Page 44 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

Quinn and Roger joined Everleigh and the guy, and soon they were playing on the same team. Cade watched the guy miss a shot, and then he shook his head before loping back into the waves.

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Everleigh jumped up and spiked the ball over the net. When the opposing team missed it, Roger, Trevor, and Quinn cheered.

“We won!” Quinn hollered. “Even with me on the team, we won!”

Everleigh laughed as Quinn hugged her.

“Great job.” Roger pulled Quinn in for a hug, and she beamed even brighter.

Trevor held his hand up to Everleigh. “You aren’t rusty at all.”

“Neither are you.” She gave him a high five, then stepped away in hopes of avoiding a hug.

He puffed out his chest. “Well, I did play a bit in college. I like to stay in shape, you know.”

Trevor seemed like a nice enough guy, but he sure enjoyed talking about himself. She’d found out way more than necessary about his surfing skills, although, to be fair, he had asked her several questions about the inn.

While Trevor detailed his workout regimen at the gym, Everleigh scanned the beach for Cade. She located him trudging out ofthe water and onto the shore, and she felt a tingle in her chest. Water dripped from his short, wavy, light-brown hair and glistened on his tan skin; he had just the right amount of hair in the center of his impressive chest. She tried to pull her eyes away from him but found it impossible. He stopped over by a towel and flopped down onto it.

“Another game?” Trevor asked.

“Huh?” Her gaze pinged back to his confused expression. “I need a break, but thanks.” Before he could respond, she trudged past the cluster of chairs, blankets, and kids digging in the sand until she came to Cade’s towel. “How’s the water?”

Tenting his hand over his eyes, he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Perfect. You should get in.”

“No thanks.”

He patted a spot beside him on the towel. “Want to tell me about your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She remained standing. “I met him at the grocery store yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Cade’s brow furrowed.

“Yeah, yesterday. I ran my shopping cart into his, and he struck up a conversation with me when I was in line to pay. Now he’s here on the beach for some reason.”

“He’s definitely interested.” When he looked behind her, his eyes narrowed. “And here he comes. See? He can’t stand to be away from you.”

She gave Cade a look, and he appeared amused.

“Thirsty?” Trevor held a bottle of water out to her.

“Thanks.” She took the cold bottle from him and then pointed between them. “Trevor, this is Cade.”

“Trevor Whalen.” He held his hand out for a shake.

Cade stood up to his full height, which had to be at least four inches taller than Trevor, and grasped his proffered hand. “I’m her partner.”

“Partner?” Trevor asked.

“We own the Sunshine Inn together,” she explained. “My godmother left it to us equally.”

Trevor’s eyebrows sailed upward. “Is that right? And you both decided to sell it?”

Cade crossed his arms over his chest and remained silent.

“We’ve worked out an agreement,” Everleigh said.

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