Gilly made a point to go with Simon when he dropped Gretchen off at the airport. It was a tearful goodbye as they watched her pull her suitcase past the double doors and disappear into the terminal.

Afterward, Gilly noticed he didn’t speak as he drove through the winding stretch of roadway toward the exit ramp. He turned the music up for the kids, letting the tunes absorb part of the sadness, the void that seemed to hang in the truck with Gretchen gone.

She waited, drumming her fingers on her thigh, letting him deal with his emotions, which seemed to be visibly raw and tattered at the edges. Wondering if something deeper could be going on, she thought back to the night before.

They’d had a perfectly delightful evening, the five of them sitting around the dinner table gorging on the burgers Simon had cooked on the grill and the skinny fries his mother had made from scratch. The mood had been relaxed, the atmosphere cheery.

Maybe that was the problem, she decided. Simon realized his mother had nothing like that back home waiting for her. No babies running around, only a dreary routine she’d grown tired of facing each day.

It was only when the kids began to get restless that Simon reached out to her and clasped her hand in his.

“Thanks for coming with me.”

“Your mom is so cool.”

Simon chuckled. “Yeah. She is. My sixty-year-old mother is dating.”

“At least she didn’t meet him online.”

“You ever try that online stuff?”

“Me? God no. Too many of my friends at work have been burned that way. You?”

“Uh-uh. It’s been my experience that you can’t even find a decent plumber online, never mind a suitable date.”

She hooted with laughter. “At least John’s well known around town. I asked a few people and they all said the same thing. He’s a rock, a good guy, a good neighbor. And he would do anything for Julianne. That has to count for something.”

“It does. But this is my mom we’re talking about. I never even considered the possibility that she might, you know, have those kinds of feelings in her. Your mom doesn’t, and she’s been a widow for a lot longer than mine.”

“Yes, but your mom acts like she’s years younger. It’s her approach to life, maybe. I don’t know. But I’m sure you couldn’t even get my mother to consider going out with a man. She’s just not willing to reach out there and grab life by the balls the way your mom does.”

Simon cracked up. “I hope you meant that as a pun.”

“I did. Kinda.”

“Because that is not anything I want to conjure up in my head, especially while I’m going sixty-five down the highway.”

“Since I know John, neither do I.”

Simon skirted the 101 and hit the Pelican Pointe city limits using the Pacific Coast Highway. As he connected with Main Street, he realized this sleepy little village had grown on him. In the two years he’d been here, he’d often avoided coming into town. But now, he was anxious to make it his forever home.

He made a right at Beach Street and a left at Tradewinds. “Want to go by the house? Logan went ahead and dropped off the key last night.”

“That’s so like Logan. He did the same thing with me, gave me the key ahead of closing. Let’s go inside and measure everything, make plans where your furniture should go.”

Recognizing that the excitement in her voice equaled his, he brought her hand up to his lips, pressed a kiss to the palm. “You realize we’ll be neighbors. Maybe you’ll get tired of having me around.”

“Maybe you’ll get tired of me first.”

Keeping it light, he fired back, “Possibly, since you’re so annoying.”

She jabbed his arm.

“Hey, kids in the car. Never attack the driver,” Simon pointed out as he pulled into the driveway of his house. His house. He sat there for a minute, taking it all in. But since the vehicle had stopped moving, the kids either wanted to keep going or get out of the confined back seat.

After getting inside, Delaney toddled around like she had the first time, slow and methodical. While Jayden was a blur, going room to room, unable to settle on where he should send his cars flying toward the baseboards.

They measured everything twice. Gilly took notes. “To remind you later about what you don’t have now, but will need after moving in.”

Didn’t the house have everything he needed already? Stainless-steel appliances, a huge walk-in pantry, an island, gorgeous cabinets. What could he possibly need? “Like what?”

“Window coverings for one thing. Some of the rooms already have blinds up, but the ones that don’t…you’ll need to decide if you want to go with drapes or more blinds.”

“Maybe I’ll just leave them uncovered, let the light in.”

She gave him a pathetic look. “That’s okay for now, but down the road you’ll want to be able to have something for privacy. Or is that just because I’m a single mom and have read way too many books about serial killers who started out as peepers?”

Simon made a face. “There’s a lot to this house thing.”

“You don’t have to do it all at once. Gradually is more fun anyway, shopping for things, adding a piece here and there after spending weeks looking for just the right rug or artwork.”

That didn’t sound like great fun to Simon. But Gilly was going on and on about color schemes and something called Feng Shui she’d read in a magazine.

“This is why I let my mother order me a Pottery Barn chair two years ago. I didn’t have to do anything to get it. One day, a truck pulled up, dumped it off, and I watched two guys rip off the plastic wrap. Boom, it was there for me to enjoy.”

Gilly put her hands on her hips. “This is starting to get a little too real for you, isn’t it?”

“I just wanted a house, a decent place for Delaney to grow up. Now, I suddenly have to worry about décor, worry if what I have in the cottage will work here. It’s discouraging, intimidating.”

She hid a laugh because his face said it all. He was so serious. She could’ve sworn his usual clear-blue eyes showed such real alarm they’d turned the color of frosty ice. “Look, don’t mind me. I get like this sometimes. I should’ve known better than to bring this all up now because right before I signed on the dotted line, signed my life away really, I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of panic. Could I make this work? What happens when I miss a payment? What if work dries up around here and I’m back commuting to San Sebastian?”

“So you’re saying this tightness in my chest is normal?”

“I think so.” She ran a hand up his arm. “I’m sorry I got you worked up.”

His hand reached out to cup the back of her neck. “I’m hoping you get me worked up more often, just not about buying this house.”

She poked him in the ribs. “No second-guessing allowed. You’re doing the right thing, even though the farm is fine for a visit. By the way, Jayden and I love our pumpkin. We put it right on the porch. I told him you’d turn it into a jack o’lantern.”

“Me?”

She went over to the French doors and swung them open. Jayden came running through the kitchen, followed by Delaney. Both kids scooted out into the yard where the lawn was lush and green. “See? Backyards, grass, all this room to run around, magnets for kids.”

Watching Delaney flap her arms and fall into the grass lifted him up out of the sheer fear he’d felt. He ran his hand across the island counter. “I’ll be able to stand here and fix her lunch for school, maybe a Fluffernutter or two.”

“A what?”

“You know, a sandwich.”

“Never heard of it. Is that a Rhode Island thing?”

“Surely not. No kid heads off to school without a Fluffernutter in their lunch box. You take two pieces of white bread, spread on peanut butter, nice and thick, and smear marshmallow Fluff over the top.”

Gilly made a face. “Eww. That sounds disgusting.”

“Not as disgusting as peanut butter and bananas.”

“I don’t eat that either. Let’s finish the walkthrough and go get lunch.”

They enticed the kids back inside, so they could tour the upstairs, Simon carrying Delaney and Gilly toting Jayden on her hip.

“What have you decided to do with this big playroom?”

“No idea yet. But I think I’ll put Delaney in this corner bedroom farthest away from the stairs.”

“Probably a good idea.” Roaming the end of the hallway to the landing, Gilly stopped at the middle bedroom doorway. It had the cutest little nook built into one of the corner walls that she’d missed on earlier visits. “This would make a great place for a teenager to sit and read. Her bed would look great over there. I’d go with this room for Delaney instead of the other one.”

Simon shook his head. “I just got a punch to the gut thinking of her as a teenager.”

“Get used to it, pal. That girl is growing like a spring weed. Before you know it, she’ll be fighting off the boys.”

He knew it was true. Life seemed to be racing along at a fast clip, which was why he tabled his angst about the house. “Let’s get out of here and get some chow.”

“Chow!” Jayden yelled into his mother’s ear.

Delaney took hold of his face with both hands. “Da-da.”

“I love it when she says that.”

“It is pretty cool,” Gilly said in agreement. “Where to from here?”

“Let’s go grab sandwiches and eat at the beach. We could even eat on the boat. It’s moored in Smuggler’s Bay.”

“As long as you’re not offering to whip up those nutter things.”

“Fluffernutters.”

“Whatever. You know I have to go to another one of Sydney’s fundraiser meetings on Friday night.”

“How’s that coming?”

“We agreed the masquerade ball was a go.”

“I don’t get it. Where’s the fundraiser part come in?”

“There’ll be an auction. Nick and Logan are working on that. Apparently, they have some fantastic prizes lined up to bid on. Although I haven’t seen the list yet, rumors say they’re auctioning off stuff around town.”

“Like what?”

“Like that empty storefront next to the church. They want someone to open up another business and this is a good way for them to get it dirt cheap.”

“Interesting. What kind of business?”

“That’s up to the person who wins the auction.”

They ended up at Gilly’s house, making tuna fish sandwiches for themselves and peanut butter and jelly for the kids. After bagging the food, they headed off toward the Bay, each pushing a stroller.

Simon had dug out Delaney’s from the cargo container, loaded it up in the back of his truck, and returned Jayden’s to Gilly. “I’m beginning to think I might’ve made a mistake buying the pickup.”

“Oh, no, Simon. Really?”

“It doesn’t have the space in the interior I need. It’s hard to cram in the diaper bag and all the other crap and still have room for other passengers. Just look at this morning and how jampacked we were on the way to the airport. You had to sit sandwiched in between two car seats.”

“What are you gonna do about it?”

“I’m thinking about asking Brad to find…God help me…a minivan.”

“Was there a thirty-day return clause?”

“I doubt it.”

“How much money would you lose?”

“You know what they say about driving a car off the lot. It loses ten percent of its value before you get to the first stop sign.”

Simon pointed to the Sea Dragon in a slip next to the pier. “It doesn’t have wheels, Jayden, but she can really move when I want her to.”

Jayden sat up in his stroller to get a better view. “Boats!”

Simon helped Gilly aboard first carrying Delaney and then came back for Jayden. “Welcome aboard.”

The deck rolled under Gilly’s feet. Her free hand latched onto the railing to steady herself with Delaney.

“Got a get your sea legs,” Simon called out. “Maybe you should sit down.”

She took his advice and plopped her fanny down next to her son.

Simon pointed to a pelican perched on top of a nearby pylon. “Look at that, she’s waiting to catch her lunch.”

“Dat’s a big bird,” Jayden noted. Unlike his mother, the toddler was right at home with the sway and give.

Overhead, seagulls sailed gracefully through the air, calling to each other, their squawking booming out over the sapphire water.

Once Gilly got her balance back, she passed around the sandwiches.

As the gentle waves lapped and rocked the sides, they ate in silence. But Gilly couldn’t take her eyes off Simon. She got it now. It was as if the man had been born for the water. The breeze lifted all that golden-touched brown hair, reminding her he could’ve been Jack Sparrow, and this was his personal armada.

“Why didn’t you join the Navy?” she heard herself ask. “You obviously adore the water, grew up around it.”

“No logical answer to that. But the Army recruiter was a little more heavy-handed than the Navy guy. And I was sure the Army would piss off my father more. Turns out, I was right.” He squinted into the afternoon sun. “How do you go about righting so many wrongs over the years?”

“That’s easy. Forgive yourself.”

“How do I do that?”

She bounced Delaney on her knee. “Pick one and start with that. I’ve thought about what you said earlier, about being neighbors. I won’t get tired of having you around.”

Their eyes met. “Whether you believe it or not, I’ll be someone you can count on. Always.”

“Always is a long time, Simon.”

“So, what are we talking about here? If I’m off base…”

“No, it’s not that. It’s more like I’m in shock hearing you use the word ‘always.’”

So much for telling her how he really felt. No way was he going to bring up the L word now. “Maybe we should both take a page from Gretchen Bremmer’s playbook. She’s trying to get on with her life, trying to reach for something she hasn’t had in two years.”

“Try never. That’s me. I’ve never had real love in a relationship. Not ever. I know that now, so I relate to how your mother must feel when it comes to meeting John. At least she had your dad all those years.” Gilly looked out over the shimmering sun-kissed water and bit her lip. “I want that kind of commitment.”

“Then we are on the same page.”

“I think we’re getting there, at least I hope we are.”