Page 53 of Swept Up In You

“Any chance I can park here for a minute?” Taylor slowed the board as she got closer to the fuel berth.

Sam was bent over looping one of the mooring lines back as a yacht motored away from the dock. “Oh hey! I didn’t even see you guys coming over. Hey Belle!”

Belle’s whole butt was wagging as she stood at the edge of the paddleboard, trying to work out if she could make it onto the berth. Taylor pulled them up along the side and hauled Belle up. She belted straight to Sam, almost knocking her over in a flurry of kisses. Giggles erupted from Sam as she attempted to give Belle a cuddle amongst the chaos.

Taylor tied up the board and casually made her way over.

“Well, this is a nice surprise.” Sam stood up, brushing herself off while Belle trotted off to investigate the rest of the pontoon, disappearing in a flash of yellow behind the boat shed. “That life jacket is even more adorable on her in real life.”

“I love that she can be out on the board with me now. She’s obsessed whenever she sees me getting ready to go out. It’s worse than picking up her lead to take her out for a walk,” replied Taylor.

“I wonder if she’d like boats then? Maybe I’ll have to take the both of you out next time.”

Taylor’s heart swelled at the thought. Belle had not been happy with her spending the night away on the boat with Sam. It was the first time she’d left her, and even though Jess did a great job and gave her lots of cuddles, she wasn’t sure either of them got much sleep—Belle was up and down looking for her all night. Thankfully, Jess had an afternoon shift so she could sleep in, and Taylor had an admin day at home, in which Belle had clung to her sideallday, not impressed with being apart for so long.

“That would be amazing. I think she’d love it.” Taylor grinned.

Sam walked up to her then. She looked around first, then gave her a quick kiss before rocking back on her heels, smiling sheepishly. “I forgot to say hi,properly.”

“Careful, Larry and Dave might see you,” she teased, looking over Sam’s shoulder. She wasn’t surprised Sam wanted to be cautious with who saw them. It reminded her that she needed tofind out Sam’s stance on PDA sooner rather than later. Then she remembered her earlier conversation with Larry and sobered.

“Hey, you okay?” Sam searched her face, picking up on her change in demeanour.

Taylor scratched the back of her head. “I just spoke to Larry actually, bumped into him and Dave on the way over here.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Larry was just filling me in on thegreatdate you had with his grandson.” Her head tilted in question.

“Oh.” Oh, indeed.

Taylor’s eyes narrowed. “Why does he think there’s a second date?” The question came out with more bite than she’d intended. She tried to calm the storm brewing inside, her negative thoughts grappling to take control. Sam didn’t flinch exactly, but she saw her retreat within herself. Why couldn’t she have asked the question without the judgement? She tried relaxing her jaw, waiting.

Sam was quiet for a moment. It grated on Taylor more than it should have. She wanted answers, god damn it! Finally, Sam spoke, a pained expression on her face.

“It’s not my story to tell. But…” She sighed. “But trust me when I say, we areonly friends. I’ll speak to him though, because I don’t want this affecting… us?” She posed it as a question.

“I’m not sure what we are right now,” Taylor mumbled, feeling fragile all over again. She looked away, back out to the boats.

Sam is not Liz, she reminded herself.

“Argh,” Sam huffed. “Why does this have to be so complicated? I don’t—I don’t have all the answers right now.” She grabbed Taylor’s hand, bringing her focus back. “But… I want to try and figure out what this means for us. For me. Even without those answers.”

Taylor blew out a breath. Sam was trying. She could see that. She let her walls back down, just a little.

“I’d like that.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Sam squeezed her hand and let go, then checked her watch. “Listen, I have about ten minutes before I finish up for the day. If you and Belle could wait that long, I could come join you guys?” she asked, hesitant. Hopeful.

“We can do that.” She whistled for Belle, who came racing around the corner. “See you shortly.” Taylor gave Sam a small wave as she walked back up to the shop.

True to her word, Taylor was paddling around the front of the pontoon when she spotted Sam jogging down the ramp around fifteen minutes later. Sam’s hair was still up in its signature ponytail, the sun making it glint brighter than usual. Taylor’s eyes tracked down to the filled out green bikini that made Taylor realise she’d never seen Sam in tight-fitting clothes. Whose idea was it again to hang out in bathers?

Don’t stare. Don’t stare. Don’t?—

Taylor yelped as the board wobbled out of nowhere. Belle had inelegantly dive-bombed straight into the water, drenching Taylor completely at the same time. “Oh my god that’s cold,” she sputtered as she wiped the water out of her eyes. “Belle!”

Apparently when it came to Sam, her dog was now an expert swimmer who had no issues being in the water.

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