A pair of kayakers slid through the smooth waters of Lake Union, gliding past the Sea Hopper and paddling toward the neighborhood of houseboats moored farther up the eastern shore.

“I just have one more suitcase,” Lexie said as she handed a medium-sized wheelie to the pilot inside the small amphibious plane.

“Geez, how long are you planning to be gone? A month?”

“Just a week.” She hadn’t planned to get away at all, but Geraldine had called with a Buddy emergency. Lexie’s grand opening had been a flop due to a misprint in the Seattle Times. Only a few people had shown up, and she’d left early, leaving the recently unemployed Marie in charge. She needed time away to heal and relax. Although it would take more than a week to heal her broken heart, and she doubted Geraldine would be very relaxing.

A week was a start, though. One week would turn into another, then another. Then a month would pass, until one day she would wake up without thinking of Sean Knox.

They’d never even been a real couple, but the love she felt for him was very real. So was the pain.

At her feet, Yum Yum barked at the kayakers and wagged her tail. The little dog wore a down parka with a faux-fur trim to shield her bare skin. Lexie picked her up and put her in the plane.

From within the cockpit, Jimmy’s cell phone rang and he said loud enough for Lexie to hear, “What? You’re kidding. Did you call the police?”

He jumped out of the plane with a frown creasing his brow just beneath his aviator hat. “That was one of my drivers. Someone stole one of my Scooter Subs,” he told her, and shoved his phone back inside the pocket of the old leather jacket he’d loaned her a few months ago. “The police are on the lookout for it.”

“The police are looking for your sandwich motorcycle?” Had it really been just a few months since he’d mentioned his latest business scheme? So much had happened it seemed like a year.

“It’s a scooter. It was parked outside the Key Arena and some guy in blue sweats jumped on it and drove away.”

“That’s crazy.” She pulled out her sunglasses to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun.

“He had a hoodie pulled up over his head and no one got a good look at him.” Jimmy scratched beneath one earflap. “The police are talking to people inside the arena and the surrounding businesses. Maybe someone saw something.” He put his hand beneath Lexie’s elbow to help her into the plane but dropped it a second later when his phone rang.

“Hello.” He paused and turned to Lexie. “Really? You’re telling me my scooter’s in front of Yum Yum’s Closet? Am I hearing you right?” That got her attention. “What the hell?” He shook his head. “How bad? Uh-huh. No shit? Right now?” He looked toward the parking lot. “Let me talk to him.”

Lexie’s gaze followed but she didn’t see anything but a few parked cars.

“That’s messed up . . . My driver already called the police . . . Okay. You owe me.”

Marie’s silver MINI Cooper screeched to a stop. The door opened, and first one long leg, then the other seemed to unfold from the little car. Then a whole man appeared and from within the car, Marie waved. The Cooper sped away, leaving behind Sean Knox in a dark blue sweat suit. He moved toward her, his footsteps a quick, steady thumping on the docks.

“What’s going on, Jimmy?” she wanted to know.

“Apparently, Sean is my scooter thief.”

Unable to take her eyes off the man walking toward her as if he was on a mission, she asked, “Why would he steal your Scooter Subs scooter?”

“I have no idea. He not only stole it—he wrecked it, too.”

With each step of his feet, her heart pounded a little harder in her chest. With each second, she feared she might pass out and had to remind herself to breathe. Then he stood before her, his hair and cheeks windblown. One of his eyes was glassy, the other black, and a grim line pulled at his mouth. With his gaze fixed on Lexie, he said, “Sorry about your scooter, Jimmy.”

“Not cool, man.”

“I’ll pay for the damages.” He swallowed, and Yum Yum stuck her head out the door and barked at him. “Can you give me a few minutes, Jimmy?”

“Is that okay with you, Lex?”

That almost got a smile out of her. What was Jimmy going to do if it wasn’t? Sean was taller and outweighed him by at least fifty pounds of pure muscle. “Yeah. It’s okay.” She glanced at the pilot as he turned to climb into his plane. “Thanks for asking, though.”

“I’ll be sitting here dealing with the scooter situation if you need me.”

“Did you talk to the press yet?” Sean wanted to know.

She turned toward him and shook her head. “The paper got the date wrong and very few people showed up.” A part of her, the part that wanted to throw herself at his chest, had been relieved that she hadn’t had to make the breakup announcement. The other part, the one that wanted to throw him in the lake, just wanted an end to the pain. She shook her head. “I’ll get ahold of Sylvia and tell her it’s over between us. She’ll be happy to get the first scoop.”

“What if I don’t want it to be over?”

Had he chased her down because he wanted to wait the two weeks as they’d planned? Was he that selfish? Mean? “Well, I told you that—”

“What if all I want is to be with you?”

“I can’t do—wait . . . Huh?”

He took her sunglasses from her eyes and put them in the pocket of his sweatpants. “What if I want all of you all of the time? Everything, for all the reasons on your made-up lists and some you haven’t thought up yet.” He paused and said, “I love you, Lexie. Not the fake kind. Not the love that looks good on paper. No sections and subsections and columns of bullet points.”

She wanted to believe her ears. With all of her heart. “Did KO threaten to put his stick up your butt again?” She folded her arms under her breasts. “Is that what this is about?”

“No.” He placed his hands on her elbows and looked into her eyes. “I’m not afraid of anything but you getting on that plane and Jimmy gunning the engine. I’m afraid that I’ve already blown my chance.” Then he pulled out the big guns and blew her away. “It’s only been two months. This sounds crazy. Hell, it is crazy. You said you see me. I see you, too, Lexie. I see all of you. I want all of you. I feel you so deep in my heart, there’s no way I can get you out again.” He paused, then added just above a whisper, “I don’t want to try.”

She bit the corner of her trembling lip. “You’re not afraid that it’s only been a few months and we haven’t spent enough time together?”

He shook his head. “Neither of us is going anywhere. We have all the time in the world.” He slid his hands across her shoulders to cup the sides of her neck. “I found a saying.”

“A what?”

His cheeks turned a little redder. “A romantic quote.”

“All on your own?”

“Yes, and it’s not cheesy like yours.”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “What is it?”

“‘Walk with me. We’ll figure out where we’re going later.’”

So simple. “I love it.” Her smile slid clear down into her heart and she took his hand. “I love you.” It might not be the most romantic saying. It wasn’t:

1. Shakespeare.
2. Byron.
3. Nicholas Sparks.

No more running. Not from weddings or each other or love. Not from lies or fear or limits.

Sean kissed her lips and smiled. “Ready to walk with me?”

“Yes.”

He reached into the Sea Hopper and grabbed her dog. With her hand in his, the three of them walked side by side up the dock and into a future full of real love and genuine possibilities.