Page 32 of This Loving Feeling (Mirror Lake)

“I’d be a little distracted, too,” Lukas said, “if I had a beautiful woman on my boat.” He winked at Sam, who did roll her eyes—but there may have been just a trace of a smile turning up her pretty lips. Any guy who didn’t own up to his own mistakes was no man at all in his book.

Lukas jumped back into the water and swam to the rear of the boat near where Sam sat. “Tell your boyfriend not to have any funny ideas about starting the engine until I’m done with this.” He reached underwater to unwrap the rope, which had coiled around the propeller at least twenty times. When he was done, he brought the end of the rope back to the dock.

“Lukas, thanks so much,” Sam said. Lukas sat on the dock, wiping the wet hair out of his eyes.

Harris reached over the boat and shook his hand. “I appreciate your help. Nice to see you again, buddy.” Lukas knew Harris well enough to know he was only being nice for Sam’s sake. He wondered what hereallythought, especially after Lukas had kissed her at the kids’ prom. Harris draped an arm around Sam and kissed her on the forehead. “Okay, honey, let’s try to get our day started again, shall we?”

“Well, thanks again.” Sam smiled and glanced at Lukas, but a sense of awkwardness came with the gaze. She quickly looked away as Harris started the motor.

Lukas gave a wave as they puttered away from the dock, and he headed back up to the house.

He hoped they had a nice day. He also hoped Harris figured out that Lukas was staying in the guesthouse and that it made him jealous as hell. Lukas wasn’t a man with a normal job, a house with a white picket fence, and tons of experience with a loving family that left him capable of sustaining a real relationship. But he knew how to treat a woman with respect, to never demean or condescend or embarrass her in front of others.

Maybe Lukas wasn’t the kind of guy Sam deserved. No, he would never be that traditional, upstanding type. But he’d be damned if dickbrain Harris was either.

The fiery remnants of a salmon-and-pink sunset streaked across the sky as Sam dragged a picnic basket back up the hill. “Look, we haven’t got much time to seal the deal,” Harris said into his cell phone, trailing behind her. “I’ll meet you first thing in the morning and we can go over things, okay?” He’d seemed to spend half the day on his phone, always multitasking, often distracted by business or staring out into the distance at the pristine blue of the lake, lost in his own thoughts.

Harris loved her. She was sure of it. She just had to give him space, understand the demands of his job and his career. Understand his stress. That’s what love did.

Now more than ever, Sam needed to feel that special connection that—well, that seemed to be missing lately. She’d hoped that a peaceful day on the lake would bring it back, especially now when she needed reassurance that all was well in her world, that she was on the right track to the life she’d always dreamed of.

Shewason the right track. She wasn’t about to let the sudden reappearance of an old flame derail her perfectly planned future. Getting involved with Lukas again would be like jumping from twenty thousand feet with a chute you weren’t fully sure would open. Too risky, too foolish.

Harris walked up the stairs to the porch, still talking on the phone, but before he could reach the door, she slid in front of him, setting the picnic basket down on the porch. She pressed her back against the door and waited for him to approach.

“Harris.”

He tossed her a nod and held up a finger.

She sighed. “Harris,” she said again.

On impulse, she snatched his phone, pressed “End” and pitched it onto the porch swing.

“What was that for?” She finally had his full attention, even if he was just the teensiest bit pissed. “That was a very important call!”

Okay, maybe a lot pissed.

“This is also very important. You’ve been on the phone all day and I want to know what’s bothering you.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he hedged.

“Oh, come on. You’ve been distracted for weeks.”

“Everything I’ve got is riding on this court case. Surely you can understand that.”

“I’m trying to understand. I know how stressed you’ve been lately. I know this case has been trial by fire but I’m so proud of you.”

Harris touched her arm. Rubbed it up and down, more in a friendly than a romantic way. “It has been a difficult case, Sam. I haven’t had much downtime.”

She took hold of his shirt and tugged him closer to her. “I can help you with that. I was thinking we could take a bottle of wine and a blanket and go out on the hill under the pine trees and ...”

“And be attacked by mosquitoes? I don’t think so.” He glanced at his watch. “Besides, it’s getting late and I haven’t even had a chance to pack yet. My meetings in New York start at noon tomorrow and my flight’s at 6:00 a.m. I’ve got to get back to my place.”

“It’s just that I’m worried about you. You need a break from all this stress.”And I need you to tell me you want me. That you love me.

She wanted him to hold her, whisper sweet things in her ear, and tell her he simply couldn’t live without her. Because she needed to forget about a certain Greek rock star who reminded her of a time when she’d been more willing to take chances. When she’d been determined to hold out for true love regardless of the consequences.

Well, there was no perfect love. Everyone was imperfect, right? Love was hard to find, and you had to be forgiving and learn to adapt and compromise.

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