Their crab baskets were served, and after making sure they had bibs and everything else they needed, their server headed for another table.
“I’d like that. Thanks.” Jade tied on her bib.
He smiled at the saying on it: The Best Kind of Crabs to Have!
Rafe sure as hell hoped Edward wouldn’t find anything discouraging about Jade that would ruin what until now had been the nicest dating experience he’d ever had. Not that bad news would change his mind about seeing her, at least until he learned the truth directly from her—and then?
His thoughts drifted to seeing her naked in the shower. Ah, hell, he was aroused all over again. No matter what she was up to, he knew reining in his wolf needs was going to be easier said than done.
* * *
Of course Jade said yes. If she wanted to earn his confidence, she had to accept his invitation to run. But this whole charade was going to be a nightmare to keep up with. Yes, she created lingerie, and yes, she sold to upper-end stores, but she didn’t sell to that many. She certainly wasn’t wealthy by any means, but even so, she didn’t feel he was too rich for her blood, and she appreciated him for making her feel that way. Maybe it was because he was a wolf too.
She could see the wolf in him even now—with the cutoffs and the T-shirt washed a million times, the old sandals that looked like they’d seen thousands of miles, and the stubble just appearing on his jaw. He leaned back in his chair, his relaxed posture indicating he was comfortable with who he was and content being with her.
For the last two weeks, Jade had been so uneasy around her brother’s pack that she wished she could feel more at ease around Rafe. Unfortunately, her reason for being here kept her from enjoying herself. She couldn’t quit thinking about Toby, yet she had to be on guard so she didn’t slip up and mention him. The jig would be up then. But keeping her son out of her thoughts was impossible. Everything reminded her of him: kids building sand castles or playing at the edge of the surf, squeals of childish delight, even a family sitting nearby. The child was in a booster seat, fisting a fat french fry while Dad handed him a sippy cup.
Jade started cracking open a crab leg, then looked up at Rafe. He was concentrating on one too. “Do you come here often?”
“As often as I can with Derek. Sometimes with my brother.”
“So both of them live in the area?” This was the first opening she’d had to ask casually about his brother, but she was afraid her accelerated heartbeat was going to give her away.
“Derek does. Aidan doesn’t.”
“Are you close to your brother?”
Rafe dug out some of the meat from his crab leg and dipped it in warm butter. “I am. But we don’t get to see much of each other because of the work we do.”
“So, he’s not a real estate mogul too?”
“Hardly. He’s more the scientist in the family.”
“What about Derek?”
“He plays the market. Some years are good and some years not so good. But he’s had a lot of years to invest, and like me, he’s got a knack for seeing the trends and picking the winners. What about yourself? Family?”
This was a hazard of asking Rafe about his brother and friend; Jade would have to share about herself if he asked. She wanted to stick as close to the truth as she could. But she couldn’t mention her son. Not when Rafe would want to know why she’d abandoned him to come on a vacation alone. Wolves were super protective of their offspring. Her story wouldn’t ring true. Or he’d think she was a bad mother.
“I have a brother. We were close at one time. When he took over the pack…” Crap, what did she say now without spilling the whole story? She pulled out a piece of crabmeat. “Things are strained between us.”
“But you stay with the pack?”
Jade looked up at Rafe. He was watching her, trying to read what was wrong between her and her brother and why she would stay—trying to learn what was going on behind the scenes in her head. Wolves were intuitive creatures, and she feared she was failing miserably at keeping up the charade.
“Not for long,” she said, probably a little too angrily as she stabbed her fork into a green bean. Before she’d fallen head over heels with Stewart, she’d been happy with the pack. Relationships between lupus garous and humans rarely produced children. So she had been just as shocked as everyone else. But that had changed everything for her. Not only were her brother and the pack furious, but raising a human child with the pack could spell disaster for all of them.
Jade had tried to convince Kenneth she wouldn’t have anything more to do with Stewart and that she’d move away so he wouldn’t learn about the child, but Kenneth didn’t believe she’d give her human boyfriend up. Kenneth had been certain there was only one way to deal with the possible threat of Stewart’s learning what they were. Killing him.
Kenneth’s concern wasn’t just a vague one. Stewart had wanted to marry her. And he had wanted kids. But changing him could have been a disaster. And Kenneth wouldn’t have it. Besides, convincing Stewart to leave his mom, stepdad, brother, and half sister behind wouldn’t have worked. He had been devoted to them, which she’d liked. Family had been so important. Her brother had said that if she left the area, he’d leave Stewart alone. But damn Kenneth. He’d lied and never told her until it was convenient to threaten her own son.
“So how did you get the idea to start a women’s lingerie business?” Rafe asked.
She pulled her attention from her morose thoughts and stopped digging at a crab leg to look up at Rafe. She wondered if he had been studying her the whole time, waiting for her to elaborate about her brother and changing the subject when she didn’t.
“I was looking to create something that was easier for women to remove in a hurry—for our kind, you know. That meant a lot less material, and my creations turned out to be pretty sexy.”
He smiled.
“But it was hard selling them to anyone but our kind for eons until a big change in women’s fashions caught on.”
“I always thought less was better.”
Jade laughed. “So did she-wolves. Then I started a specialty baby and toddlers’ line, Tykes and Tiaras, high-end infant and toddlers’ apparel.” She had no intention of telling him what had inspired her to create that line of fashion.
“Sounds good.”
Rafe didn’t seem as interested in that line as he did in the intimate apparel one. Which was totally understandable.
“What about you? What made you get into the real estate business?” she asked, then sucked out another piece of sweet meat.
He watched her, smiling a little. “First property I bought as an investment was a block of old buildings—boarded up, a hazard to the community, and no one wanted to do anything with it. I had all the buildings torn down, except for a corner service station. I expanded it and turned it into a 1950s ice-cream shop and the rest of the block into a park. The ice-cream shop does a phenomenal business, plus locals work there and the residents love the park.”
Jade hadn’t expected that. Had he changed over the years as he’d built up his wealth? “You can’t have made a lot of money off that when you turned most of it into a park.”
“You’re right. But it made me see how a rundown area could be revitalized and made it better for the locals, when they really needed that. It’s not all about making money. I’ve done that with other ventures. I love to turn areas that once thrived but have been abandoned into green-space parks, walking and biking paths, places where people can enjoy the area.”