Page 105 of Catch and Release

“Happy to help.” She could tell he meant it. “I’ll tell Amos you're interested and have him give you a call.”

“Sounds perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Her nerves had softened amidst the excitement of this news, and now she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store next.

“The first surprise was a success. What’s next?” she asked him.

He kissed her on the nose. “Let’s find out.”

Shawn had thought for a moment that he’d messed up. Been too heavy-handed. Tried too hard.

He hadn’t had a girlfriend.

Ever.

But he wanted to spoil Willa. Wanted to be the one to solve all her problems, or at the very least, hold her hand through them all.

So he’d gotten on the phone with Amos. It was an easy call. He’d known Amos for years. Fixed his gutters after the tropical storm last summer. House-sat for him when he went on a two-week trip to Europe.

But as Willa stood in the multi-purpose room of the church in stunned silence, he thought maybe he’d gone too far.

Until her eyes had gone glassy and she laughed with such pure joy that he felt it deep in his bones.

His left hand rested at the top of the steering wheel and his right sat atop her leg, her fingers gently toying with his. He hoped this next surprise went just as well. After the last one, he was feeling a bit more confident.

He pulled into the marina—just a few minutes down the road from the church—and parked in his usual spot.

She glanced at him shyly, her eyes bright with curiosity.

Shawn got out of the truck and opened her door, holding a hand out to her.

She grabbed it and they walked toward the marina office together. Willa looked at him quizzically as he led her into the tiny office at the front of the pier. He grinned at her and led her inside, where Bo was sitting with a sudoku and a beer.

“This her?” Bo asked gruffly, his accent so thick that even Shawn noticed it.

“Bo, this is Willa,” Shawn said. “Willa, this is Bo. He runs the marina.”

Willa extended her hand to Bo and they shook.

“Firm handshake,” Bo drawled. “I can see why you like her.”

Then he winked at Willa.

“Hey, man, that’s my girl,” Shawn jested, wrapping a protective arm around Willa.

Bo lifted both his hands up in surrender.

Shawn had known Bo since he was a kid, much like the rest of the community around the Bay. When he was little, Bo used to let him sneak candy from his office before he went on boat rides. Now, Bo gave Shawn a hell of a deal on docking his boat and helped him out on the occasional tour.

Bo was a former veteran who was almost always clad in khakis and a polo. He’d bought the marina after getting out of the Navy, and Shawn was pretty certain he’d never retire. He’d hired people to help with the logistics and manual labor so he could be the face of the marina. He loved talking to people, and this job allowed him to meet all sorts of people.

Like Shawn.

And now Willa.

“Shawny tells me you’re one hell of a yoga teacher,” Bo said. “Done it a couple times myself. It’s some tough shit.”

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