“Not at all. You’re entitled to live your own life. And believe me, even with a healthy family, sometimes a little distance doesn’t hurt.” He released a wry grin.
She was glad for the slight shift of topic. “Hence your extended stay on the island.”
“Well, I can’t really move to New York because of the family business.”
“I guess you can’t.” It must be expensive to maintain a home and also rent out a beach cottage. “Do you ever regret that—working with your family? Is there something else you’d rather do?”
“Not at all. I love working outdoors. And most of the time, working with my family.”
“What do you like about it?”Other than it obviously keeps you in great shape.
When Rio squirmed he set the dog down. “I guess there’s something satisfying about taking someone’s property and making it beautiful. Or even taking a brown, untended lawn and making it flourish.”
She nodded. “I get that. Sometimes when one of my students understands and implements a simple art concept, I feel so proud of my work. It makes it all worthwhile.”
“Exactly. Customer satisfaction is a big deal to me. Seeing someone’s pleasure with what I’ve done. Probably the way you feel when a student feels good about their own work.”
“That’s right.” Her eyes sharpened on him, taking in his steady gaze and engaged expression. “You know, you’re not at all who I thought you were.”
“Oh yeah?”
Remembering when she’d stumbled off the stoop, she chuckled. “When we first met I thought you were at best a hermit and at worst a world-class jerk.”
“Wow, no need to spare my feelings.”
She nudged his shoulder. “You made me feel like an imposition, and I was trying so hard to be friendly since we were going to be flat mates for the whole summer.”
“You’re friendly with everyone.” He looked away and nodded out toward the sea. “Case in point, you’ve already found a walking buddy.”
She frowned as she followed his gaze. “Oh, Jared—and his lovely sidekick, Roscoe. We met last week and ran into each other again tonight. He’s an islander who works at the marina and, ironically, doesn’t own a boat.”
“Interesting.”
“Roscoe and Rio are so cute together. Roscoe lets her run right underneath him, plus they’re aligned in their mutual distrust of all seagulls.”
“Is that so?”
“I’ve always loved Labradors. But the city—not to mention my tiny apartment—isn’t a place for a big dog. Jared’s street has no sidewalks. Anyway, the beach is such a nice place to walk.”
“And to meet new people.”
At his strange tone she sent him a sideways glance. Was he jealous of Jared? Mentioning that he had a girlfriend seemed presumptuous. “People are so friendly here. I love that you can startconversations with random strangers. My mom said I was like that even as a baby, before I could talk. I’d smile at strangers and get them to engage with me.”
“That I can believe.” He cut her a glance. “I’ll bet you were an adorable baby.”
She laughed. “I was very chubby and had a terrible cowlick, which I fortunately outgrew. But that wasn’t my worst phase—that would’ve been my third and fourth grade years, and okay, probably half of fifth grade too. I had acne and these awful thick-framed glasses. Also my hair was always greasy. Why didn’t I just wash it?”
He chuckled, the low, throaty timbre making something squeeze tight inside her. “Because nobody cares about personal hygiene at that age. Well, obviously you grew out of that stage. No acne or thick glasses in sight.”
Her gaze locked on his, holding for a long moment that made her want to take a dip in those beautiful eyes. Possibly drown. The way Sam gazed at her... Did he want to kiss her? Did she want to kiss him?
Whoa, Sadie. Reinitin.Not happening, remember?
She cleared her throat and pulled her gaze away. “Um, so... what about you? I’ll bet you never had an ugly phase. I’ll bet you had all the girls chasing after you.”
“Nothing as dramatic as that. Actually, I was short through most of school. I had a late growth spurt my senior year.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re over six feet tall.”
