Page 92 of Knockin' Boats
“Shh, honey,” her mom said. “He wants us to see the food boat. It’s a new feature on the lake.”
Sawyer reddened a little. “I figured it was on the way back to dock.”
“Right.” I crossed my arms on the windowsill and leaned forward. “I’ve got popsicles.”
The little girl perked up. “Really?”
“Yep. They’re homemade,” I said for her parents’ benefit. “Real fruit. We’ve got strawberry, cherry, or blueberry.”
“Those do sound good,” her dad said. “Let’s take one of each.”
Charity opened the freezer to retrieve the fruit pops I’d made. These were one item I could make it bulk and preserve over a number of days, so I kept them on the menu every week.
“I, uh, wouldn’t mind one either,” Sawyer said. “Whichever kind is your favorite.”
“My favorite, huh?” I eyed him, noticing the small hickey I’d left on his neck with a rush of pride. “Not sure my favorite popsicle is on the menu.”
His eyes widened. “Uh, whatever you think I’d like then.”
I gave him a searing look. Oh, I knew what he liked. Sawyer blushed right on cue, and I laughed as I turned to call to Charity. “Throw in an extra cherry for Sawyer. It’s myfavoriteflavor.”
Making him stammer and blush was fun. A nice ego boost too, because Sawyer was eating me up with his eyes as if he was desperate to get me alone and sample another kind of popsicle.
Charity joined me at the window, handing over the frozen treats.
“Here you go.”
“This one’s on the house,” I added.
Sawyer hesitated as he reached for his wallet. “You sure?”
“Consider it a free sample. Come back if you want more.” I licked my lips. “You know where to find me.”
“I do,” he said, his voice a bit husky.
“These are so good,” the pretty brunette mom on the boat enthused. “Wow. Thank you.”
I nodded. “Have a great time. Sawyer’s the best.”
“He must be,” Charity muttered under her breath.
I shot her a look, but then the family was calling out goodbyes and waving, and Sawyer hit the throttle. I watched them go, unable to tear my eyes off him, even when all I could see was the back of his head.
“Well, that explains a lot,” Charity said.
“Hmm?”
“You could have just told me Sawyer’s your boyfriend.”
I jerked my head toward her. “My boy— What? No. He’s not.”
“You do know I have eyes? All that flirting was pretty blatant. And that wasn’tI’ve got a crush on this guyflirting. That was I’ve seen this guy nakedflirting.”
“You can’t possibly tell that.”
“Am I wrong?”
I hesitated just a beat too long. She gave me a knowing smile. “See? You’ve seen him naked and you want to do it again. Am I right?”
