Page 23 of Seal of Approval

“I doubt that.” I put the coins on the counter.

“Maybe she thought she owed you one for helping her this morning,” Jack said.

How did these people know everything that went on in town?

“She doesn’t owe me. If anything, it’s the other way around. She’s helped me a lot since I’ve been here.”

I wasn’t trying to win brownie points. She needed help. That was it, plain and simple. It’s not something I would remind her of when I needed something for myself. That’s not how I operated.

“She seems to tolerate you more these days,” Lily said.

“Like Jack tolerates you.” I gave her a smirk.

“Oh, Jack tolerates me in a lot of ways.” She returned my smirk. She knew she’d trumped me. I needed to be smarter at this game.

“I think we have gained a mutual respect,” I said. “Hopefully that lasts until my house is ready to move into.”

The sooner the better. Because getting too close to Jasmine and her children was risky. Thank goodness my assignment here was only six months.

“Thanks for the milk.” I walked out quickly so I couldn’t engage in any more of their small-town talk.

Why was I hoping Jasmine wanted to spend time with me? If anything, I should want her to spend less time with me. Forming some sort of relationship with her, Bailey and Rose was not my intention, but it was hard not to when we lived together. I didn’t want to be rude and exclude myself. But at the same time, I didn’t want to include myself.

The distance I thought I needed to keep was becoming shorter and shorter. I should try to make it the opposite. But could I?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jasmine

Ethan stood up from his desk. “I’ve answered the emails I could. There were a couple of tricky ones though.”

I smiled up at him. “Thanks. I’ll do them before I head to the boat.”

“I’ll head out to the campground, do the cleaning and meet you there.” He strode down the stairs, and I watched him until he was out of sight. I found myself watching him more and more. Since that first day two months ago, he’d become helpful at work and at home. He never complained if we had to put ranger duties before his research. It was a relief to have someone I could rely on.

He wouldn’t be moving into the house next door before Christmas. The tiler would be finished in time, but not the painter or carpet layer. In a way, I would miss his presence when he left. But next door wasn’t the other side of the world.

I answered the remaining emails and headed out to the boat. Our guests would start arriving soon and needed to be sized up for their wetsuits before going into the change rooms. Even though we were heading into summer, the water was still a little cold for swimming in normal swim gear.

Ethan arrived soon after and prepped his wetsuit. While I did a safety check of the boat, he separated the wetsuits into piles by size. As the guests arrived, we started handing them out.

Next came what I had begun to refer to as the best start to a tour, ever. Ethan stripped down to his bike shorts and guided the guests through the process of putting on a wetsuit. He started with his back to me, so I got to watch his butt and back muscles flex as he pulled the wetsuit up. When he got it to his waist, he turned to show everyone where it sat.

And that’s when I got to stare at his broad shoulders that led down to a narrow waist, not like He-Man, better, real. Then there was his smooth chest. I licked my lips. Would it be rock hard or soft to the touch? What the hell was I even thinking? I did not want to touch Ethan.

I sighed. His body was better than in the photos. Tanned, toned, divine. It was better than a morning coffee. And that was saying something because I couldn’t go without one in the morning, even if it was just an instant one like I had before the magic coffee machine arrived.

I forced myself to turn away. It was completely inappropriate for me to ogle my co-worker. It didn’t stop the two twenty-somethings on the tour from doing the same. I clenched my teeth. After he finished his presentation, Ethan joined me. I’d stowed his tablet in the waterproof box beside the helm. As much as he wanted to, it was unlikely that he’d have time to do any work while on the tour. He always brought it anyway.

Ethan looked at the horizon. Dark grey clouds had formed. “Do you think the storm will hit us?”

“Yes, this afternoon sometime.”

“Is there anything special we need to do to prepare?”

“We’ll need to make sure there is no loose debris at the campground, put some storm safety signs up, make sure the campers are aware and secure, and check all the windows at the office and at home are shut tight.”

“Easy. I’m sure we can do all that before it hits.”

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