Page 11 of Seaside Cowboy's Marriage of Convenience

Chapter Three

KENNEDY’S HEART WASbeating fast as Austin pulled back her chair on the restaurant’s patio and she sat. The Bay and Basin was a natural choice. Not only because it belonged to Marina’s mother but also because it had excellent food. Well, the two were connected.

Why was Kennedy this nervous? She’d been in high-stakes meetings and stayed cool and collected. She breathed in the salty air from the pier and stared at the sparkling ocean beyond. Then the scents of freshly baked biscuits and fried fish drifted to her.

Austin was one of the friendliest people in Port Sunshine. Which was one thing that had drawn her to him. The second thing was that he was trustworthy, based on her research. And her plan required trustworthiness. That was if she dared go ahead with her plan.

As she stole a glance at him, her heart skipped a beat. The third reason was—yes, the third reason was precisely that—her heart skipped a beat in his presence. So far, she’d seen him in a cowboy hat with a Wrangler shirt and scuffed cowboy boots, in a white lab coat and Crocs, and in a black suit with an azure-blue tie. Tonight, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with hibiscus flowers—the sight nearly made her sneeze—and khaki pants.

One thing didn’t change about him. His open smile and energetic gestures.

“Is it okay for you to be here?” His gaze landed on a corgi two tables away. Once a veterinarian always a veterinarian?

Her eyebrows rose. “Yes, of course.” She didn’t go out much—if ever. But that didn’t mean she’d shrivel in fresh air among people.

Marina, in a pink waitress uniform and with her hair pinned back in a net, walked to them. Her huge smile looked as if she were—Kennedy peeked at a calico further along the deck near its owner or servant—a cat who’d just enjoyed a gigantic bowl of cream.

Kennedy’s friend had started working as a private investigator and sometimes helped out at her mother’s restaurant as her caseload was still light. Uh-oh. Hopefully, Marina wouldn’t read too much into this dinner.

Kennedy raised her chin. “Hello, Marina.”

Marina’s grin spread even wider if that was possible. “I’ll be your server today.” She rattled off the specials, then handed them the cute menus where youthful drawings added a touch of homey charm to the dishes they depicted.

Marina’s cousin who was also married to Austin’s brother—a small world indeed—had designed the menus and had recently given them a makeover. Now there were more bright, colorful photos of dishes and drawings of a pirate and a parrot in flight decorated the first page of this surf-and-turf restaurant. Rumor had that Kai—Austin’s brother and Marina’s husband because, yup, a small world—and his pet had been the inspiration for those images.

“What would you like to drink?” Marina asked.

Kennedy opted for water with lime while Austin asked for iced tea.

“I hope you’ll enjoy your time at our restaurant. I’ll give you a few minutes to decide what you want.” Marina winked—winked!

“Thank you very much.” Austin didn’t seem to have understood Marina’s hint.

Relieved her friend walked away, Kennedy opened the menu, its laminated surface smooth under her fingertips. “Please never mind my friend. She has this weird idea.... Well, never mind.”

Austin’s smile was open and sincere. “I feel blessed to be here. With you. Especially after my faux P-A-W.”

“It’s spelled faux P-A-S; it’s only pronounced fauxpaw. But really, no big deal.” Great. With the tips of her ears getting hot and probably pink, she hid behind the menu.

She shouldn’t have corrected him. And maybe he was just trying to make a “paw” joke, given his profession. She might be a whiz in business, but she was clueless when it came to dating. Not that this was adate.

Was this nervousness because she didn’t have much experience in dating and whatever she’d had was disastrous? But this wasn’t a date, and she should clarify it, not to give a wrong impression. “As I mentioned, this isn’t a date. I–I need to talk to you about something. Something that might sound ridiculous at first but is important to me.”

There. She’d said it. So she wouldn’t back out of suggesting it later.

His expression fell. “Oh. Right. Of course. I understand.”

He looked disappointed. Was she going to make the biggest mistake of her life? What she was going to suggest didn’t make much sense. So unlike her.

She looked into the cerulean sky as if she’d see the answer written in big letters on a banner carried by a plane during the tourist season. She did see a banner. But it was advertising her hotel.

Marina brought their drinks. “Ready to order?” Then her smile dimmed as if she sensed the change in the atmosphere.

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