Page 83 of Love At The Shore
She quickened her pace. By the time she reached the patio, she’d broken into a full-on run with her flip-flops smacking the wooden planks of the deck beneath her feet.
She didn’t allow herself to think about whether or not he’d want to talk to her again after their terrible conversation at Doran’s Cove. She’d simply have to convince him to hear her out—she’d beg if she had to.
But what if she was too late? What if he’d already gone?
Impossible.He’d been standing beside the SUV only moments ago. He couldn’t have left so quickly.
But as Jenna made her way down the patio stairs, the sound of an engine roaring to life made her heart stop. And when she reached the gravel drive, the big vehicle rolled away, along with every bit of her newfound hope.
“Lucas, wait! Lucas, stop. Stop. Lucas! Wait!” She chased after the SUV, but it kept moving toward the street until she was left standing in front of the beach house alone.
“Oh come on! No.” She slowed to a stop, breathing hard. “I was like two feet away.”
The car kept going, and all Jenna could do was stare at its disappearing bulk and wonder how she was going to explain to her kids that she’d really and truly let Lucas leave without any of them telling him goodbye.
But then a voice called out from the upper deck of the duplex, and it belonged to the one person in the world she most wanted to see. “Are you talking to yourself down there?”
She whipped her head around and sure enough, Lucas was leaning against the railing, watching her from above. To her immense relief, he even looked a little bit happy to see her.
He cocked his head, and a smile lingered on his lips. “Because if you are, we might need to find you some more friends.”
Hope rekindled, and Jenna’s heart swelled with joy. She grinned up at him, breathless. There was so much to say, and she wasn’t sure where to start. Lucas was wrong, though—she didn’t need to find any new friends.
She only needed him.
Lucas hadn’t seen Jenna smile for two long days, but catching his first glimpse of the dazzling grin on her upturned face the moment she realized he hadn’t gone anywhere had definitely been worth the wait.
“You’re still here?” she said, and then she nibbled on her lip while her cheeks flushed pink.
He loved it when she blushed. Smart, capable Jenna Turner could try and control things all she wanted, but the blossoming color on her peaches-and-cream complexion told him that some things couldn’t be contained.
“Yep. There was a last-minute change of plans.” He pushed away from the railing, walked down a few steps and then paused.
“Good. I mean…” She blew a lock of hair from her face, shoved her hands into the pockets of her jean shorts and then promptly removed them. “Hi.”
Lucas couldn’t help but smile. He’d never imagined he’deversee Jenna at a loss for words. It was sweet, and more than a little bit adorable.
“This is good because…” She took a deep breath and started over. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”
His heart pounded against his chest. “You did?”
Lucas would’ve been fine with simply agreeing to forget the past two days and start over. After all, there was a lot he was sorry about, too. But now that she’d said the words, they were like a balm, healing him bone-deep.
“For lashing out.” She nodded and started walking slowly toward the stairs while she kept talking. “You’ve been amazing with my kids all summer.”
Her eyes danced as she set her foot on the first step. “Okay, maybe not when we first got here—but mostly amazing.”
“Thank you.” He laughed. “I think?”
“I was wrong about you,” she said, slowly climbing up the stairs while he moved down them, toward the landing.
Once there, he paused and waited for her to meet him in the middle. After all, wasn’t that their thing? “You were?”
“Maybe I wanted to be right, but you were just kind of…”
“Great?” he said.
She stepped onto the landing and closed the remaining the distance between them. Then she was suddenly right there, close enough for Lucas to catch the scent of her wind-tossed hair. It smelled like orange blossoms and sugared coconut, and it made him want to kiss her until summer turned to fall.
