Page 11 of The Beach Cottage
“It’s awesome, actually. I missed them for such a long time. Mostly it’s only been me and Taya here, and for much of that, she was dealing with a lot in her own life, so I didn’t see her often. But now we’re all back on the island, and unbelievably, all single.”
“Wow,” he said, looking surprised. “It would be great to catch up with them. I haven’t seen them in ages.”
“You should come swimming with us at Point Prospect in a few days.”
“Still marking the end of summer the same way?” He set the rope on the ground by his feet.
“That’s right. We’re going to swim with the dolphins.”
“Text me the details. I’d love to join you.”
“Perfect,” she said, waving goodbye as she walked across the marina. “See you later.”
She smiled to herself as she made her way through the quaint Main Street of Blue Shoal. That was the most mature and pleasant conversation she’d ever had with Rowan Clements. Maybe they were turning a corner. They were in their mid-forties, after all. If they couldn’t work through their teen angst now, they never would. She felt good about it. They might not be close, but at least they could be cordial.
He was ridiculously attractive these days. She didn’t recall him being quite so suave when they were young, but he’d grown into his looks very well. Of course, that was irrelevant—she wasn’t interested in someone like him. No doubt he’d be on his way in a few days or weeks, back to the jet-setting lifestyle he’d always had. And she’d stay here on the island rescuing native animals. She had no desire to get involved with a man who never sat still. Sitting still was one of her favourite things to do.
And besides all that, her brother had a rule about friends dating his sister. He’d made a bit of a fuss about it when they were younger, but perhaps he’d put it behind him by now. Anyway, she doubted Rowan would be at all interested in her when it was likely he had a woman in every port.
The Blue Shoal Inn was one of Penny’s favourite places on the entire island. It perched on a rise looking over a cozy cove at one end of the tiny village. It was in dire need of a paint job, but had a quaint and historic look that was popular with a certain segment of the tourist population who frequented this part of the island. Beyond the inn was a brand-new resort glistening white beneath the heat of the sun, apartments stepping up the hillside and turning the village into a modern complex with swimming pools, spas, palm trees and winding footpaths.
She found Taya, Evie and Beatrice seated in the private dining room at the back of the inn. They were already drinking their first cocktail. A grazing board sat in the centre of the table featuring various crackers, cheeses, breads and dips. Penny greeted them all with a hug and then reached for a piece of crusty bread, slathering it with camembert before collapsing into one of the chairs.
“It’s good to sit down. I’ve had the craziest morning.”
“Crazier than ending up in the mud with your high school crush on top of you?” Taya quipped with a wink.
The other two women laughed. Penny frowned. “He was most definitely not my high school crush—more like my enemy. And clearly, I should never have told the three of you about that. Now you’ll hold it over my head for the rest of our lives.”
“How long is he in town?”
“I just saw him again at the marina, and he says he’s between jobs. But who knows what that means — he’s been career obsessed ever since he left the island.” Penny took a bite of the bread and enjoyed the soft, savoury flavour of the camembert as it flooded her mouth.
“You two sure are running into each other a lot,” Bea said with a grin, then downed the last of her cocktail.
Penny rolled her eyes. “It was pure coincidence.”
“How did he look?”
“He was shirtless.”
“Oh, my.” Bea laughed. “Is it getting hot in here?” She flapped the neckline of her shirt against her chest.
“He did look pretty good. I don’t think he’s been skipping arm day at the gym.”
“You should ask him out,” Taya said with a confident bob of her head.
“What? No. Definitely not. We drive each other crazy. And not in a good way. Besides, he’s Rob’s best friend, and you know he has a rule about his friends dating me. He was always going on about it when we were younger.”
“You’re not exactly a kid anymore. I don’t think the same rules apply,” Evie said.
“I don’t know. He was pretty adamant about that one.”
“Well, I don’t know about any of you, but I’ve had enough of dating for a while.” Bea sighed.
“Didn’t you only go on one date?” Penny took another bite of bread.
Bea nodded. “And that was enough, apparently.”
