Who would have thought rowing could be so hard? Katie gripped the handles and pulled the paddles through the water. She’d read about rowing last night, and it seemed simple enough. She had to scoop water and put it behind her. To turn, she simply put the brakes on one side by stalling one oar in the water.

Easy peasy.

“Give me those.” Bowie reached for the oars. “You’re going to wear yourself out.”

Katie gripped tighter. There was no way she’d relinquish her power. “Sit back and enjoy. I’m in charge of these.” She raised the handles to prove a point, only to have one of them slip from her hand and slide into the water. “Oh. My. God.” She laughed so hard, her stomach ached.

He pointed to the lone paddle in her hand. “Give me that for a minute.” The air between them stilled while she contemplated his request. “I’ll give it back with the other one once I have them both,” he said to reassure her.

She reluctantly handed it to him and watched as he maneuvered the boat close enough to grab the rogue oar floating away from them. True to his word, he handed them back to her.

“Here you go, Duchess. Row until your heart’s content.”

Katie was certain it was hard for Bowie to relinquish power. He seemed like the kind of man who controlled everything he could. She imagined the reason he hadn’t been back to Aspen Cove since his fiancée died was that he couldn’t control the situation then, and he couldn’t control how he felt about it now.

“Sit back and relax. I’m going to give you the ride of your life.” She teased him with his own words.

“Don’t tease.” He stretched out on the wooden bench. His legs were so long, they extended and tucked under her seat.

“I can’t believe rowing is on your bucket list. What happened to things like meet a movie star or drive a Maserati?”

Katie made sure the oars were firmly in the ring thingy, then leaned forward and dipped them into the water. It took more strength and energy than she expected to pull them forward, but she wasn’t a quitter.

“I’ve driven a Maserati. It belonged to one of my doctors.”

“You’ve mentioned doctors more than once. Care to elaborate?”

“Not really. I was a sickly kid and spent a lot of time in the hospital.” She let go of one oar for a second to touch her chest. “I had a little heart issue, but it’s all good now.” She was certain most people wouldn’t call heart failure a “little issue”. She didn’t want to focus on the past. She wanted to live her future. She looked down at the angry scar that sliced through his knee and disappeared under the camouflage print of his cut-off shorts. “What about you?”

“I’ve seen a few doctors, too.” He rubbed his knee and pulled the fabric higher to reveal the wound. “I’m still here. You’re still here.” He looked around them. The lake was dotted with fishing boats. “Stay clear of everyone else. You don’t want to piss off a bunch of old fishermen. They won’t think anything of ‘accidentally’ hooking you with their next cast.”

“I got this.”

Once the boat moved, she had it. They glided across the water. The still glasslike surface broke and rippled with their movement. Several birds swooped down to see if the couple had anything interesting to offer, and when they found nothing but two people and a plastic bag, they moved on. As she neared a boat ahead, she braked and turned right.

Bowie reached for the bag he’d packed. “Hungry?” He raised a brow. “We can free float while we eat the gourmet sandwiches I prepared.”

“Gourmet, huh?” She pulled in the oars and tucked them under the bench. “What makes them gourmet?”

Bowie laughed. “I have no idea, but it sounded good.”

“Pony up the goods, mister. I’ve been rowing, and I’m starved.”

“You’ve been rowing for five minutes.” He opened the bag and pulled out two bagged sandwiches and two bottles of water. “Shall we share both?”

She rose from her seat. The boat rocked from side to side as she made her way to the space beside him. “I like sharing with you.” She liked sharing his kisses for sure. “Most people would share a meal before they shared a kiss. We’ve done it backward.”

“I don’t know. Who doesn’t like a little appetizer first?”

She took the baggie with the bologna sandwich inside. She reached in, pulled out the two halves, and offered him one. “So I’m your amuse-bouche?”

“My what?” He took a bite of his half of the sandwich. A blob of mustard caught at the corner of his lip.

Katie couldn’t help herself. She rose up and licked it away and savored the tangy taste it left on her tongue. “An amuse-bouche is something you eat to whet your appetite. Something to amuse your taste buds until you get to the main course.”

“I’m hoping to get to the main course with you soon.” He looked at her with heat in his eyes.

“So now I’m the appetizer and the main course.”

She took a bite of her sandwich. How a bologna and mustard sandwich tasted so good, she had no idea. Maybe sharing it with Bowie made it taste better. Maybe the way he teased her made a simple sandwich decadent. Who was she kidding? There was no maybe. Everything about Bowie spoke to her.

He nuzzled his face into her neck. The scruff of a few unshaven days rubbed her skin to create a nice, warm burn. The wet of his tongue traced from her collarbone to the shell of her ear.

“You’re dessert, too.”

A slow trickle of desire oozed like warmed honey through her veins. There wasn’t a place on her body that didn’t want to be dessert for Bowie Bishop.

“We’ll see. Maybe your appetite will fade at peanut butter and jelly.” She picked up the other baggie and pulled out her half of the sandwich. “The jelly is sweet and satisfying.”

Bowie turned to face her. “I’m sure you’re sweet, too, and I guarantee when I’m done with you, you’ll be satisfied.”

Every word he said made her shiver, but one word made her heart sink to the worn wooden bottom of the boat. He said the word “done”. Which made it sound like once he had her that would be it.

Though Katie wanted to find love, she had to be realistic. Life was fleeting. Uncertain. Unyielding. Wasn’t it better to have the thing she wanted once than never at all? No one knew better than her how life could change. She looked at Bowie, who had turned to glance at the water. He also knew a person could be here today and not tomorrow.

“I’d love to be your dessert.” It was a bold statement. One she’d embrace because deep inside she knew a day with Bowie was better than any day without.

He grabbed the oars and situated them into the rings. “My turn to row. I don’t want you worn out before I get you into bed.”

“I love how you think.”

She took her seat across from him and finished her sandwich. With each pull of the oars, his muscles grew until the cotton of his shirt stretched tight over his arms and chest—parts of his body certain to be exposed to her later.

When he turned to look toward the shore, the sunlight glinted off the faded white line that bisected his cheek.

“Where did you get that scar?” She lifted her hand to her unblemished cheek.

His eyes narrowed. His jaw tightened. The tick of a tense muscle twitched. “Car accident.”

Her heart skipped a beat. By the sternness of his reply, it had to be associated with his biggest loss. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

They sat in silence for a long minute. He turned the boat so they faced the west side of the lake.

“We’d been together for over ten years when she died.” His voice was low and far away. “I’ve never talked about it with anyone, but I got this scar trying to save her and my mother. I saved neither.”

The air surrounding them turned heavy with regret. She wasn’t certain how to respond. “You don’t have to tell me.”

He pulled his eyes from the mountainside to look at her. “I feel you need to know. You need to understand why I can never love you. Not because you’re not lovable, but because I’m not capable of love any longer.”

When she swallowed, it was as if a boulder stuck in her throat. “I doubt you’re incapable. It’s that you’re resistant. Why wouldn't you be? Love is risky.”

He pointed from her to him. “And you’re okay with this, knowing it’ll never be more?”

Inside, she wanted to cry for herself and for him. Was she okay with never having the option of more with Bowie? Not really, but she had to be. She knew she deserved more, and so did he, but something told her he was worth the gamble. “You and I both know how fragile life is. Let’s not worry about tomorrow. Let’s live today.”

He rowed harder until they were cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. “You make being here better.”

“Being here isn’t so bad. You might find you like it after all. Heck, you might even stay.” A girl could hope.

She finished her sandwich and watched the scenery pass as Bowie propelled them forward.

“My mom used to say, ‘Never cross the same bridge twice’. I’ve crossed this bridge before. I’m not staying.”

She tilted her head to the side and made a face. “Really? Neverisms? I hate them.”

He pulled in the oars. They coasted across the water. “What are you talking about?” He put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward with his hands clasped between his legs. “Neverisms?”

“You know. All the stuff people spout off like it’s sage advice. Things like ‘Never look a gift horse in the mouth’ or ‘Never moon a werewolf’. What the heck is a gift horse? And do werewolves exist? Wasted words packaged like wisdom.”

“Some of them are good.”

“Tell me one that’s been beneficial to you.”

He sat there. She could see the gears turning in his head, and she knew by the way his lips rose in the corners and the light in his eyes sparkled, he’d thought of one.

“Never say never.” He gave her a look that said, beat that.

“You just said never.” She shook her head, exasperated that he’d contradicted himself. “I’ll give you this, that’s the wisest one of them all because it leaves your options open. The one about the bridge … what if what you wanted or needed was on the other side of that bridge? Would you cross it then? If you didn’t … you’d never know.”

A breeze picked up. A man in a nearby boat hooted and hollered in celebration of his latest catch. The sun had fallen on the horizon and sat above the peak. The last remnants of snow had melted away. Bright green Aspen leaves colored the mountainside. It was spring, a time for new beginnings.

“You’re right. Neverisms are stupid,” Bowie said.

“I hate to make a blanket statement on anything, which is why ‘Never say never’ is good. There are a few others worth mentioning, like ‘Never pass up a chance to say I love you’ or ‘Never lose a chance to say a kind word’ or ‘Never let a man rowing your boat get away without a kiss’.” She launched herself at him, knocking him over.

For the next twenty minutes, they lay on the floor of the boat and made out like teenagers. It wasn’t until a brave bird landed and pecked at the empty sandwich bags that they came up for air.

The sun barely peeked above the mountain, which meant in no time it would be dark. “We should get back.” He turned the boat around and moved toward shore. “Let’s go home and get changed and meet back at the bar for a drink tonight.”

“Is that all you want? A drink?”

“I never said that was all I wanted.”

She licked his taste from her lips. “You sure like that word ‘never’.”

“I do,” he said with confidence. “Here’s one more for you to think about. I’m going to do things to you tonight that will make certain you never forget me.”

Playfulness looked good on him. It was nice to see him relax and enjoy the moment. So when he flashed his white teeth in an open-mouthed smile, something inside her melted like chocolate on a sun-warmed sidewalk. She thought of a “never” of her own. Never had she wanted a man as much as she wanted Bowie.