Page 85 of Dancing in the Rain

She nodded. “Loveisterrifying. I love her, too.”

“I know. She’s lucky to have you.”

Somehow Drew knew that the love of this woman was an amazing thing…that even though she didn’t have a lot of people in her life to love—her sister, her niece, her best friend Nik—she had a lot of love. Somehow he knew that whatever she did in her life, she did it with everything she had, and that included love. Somehow he knew it was fierce and intense and loyal.

He rubbed at the heat behind his sternum and glanced at her empty glass. “You need more wine. Let’s go back down.”

“I need more of those shrimp,” she said, following him down the circular staircase. “They’re amazing.”

They joined in a discussion about the upcoming beer festival that a few of the guys were pretty passionate about, and Jessica told everyone about the architectural open house coming up where you could tour amazing buildings.

“That sounds fascinating,” Peyton told her.

“You should come! I’m a greeter at the Edison Building. I volunteer every year.”

Peyton smiled and made some noncommittal response, and Drew knew what she was thinking.

“It would be so nice to do normal things,” she said to him when they had a moment alone. “Like go to a beer festival.”

“It’ll happen.” He stroked hair off her face. “This is a tough time, but one day life will be sort of normal again.”

She nodded.

Later, Jessica showed them the stateroom that would be theirs that night. Somehow Drew remembered that at least one of the staterooms had twin beds, but it now seemed that they all had one double bed, except for one that slept four with a double and two bunk beds, which was apparently already occupied. He caught Peyton’s eye and the look she gave him and shrugged.

“This boat is amazing,” Peyton said. “It’s huge. You’d never think from the outside it has all these bedrooms. And bathrooms.”

“Heads,” Jessica corrected with a smile. “Yes, it’s nice that each stateroom has its own en-suite head.”

They ate a delicious dinner, drank wine, and mingled with people. He left Peyton on her own for a while, though he kept an eye on her from across the salon as she talked to Jessica and Jim’s wife, Molly, and Dougie’s wife, Lisa.

After cruising up and down along the shore of Lake Michigan, the boat docked again at the harbor. A few people left and the party became smaller and more intimate.

Dougie sat on a couch next to Drew. “So. What’s with you and Peyton?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s what you said before. I’m not buying it. Not after seeing you with her.”

Drew shrugged, but his chest grew hot inside. “Nothing can happen. We’re in the middle of a big family mess. Her sister’s dying. She’s looking after her and her niece. I’m trying to figure out how the hell to be a father to a kid I didn’t even know I had until a couple of months ago.”

“Why’d you bring her, then?”

Drew sighed and studied the patterned carpet. “She was going to be home alone tonight for the first time since her sister went into hospice. I thought a night out might distract her from all the shit that’s going on.”

“Uh-huh.” Dougie tipped his drink to his lips. “Okay. And you’re both staying all night?”

“Yeah. It made sense, rather than having to drive home late.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why do you sound like you don’t believe a word I’m saying, asshole?”

Dougie smirked. “Because I don’t. But whatever. Did you call Jack Shipton?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“Hey, great.” Dougie sounded surprised.

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