five... maybe eight, but it was all worth it to finally get to you." She leaned up and kissed him.

"Now who's being cheesy?" he said against her lips.

"Just shut up and kiss me!" Lucinda replied.

"Yes ma'am!"

He crashed his mouth against hers and they shamelessly made out in front of the bar, not even pausing for air as a couple of patrons exited and cheered them on.