When I Fall in Love(88)

But that Raina had vanished, it seemed, leaving only this strange, polite, detached shell behind. Sure, she smiled like Raina, and she laughed at his jokes and urged the team to victory. But she never fully looked at him.

Even after they placed first in their division.

Even at the victory party.

And especially when he offered her a ride home. Which she declined.

He tried not to let that dig a hole in his heart. If he could just get her alone . . . but she refused to open the door to him or answer her phone.

So for the last two weeks, he’d buried himself in finishing cabin seven. And he’d read and reread the e-mail from his buddy in Roatán, contemplating the treasure hunt.

Maybe it was time to leave.

Meanwhile, he hung around, hoping to catch a moment with Raina when she arrived at the resort to meet with Grace, helping her pull together the catering menu for Eden’s hurried wedding. He even devised excuses to be in the same room. Like needing a refill on his water bottle or grabbing a quick sandwich.

As he closed the door behind him, he spied Grace pacing the kitchen, holding the phone like she might throw it. “I’m going to kill her.”

Raina sat on one of the stools, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, her hair pulled back into a long ponytail.

“What’s going on?”

His words elicited a grim expression from Grace and a flash of surprise from Raina.

For a moment, a smile seemed to crease her face. Then it vanished, and she looked down, burying her attention in the pile of recipes, menus, and ingredient lists scattered on the granite countertop.

Grace set the phone down, leaned against both hands on the counter. “Your overeager sister has agreed to a prewedding photo shoot that includes shots of the food for Hockey Today magazine.”

Huh?

“I know—I can’t believe it either. It’s less than a month before the wedding and I have to somehow scrounge up a gourmet sampling of the dinner I plan to serve—by Saturday! Is she nuts?”

“What’s on the menu?” He walked to the bread box, pulled out a loaf, and retrieved the peanut butter.

“I don’t know. I was thinking we’d have poke and maybe ahi and ebi sushi for appetizers, although I’ll make some California rolls for those who don’t like ahi.”

Raina didn’t even flinch at the conversation. She probably saw Grace in need and, just like she had with Casper, bellied up to be the first mate.

His throat burned as he reached for the marshmallow creme.

“Hey, don’t put that knife in there. You’ll get peanut butter all over the marshmallow.”

“Seriously? Grace, calm down.”

She took the knife from him, went to the sink.

His gaze tracked to Raina. She didn’t look at him, but he took the opportunity to wander over and reach for the menu. “Smoked mahimahi tacos? Misoyaki butterfish? Short ribs?” He put the menu down. “Wow, that sounds great.”

Grace smiled at him, and he glanced at Raina, hoping for something. She avoided his eyes.

“So has Eden seen the menu?” he asked, taking the clean knife from Grace. He dug into the marshmallow creme.

“I guess so. I sent her some ideas over e-mail, and suddenly I’m cooking for a national magazine.”

“Has she ever even eaten mahimahi? Or butterfish?” He closed the sandwich, leaned against the counter.

Maybe he could wait Raina out. She’d have to look at him someday. Or better yet, what if he simply hauled her onto the deck, out of earshot, and made her tell him what he’d done? He’d racked his brain—was still racking his brain—and couldn’t come up with anything.

“I don’t know. The Hawaiian food was her idea, remember? I’m just trying to throw her the wedding of her dreams,” Grace said, retrieving the menu.

He raised an eyebrow at her. Since returning home, Grace seemed changed. More resolute. Always an optimist, she had a way of making people believe that anything was possible. And now she seemed to be living up to her own words.

“You’re really going to pull this off, aren’t you?”

Grace sighed. “Absolutely.”

But it was something in her sigh that made Casper hesitate. “But?”

“But I’ve got to hire serving staff and go to Minneapolis and check out the venue, not to mention order the fish . . .” She glanced at Raina. “Maybe we should just have fluffernutters.”

He laughed, and even Raina’s mouth tweaked up.

How about that? It seeded an idea. “What can I do to help?”

Grace glanced at him. “Really?”

“Sure. I’m at your service.” He kept one eye on Raina.

“Okay. Uh, I have to work, so you and Raina could track down where I can buy butterfish in Minneapolis. You could give her a ride into town later?”