Page 44 of Serenity Harbor

At the voice she sagged back against the lounger. Bowie. Of course. At least he wasn’t some crazed, drunken boater out to cause trouble, yet somehow knowing the identity of that dark shape did nothing to ease her jumpiness.

“I’m awake now!” she finally said. “You scared the wits out of me.”

“Sorry about that. You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you, but I was afraid if I didn’t, the mosquitoes would probably carry you away.”

She was mortified suddenly. How long had he been standing there? Had she been snoring? Or, worse, drooling? She wiped at her mouth and was relieved when it was dry. Whether she was snoring or not would probably have to remain a mystery, unless she worked up the nerve to ask him.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep on the job again. This is becoming a habit. I’m sorry.”

“No apologies necessary. You don’t have to explain it to me. Milo can be exhausting. I spend an hour with him and I’m more tired than when I used to pull all-nighters in school.”

She tried to picture a younger version of Bowie walking across a college campus with his backpack and a bunch of giggling coeds and couldn’t quite make the image stick. “What time is it?”

“Not that late. Nine thirty or so. Later than I should be coming home, that’s for sure. I meant to be back before Milo went to bed, to at least give you a break. Despite what I said last night, you shouldn’t have to feel as if you’re on duty twenty-four hours a day.”

“I don’t mind. It’s good training for after I adopt Gabriela, right? Moms don’t take evenings and weekends off.”

An odd expression slid across his face like the clouds drifting across the moon. “The good ones, anyway.”

She wondered again about his life, about the mother he and Milo shared, but didn’t have the nerve to ask about that either.

“Did you get dinner? We had grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches. I thought about making an extra for you but figured it would be easier—and taste better—if I fixed you a fresh one when you came home.”

“That’s very kind of you,” he said, his expression a little shocked. She had the feeling he wasn’t used to people taking care of him and didn’t quite know how to respond. “I sent an intern for takeout earlier. But thank you.”

He smiled, but she didn’t miss the weary lines around the edges of his mouth. He seemed even more tired than she was.

“Those mosquitoes you were worrying about aren’t too bad yet. This isn’t a bad place to unwind after a tough day.” She gestured to the chair beside her.

When he didn’t immediately sit down, she pressed a little harder. “What’s the use in buying a spectacular house on a lake if you never take a moment to enjoy it?”

He looked out at the lake, then back at the chair. She thought he was going to refuse, but after a moment, he eased into the lounger next to hers and stretched his long legs out.

He gave a heavy exhale and then another one. Instantly, he seemed more relaxed.

“There. What did I tell you?”

He smiled a little, and the butterflies seemed to be doing kung fu against her insides. “This is good. You’re right. It’s nice to sit still for a moment.”

Maybe it was a mistake to invite him to sit beside her. She was intensely aware of him, unable to shake the memory of that heated embrace.

Little night creatures peeped and hooted as the water lapped softly at the shore, with the occasional muted splash out on the lake as a fish flopped out after a bug.

She couldn’t exactly call herself a world traveler, but she had seen a bit more of the planet the last year than she could have said the previous summer. No matter where she traveled, she had a feeling she would still consider Lake Haven on a summer night as close to paradise as her feeble brain could imagine. These priceless evenings were made all the sweeter by the memory of how harsh and cold the winters could be around here.

“Tell me about your day,” he said after a moment. “What was Milo’s final meltdown tally?”

She looked back over her day, which in retrospect didn’t seem all that bad. “A few minor skirmishes, but only two big meltdowns, if you can believe that. He went with me to my friend Samantha’s boutique for my final bridesmaid dress fitting and decided it was taking too long.”

“Can’t really blame him for that. I might have had a meltdown, too, if I had to be stuck there for longer than ten minutes,” Bowie said with a half smile that made all her girlie parts shiver.

Yes. This was definitely a mistake, sitting alone with him here while the stars popped out one by one and the moonlight wrapped them in an intimate cocoon.

She should jump up right now and go inside to her room. That was exactly what any smart woman would do—especially a smart woman who told herself she was done playing the game.

Somehow Katrina couldn’t seem to make herself move.

“A man who hates shopping,” she said instead. “How unoriginal.”

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