Chapter 11

The June Lake Friday night market was small but larger than I’d expected. A quick look around had told me that the local vendors were about quality and not quantity, and that was something I could get behind.

Best of all was our tour guide, though. I’d been incredibly surprised when she’d accepted my apology so readily and even more surprised when she’d offered to show us around. On the other hand, people here seemed to be ridiculously friendly.

Jewel introduced us to vendors and other shoppers alike, and not only did they all go out of their way to suggest things we could do, but they all knew who we were. “The guy from the city with the kid staying in the Manor.”

That was what I heard all around. So when she finally blurted out the question about what we were doing here, I wasn’t as surprised by her bluntness as I would’ve been before I’d realized that the townspeople seemed to be direct and honest.

I chuckled. “We’re here for a good time in a small town, and you know how it is with kids and water. A small town by a lake sounded like a good combination, but we didn’t want somewhere overly crowded.”

She arched a sassy eyebrow at me. “For those of us who are from around here, this is overly crowded.”

Colten frowned at her. “Really? You think this is crowded?”

He took a look around the park like he was waiting for more people to jump out and surprise him. Jewel gave him a friendly smile when he looked back at her. “I don’t know where you guys are from, but to us, this is a lot of people.”

“It’s pretty here,” he said kindly. “Maybe that’s why so many people come. The lake is great.”

Nice save, buddy,I thought as I reached out to ruffle his hair. “That’s another reason we’re here. I spent a lot of time around lakes and rivers growing up, but Colt has never spent a summer or even a week in a place like this. We figured we’d come have good, old-fashioned fun.”

That explanation seemed a lot simpler than admitting I was here to make memories, to make sure I didn’t have any regrets, and to disconnect from work so I could reconnect with my son. Oh, and also to take advice from the man I respected more than anyone in the world.

Funsummed it up nicely.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place for good, old-fashioned fun,” she said easily. “June Lake might not be fast paced, but it’s top notch. And you can’t beat the scenery.”

She winked, her entire face animated as she spoke of her town. Speaking of scenery, damn, she’s cute.

As I looked at her, illuminated by the string lights in the trees, I noticed things about her that I hadn’t before. Her eyes were a honey gold, her skin was kissed by days in the sun, and a smattering of freckles covered her shoulders and cheeks.

When I’d first seen her in that scrap of fabric pretending to be a bikini, I’d noticed her amazing figure. It had been impossible to hide her curves when she hadn’t been wearing much. That was why I’d been thinking of her as a Siren from the deep, coming to land to lure poor, horny assholes to their deaths, but now?

All these new little things about her struck me as nothing less than beautiful. I glanced down at my lemonade. Is there vodka in this?

I’d thought of women as many things after Colt’s mom, but beautiful hadn’t often been one of them. As I stared deeply into the lemonade and wondered if the girl who had sold it to us had added a little something other than sugar, I realized I’d missed what she’d said.

She gave me an amused look. “Were you listening?”

“Uh, no,” I admitted honestly. “Sorry. I missed that.”

To my surprise, she shared a look with my son, who shrugged at her before he turned to me. “Jewel was telling us about some of the stuff happening around town this summer.”

“Oh, right,” I said, clearing my throat as I focused on the information she was giving us. “You mean there’s more to this place than markets?”

Laughter shimmered in her eyes as she nodded. “There’s a fair in two weeks, and next weekend, we have our Lake Warrior contest.” A twinkle joined the shimmer in her eyes. “You should sign up. It’s a blast.”

Lake Warrior contest? What the hell is that?

Before I could ask, she shifted her attention back to Colten. Nodding toward a bright blue tent with a gladiator on it, she urged him on. “You can sign up right over there, or at least grab a brochure. You guys will enjoy it.”

“How do you know?” I asked lightly. To my utter dismay, I sounded like I was flirting—and flirting poorly at that.

Jewel didn’t seem to realize it, though. Or if she did, she didn’t show it. She flashed me a bright, happy smile. “Everyone loves the Lake Warrior contest. I mean, come on. What’s not to love?”

Since she seemed more focused on Colten than on me, I decided to encourage him. If it was a kid thing, he should definitely participate. “Go on, bud. Jewel is right. We should at least grab a brochure while we’re here. The tent is right there. It’d be silly to leave without getting some information.”

Colt sighed but finally slid his hands into his pockets and cocked his head as he started toward the tent. “Wait for me here.”

I grinned at him. “You got it.”

As I watched him approach the tent with far too much caution and suspicion for my liking, I glanced at her. “Thanks for that. The kid definitely needs to let his hair down and make some friends this summer.”

She grinned. “You definitely came to the right place for that too. We know how to have good, old-fashioned fun, but we’re also pretty friendly. Bring him to the beach tomorrow. We’ll take him out on my brother’s boat and show him how we play here in June Lake.”

“That’s very hospitable of you,” I responded, glad that the dismal flirting had been momentary. “We might just take you up on the invitation, but I’m afraid Colten may not warm up to the way you play here in June Lake in just one day.”

I had no issue flirting with her. It was the realization that it had been awful flirting that had gotten to me. Once upon a time, I’d had game. And sure, it’d been a long time ago, but surely, it still had to be in here somewhere.

Jewel watched as Colten chatted to the man under the tent. “You’ve been here a few days. To be honest, I’m surprised he hasn’t made any friends yet. The kids here usually try to recruit any new arrival to their ranks, but he’ll warm up to us. I guarantee it.”

I chuckled. “It’s not on the kids. Some of them tried to recruit him earlier, but we haven’t spent much time outside of the house until today and he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about spending time with them.”

“He’ll get there.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t have wanted to spend any time in town either if I could’ve been spending it there instead. It’s the nicest house in town.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said, then smirked at her. “From you, among others.”

Her cheeks flushed a gorgeous, rosy pink. “Right. I forgot. How has your stay been so far? Living up to the hype, I hope.”

“It’s an amazing house,” I replied, holding her gaze for a moment. “I think it’s the perfect place to unwind for a couple months. So your brother has a boat, huh? Are you sure he won’t mind if we join you tomorrow?”

“The more, the merrier,” she said with yet another smile on her lips. “A day on the water is just what any child needs to ease into our way of living.”

“Does your way of living include parking in the middle of the road to go for a swim often, or was that a one-off thing?”

“Oh, no. It definitely wasn’t a one-off thing.” Her eyes widened as they darted in the direction of the lake. “Tell me you could live on a lake like this and not take a dip every day the weather allows? It’s irresistible.”

“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, taking in those freckles and her golden skin. It wasn’t just the lake that was irresistible to me.

June Lake was already starting to rub off on me, thanks in no small part to the girl I was looking at right then. The level of attraction I felt toward her was unfamiliar and not in the comfortable way.

She was a beautiful, small-town, girl-next-door type and not only did I not know anyone else like that, but I also had no idea why I was suddenly noticing things like the way she tucked her hair behind her ears whenever it came loose and how she constantly seemed to be rubbing the pads of her index fingers over her thumbnails as we spoke.

There has to be vodka in the lemonade. It’s the only explanation.

After going years without ever even really looking at a woman, there was not a chance in hell that this one had gotten to me so fast. It just wasn’t possible.

Besides, I certainly couldn’t act on the attraction. Flirting was one thing, but it couldn’t go any further than that.

“Do you think Colten would like tubing?” she asked, blissfully unaware of the direction my thoughts had taken.

When I blinked myself out of my head and refocused on her, I saw her looking at him where he was still talking to the Lake Warrior guy. Once again noticing something I shouldn’t have, I studied the fond softness on her expression and wondered if it was for Colt or the contest representative.

“I think he’d love it if he gave it a try.” I responded to her question instead of letting my mind run away with me again.

I’d already assumed her brother was her boyfriend. I couldn’t exactly ask her about this guy too without coming off as an intensely creepy stalker who was jealous of any potential romantic entanglements she might have.

Jewel glanced away from Colten to look back at me, sliding her fingers into the back pockets of her denim shorts as her eyes sparkled with humor. “Don’t worry about that. We can be very persuasive when it comes to tubing. All you need to do is show up and we’ll encourage him to live a little.”

Suddenly, I had no doubt that they would. Their definition of living a little was very different to what I’d become used to, but I liked it. It seemed to me that the people around here were not only friendly but carefree.

They adored their town and the water it had been settled here for, and they knew how to live life outside of the rat race. It made me more convinced than ever that I’d chosen the right spot for our vacation, but looking at Jewel now, I wondered if our time here would hold any more surprises.

Somehow, I was sure it would, and strangely, I didn’t mind the thought so much. I wasn’t generally a guy for surprises, but with her being the thing that had surprised me most so far, I couldn’t say I was opposed to finding out more.

To being surprised. To unwinding in ways I hadn’t done since I’d become an adult. Yeah, we made the right decision coming here.

Now I just had to find a way to keep my hands to myself and then I’d really be able to enjoy the time I suddenly suspected we’d be spending together for the months I’d be here. But until I figured out how to keep my attraction contained, I mirrored her move and slid my fingers into my pockets to keep from doing something stupid.

And that was where they stayed for the rest of the night. See? It’s not that hard. I just have to hope I packed enough pants with pockets—or that I can work out how to use the washer back at the Manor without burning everyone’s favorite house to the ground.