Sam scowled at her. If it wasn’t summertime he’d bring up her grades. He snatched a rib and took a bite. “These are great, Mom.”
“So what brought her to the island?” Dad asked. “Or is she a resident?”
Sam swallowed the bite. “She’s just here for the summer.”
“She’s from New York and she’s a schoolteacher. She teaches art to elementary kids. Doesn’t that sound like a fun job? And she’s a published author too.”
“Well, how interesting.” Mom tucked her hair behind her ear. “What does she write?”
“She’s had a couple westerns published.” Sam had actually ordered them last week and they’d arrived yesterday. He was curious to read her work.
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
“She’s looking forward to the wedding,” Hayley said.
“She sounds lovely, Sam. You should have her over here for supper. We’d love to meet her before the wedding, wouldn’t we, honey?”
“Sure.” Dad was too busy gnawing on rib bones to say anything more.
Sam needed to lower his mom’s expectations about a million notches. “Thanks, Mom, but I barely know her. She’s only going to the wedding as a favor.”
“But she’s living next door and you were having supper together.”
He opened his mouth.
“They’rejust friends.” Hayley’s eyes twinkled as she shoveled a forkful of mac ’n’ cheese into her big mouth, smiling around it.
“Well, I’m sure she’s a lovely person. I can’t wait to meet her.”
Sam didn’t disagree. But he wasn’t about to offer his mother any encouragement. He liked Sadie. Maybe he could even like her a lot. But his heart wasn’t yet ready to take that risk.
The afternoon passed in a blur. After lunch Sam and his family watched the Braves defeat the Pirates. His mom only brought up Sadie one other time—when he was leaving.
“I meant what I said about inviting your friend over. She’s welcome here anytime.”
“Thank you, Mother.” He resisted the urge to remind her they were only friends.
By the time Sam got home, it was suppertime, but after the big lunch, complete with homemade apple pie and interrogations, he wasn’t hungry. Instead he found himself eager to see what Sadie had been up to. He tried to ignore the way his pulse raced upon seeing her car in the drive.
He went straight through the house and out the back. Sadie was nowhere to be found, but her pink flip-flops sat on the bottom step. She must’ve gone for a walk on the beach. He wished he’d gotten home a little earlier. He could’ve gone with her.
He wanted to tell her about his afternoon with his family. The way Hayley lit up when she talked about teaching someday. The way his dad, so reflective and stoic, had sprung from the couch when the Braves scored a grand slam in the last inning.
He’d obviously been hiding out on the island too long without company. Or maybe he’d just been too long without female companionship.
Brimming with energy, Sam stood at the railing. The sun warmed his skin even as the ocean breeze cooled it off. His gaze drifted over the beach crowd, soaking in the last rays of the day. A father and son tossed a Frisbee at the shoreline. A couple with young kids worked on a sandcastle. A man jogged by at the waterline.
Farther down, a couple walked with their—no, that wasn’ta couple. It was Sadie and the man he’d seen her with last week, the one with the Labrador.
He frowned at the two of them, who seemed engrossed in conversation. Had they planned this little walk on the beach, or was it just a chance meeting? Had Sadie spent the entire afternoon with the guy?
And why did Sam care so much?
And he did care. Especially when Sadie threw her head back and laughed. He wanted to be the one making her laugh. There was no mistaking the dull twist in his stomach or the fervent wish that the guy would take a hike.
The feelings were familiar—and not in a good way.
Of course this little twinge of jealousy didn’t have the teeth the situation with his cousin and Amanda had. He wasn’t in love with Sadie, and she wasn’t betraying him with a man he loved and trusted.
