Page 128 of Summer with the Single Dad

“It’s bigger than that,” she protested, thanking him for holding open the man-door for her. “And besides, people have sex in airplane bathrooms all the time. So two people can fit.”

He snorted. “You know from experience?”

She could hardly laugh as she was still trying to catch her breath from that final sprint. “Until coming here, I’d never had sex anywhere besides a bed.”

They reached her trailer. “Well, we’ll definitely have to fix that while you’re still on the island,” he said. “Create a bucket list and we’ll see how many we can tick off.”

Her heart hit her toes. While you’re still on the island.

He still saw her as temporary.

He still thought she was going to leave when her reservation was up, and head back to Seattle to resume her life as a doctor.

He wasn’t taking her desire to move here seriously.

Was he taking anything between them, or what she said, seriously?

“What just happened?” he asked, stepping toward her, knitting his sweaty brows. “It’s like a dark cloud just descended upon you.”

She had a lot to think about right now. Like her future with and without Bennett.

What did she want? Truly?

This trip and time away was supposed to be where she uncovered what made her happy and to reclaim some passion and excitement. A new direction.

And as much fun as Bennett was, maybe he didn’t want to take on a project like her. Someone who had no idea what she wanted out of life anymore. He already had so much on his plate. Would her indecisiveness and lack of direction just add more to his already chaotic life? Was this his way of telling her things were temporary?

He cupped her jaw and stroked his thumb against her cheek. “Hmm? What happened?”

She shook her head and dismissed him. “It’s nothing. I just remembered that Tad and Ashli will be arriving soon. They’re a dark cloud in and of themselves.”

“No arguments there,” he said, removing his hand. He leaned down to kiss her. “What are your plans for the day?”

“Wyatt said he could use more help in the kitchen, so I’m going to do that. The girls want another beach day. So if I can swing it, we’ll go there too. I honestly just want to keep busy. Keep my mind off what’s happening and who is arriving.”

“Well, I’ll be around. Check-in is at three. So you have at least until then before you need to worry about running into them.”

Her smile was flat and brittle. “Thank you. But I should probably shower. That sprint had sweat running into my eyes.”

He leaned down and kissed her again. “All right, I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah … see you.” She watched him leave as the gravel crunched beneath his running shoes on the way to his front door.

She’d been waiting for the bubble to burst, for the other shoe to drop, because nothing incredible like this ever happened to her. This level of happiness was fleeting. Temporary. Just like her. And now, she knew that Bennett felt like that too. That she was his summer fling. His first ride back in the saddle after a five-year sabbatical.

With her heart still heavy and in her feet, she opened the trailer door. It wasn’t until she stood under the shower spray that she allowed the tears to fall.

He tried to tell her more than once that her idea to move here was a pipe dream. An idealist’s reverie. There was nothing for sale on the island, and even if there was, it was out of her price range. They had no idea if they’d get Bonn Remmen’s land. So he couldn’t commit to renting her a little plot of for a tiny house.

He tried to tell her and she got upset. She refused to listen. She called him a dream crusher.

And he was. But he was also practical, and her head was so far up in the clouds she was dodging airplanes.

Maybe she needed to cut her trip short. She still had a few weeks left and if they maintained the status quo, at the end of her time on the island, things would just be all the more painful. Because she had to leave. There was no place for her here. No where to buy, and clearly there was no room in Bennett’s heart.

“Thank you so much for helping out in the kitchen these last couple of days,” Wyatt said to Justine as she filleted fish like a pro. “Those surgical skills of yours are coming in handy. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anybody fillet a fish so cleanly. You’re hired!” He grinned at her and patted her on the back.

She smiled at Bennett’s brother. Of the five brothers, Wyatt and Dom looked the most alike. They both had blue-hazel eyes, dark-brown hair with natural sun streaks, and chiseled jaws like the men had been carved from marble. Bennett was the sexiest in her opinion, but all five—Jagger and Clint included—were handsome men. She would prefer Dom to lose the man-bun though, and was grateful Bennett didn’t have one.

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