Free Lawful Lover (Eternal Bachelors Club #2) by Tina Folsom Page A

now.”
    Sabrina followed her back into the kitchen, and once again watched as Raffaela expertly prepared the Italian dessert. As she rolled out the dough, then used a pasta machine to make the dough even thinner, Raffaela explained everything she was doing, sharing her secrets for making sure the shells weren’t too thick or too thin.
    “See, and then you’ll dip them into the hot oil and fry them until they’re crispy,” she explained, and demonstrated it at the same time.
    After a few minutes in the oil, Raffaela pulled the shell out again. “Now, the trick is to slide the shell off the tube without breaking it. It’s really simple once you’ve done it a few times.”
    Sabrina sighed. “You make it look easy, but I’m sure when I do it, they’ll crack!”
    “Try the next one,” Raffaela encouraged her.
    Sabrina nodded. When Raffaela pulled the next cannoli from the hot oil, Sabrina carefully slid the crispy shell off its metal casing and was surprised to see that it remained intact. “I did it!”
    Raffaela grinned at her. “Perfect.”
    Soon, they developed a rhythm, working alongside each other silently, the only sound that of the sizzling oil as Raffaela dipped the shells into it.
    “I’ve never had a homemade cannoli,” Sabrina said. “I’ve bought some from the store, but they were often rubbery.”
    “Well, you haven’t had a real cannoli until you’ve tried one of mine.”
    “I can’t wait.” She smiled. “What will we do after all the shells are fried?”
    “Once the shells are cool and we’ve filled them with the cream mix, we’ll have to hide them.”
    “Hide them?” Sabrina asked curiously.
    “Because if my husband or Daniel find those before dinner, they’ll eat them. They can’t keep their hands off them. Around cannoli, those two are worse than kids.”
    Sabrina laughed. “Yeah, I can picture Daniel like that.”
    “That boy can be a handful.” Raffaela shook her head and handed Sabrina another cooked shell.
    Carefully, Sabrina removed the last shell from the tube and placed it on the rack to cool.
    Raffaela retrieved the filling from the refrigerator and placed it in front of Sabrina. “I’ll have you scoop all of this into a large Ziploc bag.” She placed one in front of Sabrina.
    Sabrina spooned the cream filling into the Ziploc bag and closed it. “Okay, now what?”
    “Snip about half an inch off one of the corners.”
    By doing so, the Ziploc bag turned into a pastry bag. Raffaela showed her how to hold the shells and squeeze the filling into it.
    “Don’t worry if the ends don’t look pretty. We’re just going to dip them into toppings anyway.”
    There was something calming about the monotony of picking up a shell, filling it, and then setting it back down before repeating the process.
    “Shall we try one?” Raffaela suggested, lifting one of the filled shells to Sabrina’s mouth.
    Without hesitation, Sabrina bit into it and chewed. The contrast between the crunchy shell and the creamy filling was perfect, as were the flavors that complemented each other.
    “Hmm, it’s amazing! That’s the best cannoli I’ve ever tasted!”
    Raffaela beamed.
    “Last time Daniel visited, he brought Audrey with him. I asked her to help me make cannoli, too, and she asked why make them when she could just buy them. And that the bakery she went to in New York made better ones than anyone else.”
    Sabrina almost choked on the shell. “How could she say that without even giving yours a try?”
    How heartless of Audrey to insult the mother of her then-boyfriend. Sabrina put her hand over Raffaela’s hand holding the cannoli.
    “Yours are the best ever, and no bakery in New York or anywhere else can hold a candle to them.”
    Then she took another bite of the divine pastry.
    “I think you and I will get on splendidly,” Raffaela assured her and smiled broadly. “Absolutely splendidly.”
     

9
     
    “Would you like some more pasta, dear?” Raffaela asked,