Page 11 of One Sweet Day I Found You

“Uh, yeah.” She shot him a look. “Sort of.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m Nick.” He held out his hand. Courtney shook it quickly then dropped it.

“Courtney.”

Kira narrowed her gaze. “So you’ve been waitingherefor us all this time?”

Courtney twisted up her lip. “Yeah. Beecham told me nine a.m., Thursday. The state park. I was beginning to wonder what might’ve happened to you guys.”

Kira scoffed. “You were supposed to meet us at the docks in Heritage Bay. We were all going to ride here together, in this.” She motioned to the truck. “We waited there thirty minutes for you.”

Uh-oh.

Courtney’s cheeks went hot again. “You did?” She glanced at Nick. “We were?”

Now that made more sense. Gosh, she was on a roll this week. Good thing she could still blame the jet lag.

Kira rolled her eyes. “Didn’t Beecham tell you? We usually ride to these kinds of outings with our guide when it’s a trip like this, out in the woods or whatever.” She gestured to their surroundings. “With whoever the guide is each trip.” She flashed another ironic smile. “This time, it’s this handsome hunk of fitness.”

Both girls looked at Nick. He laughed off Kira’s comment but threw his hands in the air and took a step backwards. “Don’t look at me. I’m just following directions.”

Kira raised an eyebrow. “That makestwoof us.” She shot a cynical expression Courtney’s way.

Courtney straightened her shoulders, surprised by the jab. “Excuse me, but I was never given those directions.”

Kira didn’t seem flustered at all.

Nick stepped back into the ring. “Go easy, Kir. She’s new.”

Kira opened the backseat door and began shuffling through her camera equipment. “Uh-huh. And?”

Kira remained indifferent.

What was it with Kira? Courtney had followed directions, too. She couldn’t help it if those directions were lacking.

Courtney turned to face Nick while Kira’s back was to them. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I obviously would’ve been there if Beecham had told me.”

Nick’s expression was calm. “It’s no big deal. It all makes sense now.”

“Okay, thanks.” Courtney let out a big sigh and glanced at Kira, who didn’t say anything.

Was this good cop, bad cop? What was going on here?

Nick gestured to Kira. “Don’t worry about her. You’re not gonna like her until you know her.”

Kira laughed. “He’s right. I’m very impatient. My mother raised me not to waste time.”

Courtney stuck a hand in the pocket of her shorts and arched an eyebrow. “Ouch.” She turned away.

Perfect.Another day where she’d put the wrong foot first.

Nick shook his head and hopped up onto the truck. He began unfastening the bungee cords that held the kayaks in place. “So, Courtney, you’ve been here for an hour already?”

Looked like good cop was back.

Courtney cleared her throat. “Yeah.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “I’m barely getting one bar out here. Calls weren’t going through.”

Nick nodded.

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