Page 66 of Serenity Harbor

“We’ve hardly spent a minute together.”

Yeah. Guilt. Her new best friend. “We’re together now,” she pointed out. “And we’ll have plenty of time to hang out during the Lake Haven Days activities.

Sam didn’t seem very appeased, and Katrina didn’t know what to say to her. She could feel the friendship slipping away, and she hated it.

Fortunately, Lydia distracted Sam by asking her about a particular dress style she had seen at a boutique in San Francisco when she was there on a visit a few months earlier with her husband, and the conversation drifted.

After a few moments, she decided she better check on Milo, who had gone inside with Lizzie and a few of the children to explore Ben and Kenzie’s well-outfitted game room. He seemed to be doing fine, watching with wide eyes while Jazmyn Barrett and Katrina’s niece-to-be, Chloe, played Ping-Pong.

When she headed back to the kitchen, she found McKenzie replenishing a tray of snacks to take back out to the other Helping Hands. The chance to speak with her alone seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.

“I need to ask a favor,” she said after a few moments of helping her fill the tray. “Technically, I need to ask Ben a favor, I guess.”

McKenzie’s eyes showed her curiosity. “Of course. Whatever we can do.”

Warmth seeped into her. She loved knowing she could ask any of the women here for help and she would find it. “It’s not for me, actually,” she answered. “It’s Milo. He’s a little bit obsessed with boats, as you may have noticed.”

McKenzie smiled. “I do believe I picked that up a little while ago.”

“I promised him I would try to arrange a ride for him on a boat before I leave town.”

“Oh! Ben mentioned that Bowie had talked to him a week or so ago about taking the boy out on his Killy when he had the chance. We’ve been so slammed with the wedding that I think we both completely forgot. I’m sorry.”

“Please. Don’t apologize. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You threw together that wedding and reception basically single-handedly and did an amazing job.”

“But we still need to get that boy out on the boat. Ben thought it was a great idea when Bowie talked to him. He was really looking forward to it. What about tonight?”

“Tonight!” She laughed at the typical McKenzie charge-forward response. “It’s only the night before the biggest day of the year around here. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

McKenzie took her mayoral responsibilities very seriously, which Katrina respected.

“Oh, tomorrow will be completely insane, but believe it or not, we’re totally free tonight. We were just going to hang out together at home and maybe grill.”

“Sounds like a lovely evening,” she said, trying to ignore the envy roiling through her.

“It would be even better if you and Bowie and Milo joined us. Ben would love any excuse to take out the Killy, and it would be lovely to come back here with you and grill on the terrace.”

“I don’t know if Bowie has plans,” she said quickly, before McKenzie took the idea and started running with it. “I should have talked to him first. He may need to work late.”

“Ben can make sure he doesn’t,” McKenzie said. “I’ll text Ben now so that he and Bowie can work out all the details.”

McKenzie’s fingers flew over her phone before Katrina could protest.

“There,” Kenz said a moment later. “Done.”

Katrina wasn’t at all sure how Bowie would feel about the whole thing. He had gone out of his way to avoid spending much time with her the last week—and she had done the same.

She had done her best to avoid Bowie since the wedding. He stayed late at Caine Tech most nights, and on the nights he came home at a reasonable hour, she made excuses to go hang out with Sam or visit other friends in Haven Point.

Trying to keep from spending much time with the man in person didn’t keep her thoughts from straying to him way too many times a day than she knew was strictly in her best interest.

After Wynnie’s wedding, she had faced the grim truth that she was falling for Bowie. She recognized all the signs in herself.

So much for her good intentions, her plans to remain cool and friendly but casual.

Every morning, she woke up with a little kick in her chest at the idea that she would probably see him for a few moments in the kitchen when he would hurry in—freshly showered, clean-shaven, smelling so delicious she wanted to nuzzle against him. He would grab a coffee, talk to Milo for a few moments, give her a polite greeting and then hurry to the office. It usually lasted all of ten minutes, but her pulse would race for much longer.

It was thoroughly ridiculous, and she knew it.

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