He leaned against the deck railing and caught sight of her at the shoreline with Rio. She was talking to some guy while his black Lab got to know her lapdog. It appeared their owners werealso becoming acquainted. Sadie didn’t know a stranger. She was already on a first-name basis with at least a dozen people.
She drew people in. It had annoyed him at first. He’d come here to be alone, and suddenly strangers were sitting on his deck, stopping by to chat with her.
But really, that was a pretty handy skill she had. He admired it.
She threw her head back and let out a laugh he couldn’t hear over the sounds of surf and wind. What had the man said to make her laugh like that?
She squatted and gave the Lab some attention. No doubt jealous, Rio jumped up on her knees and Sadie spread the love around.
A moment later she stood back up and resumed her conversation. Sam had seen the guy around but didn’t know him personally. The island was too big to know everyone, especially with the influx of tourists from spring through fall. But he was probably single, judging by how engaged he was with Sadie. And he’d probably have her number before it was all said and done.
The thought pinched.
He pushed the feeling away. Maybe Sadie had grown on him a bit over the past week. He liked her optimism and ready smile. And she was certainly appealing to the eye. But he wasn’t prepared for anything more than friendship. They were barely acquaintances. Anyway, she probably had a boyfriend back home. She was too good a catch to be single.
Movement on the beach signaled that Sadie was parting ways with the guy. Sam couldn’t miss the way he glanced back at Sadie as she cut up the beach toward the cottage.
When she spotted Sam on the deck, her face broke out into a wide grin, and she gave an enthusiastic wave. He lifted a handand tried to view her as the man on the beach might’ve. Her feathery blonde hair, currently wind tousled, and a turquoise scoop-neck T-shirt that revealed shapely arms. It was tucked into a pair of shorts that sat high on her torso, accentuating her small waistline and hourglass figure.
How could the guy not be interested?
When she reached the yard she set Rio free, and the dog came running to him.
He gave her a little affection while Sadie made her way across the deck. “Did you hear from Mary?”
Her lips twisted. “Well, hello, Sam. My day was terrific—how was yours?”
“It was fine. So did you hear from her?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing if that answers your question. Shoot. They don’t disembark for three whole days.”
“Maybe she’ll check her phone at one of the ports.”
“That’s the hope. Did you get a lot of yards done today? It was a hot one.”
“Just two. I did some landscaping.”
Her gaze flittered over him.
He glanced down to make sure he hadn’t missed any dirt in his shower. Nope.
“Well, I really did have a terrific day. My agent called and said my editor wanted a synopsis by Friday.ThisFriday. And I panicked—only on the inside, mind you. I totally played it off like, of course! No problem! I’ll get that right over to you. But then a few minutes after we got off the phone, guess what? An idea came to me—the perfect idea.” She slid him an expectant look.
When he didn’t say anything she added, “That’s wonderfulto hear, Sadie. You must be so relieved. Why, yes, Sam, that’s it exactly. I’m absolutely giddy with relief.”
He arched a brow. “Do all writers do that?”
“Do what?”
“Carry on conversations by themselves?”
“What do you think dialogue is? Of course, most of my characters have been cowboys up to this point. That will be a real challenge for me—having modern-day people in my head.”
Okay, then.
“Not real people. Characters and voices—and before you give me that look again, notthosekinds of voices. It’s all perfectly normal writer stuff. Sometimes a piece of dialogue will come to me, and I have to write it downright now. Otherwise I forget and it’s gone forever.” She snapped her fingers, then narrowed her eyes at him. “Now why does this always happen? I talk and talk and you say nothing, and now you know way too much about me, and I know practically nothing about you.” She plopped down in one of his chairs. “It’s your turn. Talk.”
He turned at the railing and chuckled.
