Page 52 of Hot Stuff
None of us has even glanced at the menu but before we can comment, a man in chef’s whites walks up to our table.
“Laken, lovely to see you.” He leans over and kisses both her cheeks. “Will you allow me to choose your meals for tonight?”
“I’m fine with that.” Laken looks at us in turn. “I can vouch for Chef Kegan’s talents. He will not disappoint.”
“Sure, I’m game.” I glance at Oakley to see her nodding.
“Yes. Me too.”
“Raff?” Chef Kegan arches a brow.
“Cook me what you want, little brother,” Rafe answers with a grin.
“Wait.” Oakley’s gaze bounces between the two men. “You’re brothers?”
“Did the name of the restaurant not give it away?” Rafe asks.
“But it’s…oh. Your last name is Rafferty?”
“No. My first name, but shithead here decided it would be funny to name this place after me. Raff is what my family calls me. Hence, Raff’s.”
“I never made the connection.” I shake my head. “And I’ve been eating here for years.”
“We try not to make the connection. Or at least we don’t advertise it,” Kegan explains. Then he rubs his hands together. “All right. I’ll be back with your first course shortly.”
When he’s gone, Oakley says, “You look nothing alike.”
“We’re adopted. All seven of us.”
“There are seven of you? Your poor mother.”
“There’s nothing poor about my mother. She could have been a drill sergeant. Hell, she basically was. Not one of us boys stepped out of line when we were younger and if she finds out we do now, she isn’t above an ear twist to pull us back in.”
Rafe is chuckling and I feel a pang of regret. I miss having that relationship with my mother. She might not have been as formidable as Rafe’s mother sounds but she still knew how to pull me and Shelby into line.
“You okay?” Oakley whispers in my ear.
“Yeah, just feeling nostalgic.”
“Ah, right. Well, I’m feeling envious. I didn’t have any relationship with my mother. I don’t remember the woman. And my father was out of my life when I was three.”
She looks stricken for a second then shakes her head.
“I don’t know why I told you that here.”
I slip my arm around her and pulling her close, drop a kiss on her temple. “You can tell me anything any time.”
Smiling up at me, she mouths ‘thank you’ before turning to our companions. “When are you going to visit me in Baton Rouge, Laken?”
“I’ll be busy for the next few months. Maybe after the season is over?”
“Yes. Let’s plan that.”
“Does your grandfather still head north for the summer?” Laken asks and I realize these two know each other more than Oakley let on.
Rafe and I sit in silence and let the women talk for a few minutes. He’s to the right of me and I find it hard to see him clearly without facing him head on.
And I don’t want to be caught staring but I’m curious about his and Laken’s relationship.
