Her eyes glittered, and she smiled.
I pulled out her chair; she sat down, and then I draped the cream-colored cloth napkin in her lap before scooting her seat in a little closer.
“You look beautiful tonight, by the way,” I said, taking my own seat.“I appreciate very much your accepting my offer of a date.”
She sipped her wine.“Well, I know you’re a good cook after that soup and those paninis.So I’d be a fool to say no.”
“You came for the food then?”
Poking her fork into a small piece of mozzarella from the caprese salad, she popped it into her mouth.“And maybe the company.”
I cleared my throat.“I spoke with the two lawyers Gabrielle referred me to today.Because Vincent showed up.”
She was still chewing, but stopped.“He camehere?”
“Si.And he threatened to burn down the barn.”
Her fork clattered onto her plate.“Excuse me?”
“Another reason I have ordered cameras.”
“W-what did the lawyers recommend when you told them that?”
“To call the police.Which I did.Officers Bruce and Jacobson came over and took my statement.They’re going to give Vincent’s lawyer and Vincent a call, as well as alert the ferry terminal staff to keep an eye out for him.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess.”
I nodded.“The lawyers are going to file a petition against Vincent and his mother, and I have to send all the wills to the estate lawyer for him to check out.But because the laws of land transfer are weird on the island—must be passed down to family—they said Vincent’s lawyers might try to use that as a loophole.”
Sipping her wine, she shook her head.“Oh, Tom.I’m so sorry you’re dealing with all of this.No wonder you applied for Bonn Remmen’s land.”
“I have lawyers now.I need to trust they’ll take care of it.”
Sympathy made the green of her eyes darken.“So what did the people who came here today want?”
“Apparently, Jolene Dandy—”
“Of course.”
My head bobbed.“Apparently, she ignored what I said and told the whole island that I have a new foal here, as well as many other animals, and that people are welcome to come visit.Or something.I never bothered to really listen.I just asked them to leave.But it had to be Jolene and those other women.”
“No doubt about it.She thinks because she’s on the Island Elders Council and part of the Sewing Circle, that she is untouchable.”
“I have also spoken with Cameron about getting me the materials to build a security gate at the top of the driveway.”
“The McEvoys had to do that last year for safety reasons.We’ve considered doing the same.It’s not a bad idea honestly.”
I finished my caprese salad, then moved on to the cannelloni.She did the same.
“May I play devil’s advocate for a moment?”
I nodded.“Si.”
“While I don’t agree with—holy god, this cannelloni is good.”She closed her eyes as she chewed.I smiled and paused my own chewing so I could watch her without distraction.Only after she swallowed did she open her eyes.“Sorry, but I just had to give my undivided attention to that bite.This is probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten.Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner.”
“Prego.Now, you were going to be the devil’s friend?”
“Advocate,” she corrected.“And yeah, while I don’t agree with those people trespassing on your property today and just wandering around, Idothink you should consider being a bit friendlier to the islanders.”Her eyes widened, and her words came out with a laugh.“Don’t glare at me like that.”
