“Are you following me?” Parker asked as he sat down next to her. He tried to hide that he was a little breathless, since he’d had to chase Toby for the past two miles. If he hadn’t already spent an hour working out before their walk, he would have simply taken the dog for a run. But now he was hoping the dog would stroll home slowly so he could enjoy the beach a little.

As he’d approached Sara, he’d watched her tossing a stick to Toby. The puppy’s favorite game was fetch, but now he’d grown tired of playing and was lying at her feet, chewing the wood to pieces.

“I’ve been here for over an hour,” she replied, tucking her iPad to her chest, “which would mean you’re the one stalking me.”

“If I can’t keep up with Toby now, how am I ever going to when he grows into those paws?”

He pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack and gave Toby a drink, cupping his hands and letting the dog lick them dry before swallowing some himself.

“That’s what leashes are for,” she suggested.

Parker laughed and glanced over her shoulder towards the cabins in the distance. His knee brushed up against hers lightly, making him remember the kiss all over again.

He’d spent the last hour and a half trying to get her out of his head, but here she was again.

“You live near here?” he asked casually.

Her eyebrows shot up slightly. “Do you?”

He nodded back in the direction they had come. “I’m in the Fitch’s old place.” The gray wood-shingled house sat less than two miles from them.

She narrowed her eyes. “How’d you convince them to rent it to you?” she asked.

“I didn’t.” He smiled. “They sold it to me.”

Her eyebrows went up more. “But they swore they’d retire there.”

“Yup, that was until the water heater went out, the fireplace backed up, and half of the front porch caved in.”

“So, you’re fixing it?”

He nodded. “Most of the big stuff still needs to be done.”

“Where did the Fitches go?”

“Where else?”

“Florida?”

“No.” He chuckled. “They bought a new house just outside of Portland.”

“Oh.” She leaned back. “I really liked Jerry and Marg.”

“They seemed like a nice couple,” he agreed. “But, since it benefited me, I’m okay with them moving to a new place.”

She glanced at him sideways. “Toby?”

He nodded. “I got him on my way into town. There was a farmer who had a truck bed full of the little guys.” He scratched his dogs’ head and smiled. Toby may be a little exhausting but was well worth it. “I figured it was about time I got a dog.”

He relaxed back against the driftwood and looked out over the water. He could tell there would be rain tonight and hoped he and Toby could make it home before it started to fall.

“Why are you here?” she asked after a moment of silence.

He glanced over at her. “Toby needed to stretch his legs.”

She chuckled as she shook her head. “In Pride. You never got to finish telling me earlier,” she corrected.

He shrugged. “It’s a great town. Lots of potential for work.” He glanced up at the cabins behind them. He could just make out a few roofs. He knew about the bed and breakfast the Jordans ran. Patty had talked to him about almost everything in town. All he’d had to do was pay attention and have a good memory to know a little bit about everyone who came and went in town.

“Where were you before?”

“Eugene,” he answered as Toby rushed towards the water’s edge. “Now he’ll need a bath.” He groaned as the dog jumped into the surf playfully.

“He’s only a puppy once.” She chuckled.

“Your folks own the bed and breakfast?” He nodded behind them again.

She glanced back. “Yup. What about your folks? Are they in Eugene?”

“I never knew my father.” He watched Toby closely. He wasn’t sure if the dog knew how to swim well or not.

“You’re mother?” she asked.

He shrugged. Wanting to change the subject, he stood up. “How about a walk?” He held out his hand towards her.

She set her iPad down and tucked the blanket around it, then stood.

“Are you going to leave that here?” He glanced around. Even though they were the only ones on the beach, he’d grown up in the city and knew better than to leave valuables laying around.

“Who do you suppose is going to take it?” She motioned around them. “You’re the first person I’ve seen in an hour.”

He shrugged and followed her down the beach.

“So,” she said after a moment, “you don’t like talking about your mother?”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, his eyes focusing on the horizon as Toby fell in step with them.

“You changed the subject and have this… look. My mother gets the same look whenever someone mentions her first husband.”

He glanced down at her. “Oh?”

“He was an ass and beat her. Broke her arm once, went to jail, broke out, and almost killed her and my brother Matthew when she was pregnant.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“My father happened.” She smiled. “Kicked his ass.”

“I haven’t met your parents yet. I met your aunt Lacey when I applied for my business license. I didn’t know she was your aunt, since her last name is Stevens. And of course I’ve met Iian.”

“Did she abuse you?” Sara asked, oddly still on track.

“No, she never laid a finger on me,” he said, his tone low.

Sara’s hand reached up and took his, making him stop and look at her.

“But she’s hurt you.” It wasn’t a question. Her green eyes scanned his.

“Yes,” he agreed softly. “My grandmother raised me.”

Dropping her arm, she glanced around and nodded to where Toby was trying to carry a large log.

He chuckled at the sight and felt all the heaviness disappear between them. “I think I picked the dumbest one in the litter.”

She laughed. “He’ll get smarter as he gets older,” she assured him. “We have three dogs. Raco started out dumb, but now that he’s an old man, he’s wise.”

They turned back to the pathway that led towards the cabins. He was dying to see what kind of shape they were in, but knew he’d have his hands full with the restaurant restoration in the coming months.

If all went well, this job would open more doors in town for him.

“Where is your grandmother now?” she asked as she picked up her iPad and blanket.

“In a home.” Hearing his tone of despair, he turned and whistled for Toby to come. “I’d better get this guy back and feed him. He gets hangry,” he joked. When he turned to go, something stopped him. Glancing over his shoulder, he met her eyes. “How about dinner?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Tonight?”

“No.” He turned back around. Why was he fumbling this? “This weekend?”

“As in… a date?” She bit her bottom lip.

“Now that I know you’re available.” He smiled when she gave him a look. “Don’t hate me for seeing an opportunity.”

“I don’t.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m just not sure it’s a good idea, since we’ll be working with each other over the next few months.”

He walked back towards her, stopping less than a foot from her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he tucked his hands in his shorts. “Make no mistake, I’m working for your uncle, not you.”

Heat flooded her eyes and before he gave her a chance to reply or back away, he took her shoulders. This time, he wanted to leave little doubt as to who was in control.

It was the single biggest mistake of his life. Kissing Sara. The moment his lips touched hers, he knew nothing would be the same ever again. He would never want it to be, after the life-altering way her body melted against his.

When her lips opened slightly on a sigh, he dipped in and took everything she offered. Everything he’d ever wanted.

His fingers tightened on her skin, holding her closer as his mouth explored and demanded more. He felt her shiver with want and his body reacted fast and hard, like being slammed over the head.

Jerking back, he dropped his hands. He didn’t think he could control the desire if he continued to touch her.

Her unfocused eyes had turned a sea green. He wanted to pull her close again, but instead, took a step back. “Friday night?” he asked, not sure if his voice would hold. When she nodded, he smiled. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

Again, she nodded. The fact that she hadn’t spoken, hadn’t moved, was a good sign. Turning, he whistled for Toby and walked back down the beach.

So many times, he wanted to turn around to see if she was watching him, but he kept his eyes focused straight ahead as his mind played over the single most powerful moment of his life.

* * *

Sara must have stood frozen to the spot for more than five minutes. The pair were just dots on the horizon when she finally woke from her stupor. That kiss had not only knocked her socks off but had had her on the verge of coming.

How did a man do that with just one kiss? She made her way back to her cabin and, before opening the door, remembered she had nothing to eat.

Setting the blanket down on the bench outside her door, she headed towards her parents’ house, knowing full well that her mother would have a three-course meal waiting.

The classic Georgian Colonial home had a fresh coat of white paint on it, thanks to her father and uncles. She’d spent so many hours on the large wraparound porch, she had always thought of it as a second bedroom. The green shutters had been replaced with new ones a few years back when all of the windows had been replaced with double-paned glass.

When she opened the front door, the smell of her mother’s pot roast hit her, and she groaned with happiness.

“Mom? Dad?” she called out as she made her way through the house. Two of their three dogs greeted her at the doorway. She knew Raco was probably laying at her mother’s feet wherever she was.

The house hardly ever changed. A fresh coat of paint every now and then or new furniture whenever her mother got it in her mind to redecorate. Sara thought she could find anything in the house blindfolded.

“Back here,” both of her parents called out at the same time.

Megan and Todd Jordan pulled apart from one another as Sara walked into the kitchen. Their public displays of affection had caused her and her brother and sister some discomfort over the years, but now she held in a sigh as she thought about feeling that way towards a man after twenty-some years of marriage.

“I heard a rumor,” her father started before she could walk two feet into the massive kitchen.

“Don’t start.” She groaned, causing her father to chuckle.

“Rumor?” Her mother turned from the stove and frowned at her. “What rumor?”

Megan Jordan was still as beautiful as she’d always been. Her mother and father could easily be on the cover of a magazine. All of her family could. Sure, there was a little more gray in her father’s dark hair these days. He complained that he couldn’t beat her cousins on the basketball court anymore, but he could still keep up with them and, on a good day, Iian, Aaron, and her father could still school some of the younger family members on the court.

Her father walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead, like he had since she was a child. “It’s just a rumor,” he told his wife, who narrowed her green eyes in his direction.

Sara had gotten a lot from her mother. Their green eyes were a perfect match, as were the long blonde hair, skin coloring, and, to her father’s amusement, their tempers.

“Where’s Matt?” she asked.

“India,” her dad answered. “He’ll be home late Wednesday.”

Her brother had started working with their dad at Jordan Shipping in high school. After graduating and taking several night classes online, he’d started slowly filling in for their dad with their international clients. Jordan Shipping had been in their family for as long as the restaurant had. Her father had traveled a lot in her youth, and sometimes he had taken the entire family. She’d been to more places than she could remember, countries most people only dreamed of going to. But Pride was the only place she’d ever called home.

When he was home, her brother lived in a small loft next to the old brick building that housed Jordan Shipping, but still made his way over to sit down for dinner most weeknights.

“So, it’s just us?” she asked, looking around.

“It was just your mother and I, but you’re here now,” her father added. Her mother gave him a playful push.

“You can set the table.” Her mother turned to her. “Then, over pot roast, you can fill me in on what everyone in town is saying about you and the man Iian hired.”

Her father chuckled and quickly left the room.

“So, it has gone around already.” Instead of setting the table, she sat down in the chair and rested her chin in her hands. “Great.”

“Is it true?” her mother asked from the stove.

“I don’t know, what did you hear?” She glanced up.

“That you kissed him in the parking lot in front of everyone, including Aiden.”

She rested her forehead down on the wood table.

“So, it’s true?” her mother asked.

Sara heard a bottle of wine open and wasn’t surprised to hear her mother set a glass down in front of her. “Want to tell me about it?”

“There isn’t much to tell.” She took the glass and downed half its contents.

“There’s always something.” Her mother sat across from her in the bay window booth. The formal dining room was reserved for when guests were around.

As far back as she could remember, family dinners had always been enjoyed at the smaller kitchen booth area.

“I kissed him to get back at Aiden. That’s it.”

The look her mother gave her told her that she didn’t believe her. Still, she wasn’t about to admit what Parker’s kisses had done to her.

“Have you heard from Su?” she asked, changing the subject to her younger sister.

“Yes,” her mother said after a moment. “She’s getting excited for summer break. Right now, she plans to return home for the three months she’ll be off.” Her mother stood and set the food on the table, almost tripping over the little dog who watched her every move.

“Ruby, go tell Daddy dinner is ready,” her mother told the small terrier, who bolted from the room to find her dad.

“That dog is smarter than most humans,” Sara joked.

Her mother chuckled and sat down across from her. “You know, I can see right through you.” She reached over and took her hand. Even their fingers were twin versions of each other. “You can’t hide what you’re feeling, because you’re so much like me. Looking into your eyes is like looking into a mirror. That boy did something to you today. Something you’re not happy about.” Her mother’s smile grew, confusing her.

“So, if I’m not happy about it, why are you smiling?”

Chuckling, her mother said, “Because, you have the same look that I walked around with for days after your father kissed me for the first time all those years ago.”