As Rachel stepped out onto the patio in a short floral patterned wrap dress, Lucinda couldn't help but take in her hourglass frame. Her chest tightened as her gaze went to the sexy and strappy high heeled sandals that wrapped all the way up Rachel's toned calf muscles. The ruby red polish on her toes matched the polish on her fingernails and plump lips too. Rachel was like a goddess with her brown hair floating in a graceful cascade down her tanned shoulders. Her green eyes practicallly beamed like emeralds too, as they zeroed in on Raif and only Raif.

Lucinda swallowed down the sudden tightness which had migrated from her chest to her throat. Something told her that Rachel purposely dressed this way to get under her skin. The woman had to have known that Lucinda would be present at the barbeque and wanted to show off. Perhaps even intimate her? And it worked, because suddenly she was self conscious about her purple dress looking like a potato sack.

"He's in the car. I told him to wait while I checked things out first," Rachel announced.

"Well, how do things check out?" Raif asked.

Lucinda could tell that Raif's nerves had kicked in again by the way he jiggled the loose change in his pocket. By now she knew that anytime he was nervous or stressed, he had to do something with his hands. Audrey and Celeste returned to the patio and at first they froze in the doorway with wide eyes, but then proceeded to step out. Celeste politely said hello as she took a seat, but Audrey did a semi-circle around Rachel and looked her over from head to toe.

"Well, well, well. You sure look different," Audrey said flatly and then sat by Lucinda as if declaring who's side she was on.

"Raif, would you like to come out to the car with me?" Rachel asked through her teeth, apparently perturbed by Audrey.

"Just as long as you don't abduct him," Audrey chided with a sweet smile.

Rachel ignored her and spun to walk into the house. Raif began to follow her, but before he stepped into the doorway, Lucinda sprang up from her seat, hugged him and whispered that everything would be ok. He nodded with a sigh, a brief moment of relief passing over his face and then kissed her before disappearing. For a few beats Lucinda remained there, still facing the doors until Audrey broke her from her trance.

"So, Lucinda, tell us more about yourself." She gave the seat next to her a pat.

🌊🌊🌊

Raif trailed behind Rachel as she slammed open the storm door to go out to the car. It bounced back toward him from the force, which he thankfully caught in time before it smacked him in the face. When Rachel was upset, she didn't have a problem letting everyone know it. That was the one thing he never liked about her since it reminded him of her mother, Eaddie. As teens in love, he often ignored her tantrums, but as a grown man, there was no way he would allow her to be disrespectful. Not to him. Not to his family. And least of all to Lucinda.

"She just had to show up, didn't she!" Rachel huffed as she clomped down the steps and onto the gravel driveway.

"Well, she is my family. You were the one who wanted our son to meet everyone at once."

"She lives six hours away, I didn't expect her to come up here! Who invited her anyway? She's never liked me cause she's always been so protective of you. Always jealous... but I bet she looooves Lucinda! The cow," Rachel growled.

Raif cut in front of her, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Hey! Don't you dare insult my aunt, and leave Lucinda out of this."

"FINE," Rachel hissed.

"And what did you expect Rachel? When we broke up my aunt was the person I confided in and vented to. She was the one who comforted me. Cause that's what aunts do." Raif ran his hands through his hair, blowing out air and then continued. "This isn't how I wanted things to start out. I'm pretty sure he can see us arguing from the car, so lets just pull it together and try to get along today. Please Rachel?"

"Fine," Rachel replied again. "But your aunt better not get mouthy with me. We all know how well that went the weekend before I left for college."

"Trust me, I remember..."

Raif's mind skipped back to that very weekend. His parents were hosting a big graduation dinner for him. Family and friends were invited and of course, Rachel as well. Everything was going great until Audrey began grilling Rachel and asking questions about how she was going to maintain a long distance relationship? His aunt went on to say how college parties and college boys might put a strain on their relationship and she was concerned Rachel would have difficulty staying monogamous. The outcome of the conversation may have went differently if Raif's aunt had spoken with Rachel privately, except she did it at the dinner table... in front of everyone.

To make matters worse, Rachel wasn't one to back down, and became completely defensive. It quickly spiralled into a shouting match, with insults being flung across the table, but the final straw was when Rachel accused Audrey of having an unnatural, love for Raif. She all but spelled out the word, incest. Raif had never seen his aunt get up so quickly from her seat, or slap someone so fast. Raif could still picture the scene so vividly as Rachel held her cheek in complete shock, only to jump up from her seat and tackle Audrey. The both of them were on the floor, a tangle of arms and legs like a couple of cats clawing at each other. Raif's father had to step in and force Rachel to leave.

It was awful, but a fight that could have been avoided if his aunt wasn't so hot headed.

Raif took a deep breath and motioned toward the car. "Shall we?"

Rachel tossed her hair over her shoulder with a huff, and walked toward her convertible Mercedes. There in the car, sat a young boy with a head full of wavy dark hair like Raif's and headphones plugged into his ears as he listened to music on his phone. Rachel opened the car door and addressed her son, but he ignored her.

"Damn it Gavin! You're not pulling this crap today," Rachel said as she plucked the headphones out of his ears. "Get out and meet your father."

Gavin rolled his eyes and stepped out of the blue Mercedes while smoothing out his jeans and mumbled, hello, as he stared at the ground.

"Gavin, don't be rude!" Rachel snapped.

"It's alright Rache," Raif replied.

"No, it's not," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm trying to raise a man, and a man..." Rachel paused to tilt her son's chin up and looked him in the eyes. "Is well behaved with good manners."

"Rachel, really, it's fine. Could you cut him some slack, just this once?"

Rachel folded her arms. "Fine. Cause you're suddenly an expert on raising a teenager and you think 'cutting him some slack' is the way to go."

"Well, perhaps I'd be a lot better at this if you had allowed me in his life from the start," Raif clipped.

With that, Rachel shut her mouth and Raif focussed back on the young boy he just met, who was clearly upset.

"Hey," Raif said while bending his knees and searching for Gavin's eyes. "It's ok if you don't want to be here. I wouldn't want to be here either. I tell you what, for tonight, we can just take it easy. If you just want to hang out on the couch and listen to your music, that's fine. Just don't miss out on the food that's grilling. My dad's an excellent cook, even your mom will agree."

Rachel uncrossed her arms and took on a softer tone. "He's right Gav, and I'm pretty sure I saw some lobster tails on the grill. He loves seafood," she directed to Raif.

"That's great," Raif said clapping his hands together. "I love seafood, so we'll get along just fine. Lets go in, get the awkward hellos over with and then you can do whatever you like. Sound good?"

Gavin shoved his hands in his pockets and mumbled ok, but Rachel wasn't pleased with it. "Gavin, what did I tell you? Look at people when they talk to you and speak up when you answer them."

"It's ok Rache," Raif protested again.

"Look, I get you trying to be the cool guy and all, but Gavin isn't going to learn if I let things slide."

Raif threw his hands in the air. "Fine, you win. Lets just go inside, Rachel."

🌊🌊🌊

Lucinda tried her best to smile as she made conversation with Audrey and Raif's parents. Thankfully, Merrill was being his charming self and making everyone laugh with jokes about the stray dog and his second wind at surfing. The entire time Lucinda's heart thumped as she waited for Raif to return. When he finally appeared in the doorway to the patio, she felt her stomach do a happy flip, but then she saw Rachel right behind him and remembered that the woman wasn't a figment of her imagination.

Raif stepped aside to reveal a boy who came up to his shoulder. As he stood there, he looked like a clone of Raif with his wavy hair and strong posture. Lucinda just knew that the boy was going to become a heartbreaker with the green eyes he inherited from his mother and the thick, long, lashes that surrounded them. The combination of those eyes with that dark wavy hair was a recipe for a heartthrob.

"Everyone this is Gavin," Raif announced while stepping down the steps and guiding his son over to everyone. "Gavin this is my Mom and my Dad."

"Hi," Celeste said as she hugged her grandson for the first time and gave him a good squeeze. As she let go she swiped her fingers under her eyes and then took a sip of her martini before sitting back down.

"This is my aunt Audrey." Raif motioned to her. "But you'll have to watch out for her cause she's big on hugs."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you this time," she replied with a wink.

"Next we have my friend Merrill," Raif said as he motioned to the man. "And I saved the best for last, this is Lucinda, my girlfriend."

The young boy's eyes shot up to look at her and he smiled. This caught Lucinda by surprise, considering that with the other introductions he barely made eye contact.

"It's nice to meet you," he said quietly.

"Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Lucinda replied. "You're a very handsome young man."

"What do you say, Gav?" Rachel chimed in.

The boy clenched his teeth and replied, "Thank you."

"Ok Gavin," Dimitri said with a clap of his hands. "What would you like to drink. I've got soda, juice? My wife makes a killer lemonade."

"Lemonade please," Gavin's quiet voice replied.

"Speak up Gavin," Rachel demanded.

"Rache, just... take it easy today?" Raif pleaded.

Rachel glared at him for several, tense seconds and then shifted her attention to Celeste to tell her how lovely her remodeled kitchen looked. Trying not to be outshined, Lucinda spoke up and asked how long ago they remodled it.

Celeste smiled weakly and said, "oh, about five years ago. It was due for an update."

"Well it looks great!" Rachel replied as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and took a seat on one of the rattan lounge chairs. "You've always had impeccable taste in decor."

"Thank you, Rachel," Celeste replied.

"Did you design it yourself?" Lucinda asked.

Celeste half smiled again. "No. Dimitri hired someone as an anniversary gift. I told the interior decorator what I liked and she took care of the rest."

"Well, it really is lovely. Did the same decorator design Raif's interior?"

Rachel snorted. "Knowing Raif, he probably decorated her interior."

Celeste straightened her posture, and visibly clenched her jaw, uncomfortable with Rachel's innuendo about Raif and the interior decorator. "Yes, same designer."

"His home looks so nice too," Lucinda replied. "I wouldn't mind hiring someone to decorate my apartment. It's still quite sparse since I haven't really bought anything to fill it."

Celeste nodded, but didn't respond. Instead she turned to Audrey and began chatting with her. So far, Lucinda wasn't sure how Celeste felt about her. It was obvious that Audrey and Dimitri liked her just fine and even Gavin seemed to take well to her in his own way, but Celeste was harder to read. Especially after the earlier incident when Rally was brought up. The woman had become even quieter than she was initially, simply nodding absent-mindedly whenever a question was asked. Which also begged the question of why Raif never mentioned having a brother before? In all of their late nights chit chatting, not once was there even the slightest hint of a sibling.

Obviously Rachel knew about Rally and part of Lucinda couldn't help but feel jealous that she claimed such a huge chunk of Raif's life. Not to mention his future too, since they would now need to co-parent Gavin. It was a tough pill to swallow.

"So, Lucinda..." Rachel said, pronouncing the name with emphasis, as she crossed a leg over the other, revealing some of her thigh. "How long have you and Raif been a couple?"

Audrey's eyebrow shot up. "You're not even going to ask warm up questions?"

Rachel rolled her gaze toward her and then back to Lucinda. "No. I like being straightforward. So Lucinda, how long? I only ask because I don't want my son around a woman that's just a fling." Then with a light laugh she added, "You know what I mean, right?"

Lucinda's jaw dropped slightly, but before she could answer, Raif settled into the seat next to her and draped his arm across her shoulder.

"I'd say, officially a little over month." Raif smiled as he gazed into Lucinda's eyes. "But I fell for her the moment she walked into the Barrel Wave three months ago. She is far from being a fling," he said, turning back to Rachel.

"I don't think I've ever seen my nephew this in love!" Audrey chimed in.

Rachel exhaled slowly. "How nice..."

"Who wants another martini?" Dimitri asked, his timing perfect since the conversation needed a shift.

As he took count of who needed their drinks refreshed, Lucinda couldn't help but want to melt into Raif. He publicly declared his feelings for her, staking a claim on the side he was on. It felt good to have him, in a way, defending her from Rachel's underhanded insults. Their relationship wasn't some fling! Raif was the truest love she had known in all of her adult years, so she wasn't going anywhere and apparently neither was he.

Raif pressed his lips to her temple and Lucinda felt more in love with him than the day before. Tomorrow she would love him even more, she just knew it. Her gaze traveled over to Rachel, who was burning her eyes into them, but then darted her attention away from Lucinda to sip her drink. A small zip of triumph fluttered through her and then she looked toward Merrill. He had witnessed the exchange and they nodded at each other, slight smiles on both of their faces. Merrill winked. That in itself, was enough approval for Lucinda as she imagined that somehow, someway, her father was sending her messages through Merrill.

Deep down, she knew he would approve of the woman she was becoming and the man who had her heart.

There was no way she would let Rachel come between them.