Lucinda continued to move her hips and sway by herself to the music as everyone around her spun to the salsa music. A few times Hector even gave her a spin and then passed her off to Chuck so he could spin her too while Emma and Isabel clapped along happily. Then they both went back to their wives and she continued to dance alone until she spotted Annie weaving her way toward her. Her eyes widened as she took in the woman's old Hollywood wavy hairdo, golden halter dress and red lipstick. Annie was already the kind of woman who turned heads simply because of her height and unusual features, but glammed up for a party she was breath taking.

"Long time no see." Annie leaned in while shouting over the music. "You look great!"

"Thanks," Lucinda replied and motioned to her. "You look stunning! Gold is a lovely color on you."

"Thanks, it's from Rodrigo." She beamed as she smoothed down the dress. "Feel like getting air? It's become uncomfortably hot in here."

"Sure!"

They both squeezed out of the crowd of dancing guests and made their way to the front sitting area. Annie grabbed two champagne flutes from a waiter and then plopped down on one of the pillowy, oversized chairs. Lucinda did the same and then took one of the drinks from Annie.

"Having fun so far?" Annie asked as she fanned herself.

"Yes!" Lucinda gushed.

"Good, but try saving some of your energy cause this party is likely to last into the wee hours. I overheard Hector saying he was going to party till he drops."

Lucinda glanced over her shoulder as a tall man with thick rimmed glasses wearing a grey suit walked into the sitting room. Behind him trailed a younger looking man, who appeared to be Lucinda's age. He was attractive in a clean business way, with a crisp tailored suit, perfectly quaffed hair, and a jawline with the right amount of stubble on it... in a way he reminded her of her ex. Lucinda's stomach flipped at the sight of him and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"There you are darling!"

The man with the glasses squeezed in next to Annie and she shifted her long legs so that she was partially on his lap as they shared the chair. The younger man sunk down into the seat opposite of Lucinda with a tumbler glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other.

"Lucinda, this is my boyfriend, Loris." Annie smiled as she snuggled into the man with glasses. He hooked his arm around her shoulder, hugging her proudly.

"Greetings," he said with an English accent and then motioned to the younger man. "And this is Tanner, a colleague of mine."

Tanner, the man Emma had wanted her to meet and there he was right in front of her... coincidence?

"They're real estate agents," Annie added as she rubbed her hand over Loris's knee, lovingly. "In fact that's how we met. Loris helped me find my boutique and we've been attached at the hip ever since."

"Can you blame me, Lucinda? Annie is the most extraordinary woman I've ever met," he said, caressing small circles into Annie's shoulder with his thumb.

"Well, you two make a handsome couple." Lucinda smiled.

"Thanks," Loris grinned as he leaned in to plant a kiss on Annie's temple.

"They do that a lot." Tanner sighed as if he had been witness to their canoodling way too many times. "I'd like to say you get used to their PDA, but not really."

"One day you'll find your soulmate, I promise." Loris directed to Tanner.

"I hope so..." he replied, taking a sip from his whiskey and eyeing Lucinda.

Lucinda darted her gaze away and began wondering if it would be rude to excuse herself to get back to dancing? She liked Annie, and Loris seemed harmless, but Tanner was... well... she wasn't entirely sure, but she did know that a tiny part of her felt guilty for enjoying the way he was looking at her appreciatively. Meanwhile Raif was stuck closing the cafe while she exchanged flirty eyes with an attractive man. It didn't seem fair.

"So tell me, Lucinda." He leaned forward. "Where are you from? Cause you're definitely not from around here."

"Oh? Is it that obvious?"

"That's a good thing." He stretched his legs out, crossing his ankles and caressed her foot with his. "It means you stand out, in an alluring way."

"Oh..." She blushed at his boldness and tried hiding her embarrassment by taking a sip of her drink.

A giggle bubbled up from Annie's throat as she said, "Don't let Tanner's maple syrup tongue bother you. He's harmless."

"Darling," Loris said as he tilted Annie's chin up to him. "Please don't speak about a man's tongue unless it has to do with mine. You know how territorial I get."

"Yes, we all know you're like a gorilla pounding it's chest whenever another man even smiles at me." Annie laughed.

"I just want the world to know that this incredible beauty is mine, that's all," he said as he squeezed Annie's thigh. "Now kiss me before I go mad with desire."

Annie rolled her eyes, unable to hide her smile and playful smacked his chest. "You charmer."

As Annie and Loris continued to say sweet nothings to each other, Lucinda looked down at her feet where Tanner's foot still was, gently rubbing against hers. She shifted, causing his foot to slip away and she tried to smile, not wanting to make the situation awkward before taking another sip of her drink. He smiled slyly at her and took a puff on his cigar as if playing footsie with a stranger was absolutely normal.

"So where did you say you're from then?" he asked.

"Redwood Village."

He arched a brow, seemingly impressed. "Lovely area. Expensive real estate considering it's so close to the national park. They have a gorgeous golf course too and an amazing country club."

"I'm afraid I'm not much of a golfer, so I wouldn't know." She shrugged.

"Well, it's a gorgeous place to live nonetheless and I enjoy visiting beautiful places, meeting new people, creating connections..." He tossed her a look of mischief as he ran a finger around the rim of his whiskey glass. "Like I'm doing now."

"Right," Lucinda replied and took another sip of her drink.

"Shall we go back to dancing?" Loris piped up. "I'm afraid if I get too comfortable I'll fall asleep."

Lucinda shot up from her seat, wanting to escape the flirtation radiating from Tanner. "Yes, I'm ready!"

"Well alright then, let's do this!" Annie stood up.

Tanner stood as well and then with an amused grin, held his bent elbow out to Lucinda. "Shall we?"

When they walked back into the living room, the crowd of guests had formed a circle. They were clapping merrily as Chuck and Hector were having a dance off in the center. Emma, who had been looking around the room while absently clapping her hands, spotted Lucinda and eagerly motioned for her to join her.

"I'm going to go stand by Emma," she announced and Tanner nodded, acknowledging her words before she set off.

As Lucinda weaved through the crowd, she kept her focus on Emma, not bothering to see if Tanner was following. She hated coming off as rude but perhaps ditching him would help with the guilty voice in the back of her mind? The voice which kept reminding her how Raif was at the cafe working while she was partying with his friends... She pushed the thought away and felt a weight of relief as she finally got to Emma.

"Where'd you sneak off to?" Emma asked, leaning into her ear.

"Oh I just went to go cool of with Annie for a bit."

"I see you've met Tanner," Emma replied and as Lucinda followed her gaze she saw Tanner standing directly behind them.

"Hey Em," he said over Lucinda's shoulder, causing his body to lean into hers. She stiffened as she felt his hand press on the small of her back with his fingers spreading over her hip. "The party is great so far, I'm so happy you invited me."

"Oh of course! And I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Emma smiled up at him.

"I'm definitely enjoying myself," Tanner said, squeezing Lucinda's hip.

Wanting to get away from Tanner's flirtation again, she leaned into Emma's ear. "Will you excuse me? I have to use the bathroom."

"Oh no problem! Just go back down the hallway and make a right. It's the second door down," Emma explained.

"Thanks."

When Lucinda pushed past Tanner their eyes met briefly and she saw an amused twitch at the corner of his mouth, pulling his lips into a half grin. What was with the men of Breeze Bay being so forward? She darted her eyes away and made her way out of the circle and then down the hallway. Once she found the second door, she slipped inside the bathroom and locked it behind her. With her head leaning against it, she let out a breath. For some reason Tanner's flirtation just didn't sit right with her. The guilty voice in the back of her mind shouted that it was because she had feelings for Raif... Shaking the thought away, she walked over to the sink, ran the water and splashed some on her cheeks.

It felt good to escape for a bit. Even though Emma, Isabel and Annie were making her feel included, she still felt out of place. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she sighed. Maybe what was truly bothering her was that she missed Raif? He was the one person she spent the most time with, even if it was just a few minutes on the beach while watching the sun rise and long shifts at the cafe. Over the weeks he had become her friend. Someone she secretly looked forward to seeing each day.

After a few more splashes of cold water she felt ready to rejoin the party and smoothed down her hair. To her surprise, when she opened the door and stepped out she thudded right into Tanner. He wrapped his fingers around her shoulders, steadying her, and grinned happily as if he had just found his favorite thing in the whole world.

"Hey, just came to check on you."

"Thanks..." she replied, and began to step away to proceed back to the party. "Shall we head back out there?"

"Hey, wait." He grabbed her hand, forcing Lucinda to pause. She glanced at him over her shoulder and he ran a hand through her hair, combing it behind her ear. "Let's talk for a bit."

Lucinda leaned back against the wall and replied, "ok."

He smiled, flashing her his perfectly white teeth as he rested a hand against the wall next to her head, with his body leaning into hers. She could feel her palms going sweaty just thinking about the possibility of Tanner trying to kiss her. With the amount of alcohol in her belly and the buzzing going on in her head, she wasn't exactly opposed to being kissed by him. And it had been such a long time since a man kissed her.

"You know, when Annie told me to come tonight because she had someone she wanted to introduce me to, I automatically cringed," he said as he ran a finger down Lucinda's jawline, causing her to stop breathing with anticipation. "You see, Loris often tries to match-make me with Annie's single friends and after a while it can become tiresome. Everyone always thinks they've got the perfect woman for me to meet and more often than not, I end up disappointed. I must admit, however, that I was delightfully suprised when Annie pointed you out in the crowd tonight."

"Oh?" Lucinda said with a squeak of nerves. "Why's that?"

"For one, you're very sexy and it's not just this dress. Although I must say you wear it quite well." He laughed softly, rubbing a piece of the velvety sleeve between his fingers and Lucinda couldn't help but blush. "Second, you just seem very sweet. I can't tell you how many women I meet that are just... well, how do I say this? A little snotty."

Lucinda mocked a scowl and placed her hands on her hips. "And how do you know I'm not snotty?"

"That's impossible." He shook his head with a soft laugh and brushed part of her hair back. "You're too shy to be rude. I saw you trying to hide your blush behind your champagne glass." He teased.

"That wasn't a blush. It was just very hot in that room."

"I'd say you're hot in just about every room." He winked and for a split second Lucinda had a flashback of Raif winking at her. Her stomach tightened at the memory of it. "Gosh, I couldn't keep my eyes off of you as you danced and I doubt I was the only man who was paying attention, but I sure am glad that I'm the lucky S.O.B that gets to talk to you."

"Hmm... is it the alcohol or are you always this flirty with women you meet?" she asked with a crook of her head as she playfully narrowed her eyes at him.

"Definitely not the alcohol. I've only had two glasses, which means that I have no excuse for my naughtiness."

"Naughtiness?" Lucinda raised her brows in surprise.

"Yeah..." He scratched his jaw with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry about earlier when I grabbed your hip. I think I made you uncomfortable, so I apologise."

"Oh..." Lucinda ducked her head down to hide the uncontrollable blush that was yet again blooming across her face, thanks to the copious amount of booze in her belly. Maybe Tanner wasn't so bad? Or maybe it was the fizzy drinks pickling her better judgement? She dared a look up at him. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

As Tanner smiled back at her, Lucinda's heart pounded and she readied herself to have his lips press against hers. When she was certain he was going to bring his mouth down, she tilted her chin to recieve his kiss, but then his ears perked up as if he was listening for something. Lucinda stared down the hallway, following his gaze and she concentrated on what he was listening for when she heard a man's voice singing a love ballad. Tanner turned back to look at her with a goofy curiosity. "Is that...?"

"Hector?" She finished. "Yeah, I think so."

"Oh my... he's actually really good."

Lucinda's eyes widened with excitement, the almost-kiss forgotten. "I think he's serenading Emma!"

"Well let's get back out there. I don't want to miss it!" Tanner held out his hand and Lucinda took it without a second thought.

As they made their way out of the hallway, he laced his fingers through hers while tossing a soft smile her way. She smiled back and he gave her hand a quick squeeze. He continued to hold her hand as they joined the circle of guests who were absolutely quiet and watching the serenade. Emma was standing in the middle of the circle with her hands pressed to her chest and tears streaming from her eyes as Hector sang to her. Not only was his voice pleasant, but he sang like a man on a stage performing a Shakespearean sonnet. It made the delivery of the lyrics so much more powerful, as if he had written the words himself.

Towards the end of the song, Lucinda glanced down and felt a moment of surprise as she saw her fingers still laced with Tanner's. She had gotten so caught up in the serenading that she stopped feeling his hand around hers. As she continued to stare at their hands she realized that she felt absolutely nothing. No butterflies. No loss for words or thought. No rapid heart beat. Not a single buzz of tingles throughout her body at the mere touch of his hand. Unlike when Raif touched her...

When Hector was finished singing his heart out, the crowd of guest began to disperse with some of them heading out onto the patio for fresh air. Others went over to the bar for a refil and some scooted off to the kitchen for food, but the rest of them continued to dance. Tanner looked down at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to decide where they should go, but then he blurted, "Have dinner with me."

With her mind still buzzing from the drinks she replied, "Ok. Shall we head to the kitchen?"

Tanner chuckled softly and cupped her cheek. "I meant that I'd like to take you out on a date to go have dinner."

"Oh!" Lucinda blushed, realizing how silly she must have sounded. "I honestly haven't eaten much and these drinks have gone straight to my head..." she held up her glass.

"You're adorable." He caressed her cheek. "So what do you say? Would you like to have dinner with me and get to know each other better?"

"Yes, but I really am hungry and I don't want to feel sick in the morning."

"I wouldn't want that either. Let's go see what's in the kitchen," Tanner replied.

As they rounded the corner, Lucinda realized that while she did say, yes, she didn't exactly agree to go on a date. Or at least not any time soon. Plus, what would Raif think if he found out about her making plans to go on a date with someone else? Would he even care? Trying to push aside her doubts, she spotted Emma, Isabel, Annie and Loris all gathered around the island, snacking amongst some of the other guests. Emma's gaze shot towards their intertwined hands and she gave Lucinda an approving grin with a bob of her brow. Annie and Loris seemed to be pleased as well, but the look of triumph on their faces quickly subsided as if they didn't want to draw too much attention to how successful their matchmaking had been. Isabel on the hand chewed the insides of her mouth, looking less thrilled.

"Heard this is where all the good grub is," Tanner said aloud as he guided Lucinda over to the island.

"Dig in..." Isabel said while sliding a platter of appetizers over to him and she locked her eyes on Lucinda.

The two women studied each other while the others seemed to carry on snacking and chatting. Lucinda used the opportunity to let go of Tanner's hand and she reached for a coctail shrimp. As she popped the appetizer into her mouth, she noticed Isabel was still eyeing her and then her focus shifted to Tanner, but he was too busy dipping his shrimp in the coctail sauce to notice. Isabel's eyes narrowed, as if she was thinking hard on something and when he glanced up she snapped her attention away. It was odd, but Lucinda got the sense that Isabel did not approve of her and Tanner hitting things off. The question was, why didn't Isabel approve?

"Isabel, mind if I pick your brain for a bit?" Lucinda asked.

"Sure," Isabel replied, and the woman downed the last of her drink in one gulp. Perhaps it was the fizzy drinks or maybe it was all in Lucinda's head, but Isabel seemed quite eager to leave the kitchen as she lead the way out.

"Don't go too far," Tanner called out.

"Uh huh..." Isabel waved her hand, not bothering to look back as she pulled Lucinda out onto the patio.

Immediately a chill ran up Lucinda's dress. The moon was bright and full, casting a glittery shimmer across the agitated ocean waves crashing over the beach. She rubbed her arms and there was a small puff of fog that escaped her mouth as she breathed. When she looked at Isabel, the woman had her head tilted back with her long black hair feathering out like a horses mane in the breeze. She seemed at peace with her eyes closed, as if she was absolutely enjoying the cold turn in the night air.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

"More like, cold." Lucinda shivered and walked over to the fire pit.

"I love it. Compared to where I grew up in Alaska, this is warm. It's actually not that bad if you don't focus on it," Isabel replied, joining her by the fire pit and wiggling her fingers over the flames. "Go on, try it. Just tilt your head back and take a deep breath."

"Ok..." Lucinda leaned her head back and let her chest expand and contract as she took deep breaths while concentrating on the starts. They weren't as bright as the ones in Redwood Village, which she figured was because of less light pollution. That was the perk of living in the woods. She got to see so much of nature in it's original state, like the deer that often wandered into her yard or the brown bears that would sometimes stroll through town, frightening everyone that was grocery shopping.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Isabel asked, interrupting Lucinda's thoughts.

"Oh, yes, that's right!" Lucinda shook her head, realizing that Isabel's trick not only worked but completely distracted her to. "I need an honest opinion about Tanner and I get the feeling if I ask Emma or Annie that they might only tell me the good stuff. You see, he asked me out on a date and he seems nice and the kind of man I'd like to get to know, but then again I have had a lot to drink. My judgement could be... off..."

"He's ok." Isabel shrugged.

"Just ok?"

"Tanner is... well..." Isabel shifted her head side to side, stretching her neck muscles. She paused and then just stared at the flames with hands on her hips. "He's definitely a nice guy, but he also knows he's handsome, if you know what I mean. From what the rumor mill says, he's very picky about the women he dates and rarely goes on a second date. Apparently he's even walked out in the middle of dates before." Isabel finally turned to face Lucinda. "He seems to have taken a liking to you though, so who knows, maybe he's finally found his match."

"Hmm..." Lucinda looked down and hovered her hands above the fire pit. "I feel like there's a, 'but', coming."

Isabel gave a single, hesitant, nod. "Buuuut he's just not your guy."

Lucinda furrowed her brows, completely confused. "But you just said I could be his match?"

"Exactly. You could be his match, but that doesn't mean he's your match. I just don't see it."

Lucinda cocked her head, still confused and thought back on the look of scrutiny Isabel had given Tanner in the kitchen. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I like to believe that the earth has a way of calling to us. We all have our own free will, but ultimately it's the earth, the wind, the water etc. that guides us. Kind of how the moon controls the ocean waves..." she nodded toward the surf. "Chuck always teases me for thinking this way, he says it's my Native American voodoo, but it's the truth! And there's just something about your spirit that calls to the water. It's probably how you ended up here."

Lucinda shuddered at Isabel's words. Little did the woman know how right she was about her experience with water. As she wrapped her arms around herself she asked, "so if Tanner isn't my guy, then who is?"

Isabel wiggled her fingers over the fire pit with a soft smile. "When Chuck told me he was giving our old furniture to a new girl in town, I didn't think much of it. But then when I heard how that same girl had convinced Raif to hire her during off season... I had this feeling. Water calls to Raif too. He's tied to it in a different way though."

"That ought to explain why he likes to surf so much!" Lucinda laughed.

"Well, yes and no, but if you stick around long enough you'll understand why." Isabel rubbed her hands together while letting her head fall back as she looked up at the sky again. "Let's just say that Tanner is a nice guy and handsome too, and sure you could go on a few dates with him but Tanner is all dirt. And I mean that in a nice way, I'm not saying he's scum. Dirt is grounded. It grows things. Which is probably why he's so successful with real estate. However, dirt and water create mud. Mud is clumpy and thick. Its gets all over your shoes, it leaves track marks on your clean floor... but water is clean. It's pure. It's refreshing. So let's just say I'm team Raif."

"What?" Lucinda chuckled with a scrunch of her nose. "But I don't even think he likes me enough to even be on a team. Plus he's my boss."

Isabel sighed. "Then you're not paying attention and boss or not, the earth is pushing you two together. I can feel it deep in my bones whenever he talks about you." Isabel glanced over at Lucinda to gage her reaction. "You should see the way his face lights up whenever he talks to Chuck about you and honestly, it's the first time in a long time that I've seen him so giddy about a woman."

Lucinda cleared her throat as a marvelous tickle bubbled up from her belly to her throat. Then she hesitantly asked, "And what does he say?"

"That you're not stuck up the way a lot of the women around here can be and the fact that you begged for a job that is practically minimum wage... well, he's impressed." Isabel stared back at the guests inside the house and sighed with a shake of her head. "There's a lot of wealth in this community despite the off season and there's definitely a separation between the working class who make the lattes and the rich who simply drink them. But then here you come, a pretty girl who used to work in a big city, at a big law firm, and instead of working for some wealthy doctor in town, you go work at a cafe and become the girl who makes the lattes. That says a lot about you."

"Gosh, you make it sound like serving coffee is the botton-of-the-barrel kind of job." Lucinda frowned.

"It's not. I bartend in a bar that belongs to my husband. No shame in being blue collar." Isabel shrugged and turned her attention back to the fire pit. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, you certainly could date Tanner and I'm sure things would be great with him, because he is a nice guy... OR you could follow the flow of the water and see where it leads you."

"And by water you mean Ra-" Lucinda paused at the sound of voices errupting in cheer inside the house.

Both she and Isabel turned to see what the commotion was all about and her eyes widened at the sight of the very man in question. Raif.