Harper: Why does Lewis have Stuart?
I look up and stand on my toes. If I get on a crate I could maybe see whatever is happening at the shoreline.
Steven: Not Lewis, Aiden! Aiden brought Stuart here and Lewis spotted some other dude with your dog and you need to get over here!
“Madison, I’ll be right back!” I call out before taking off like a rocket. I sprint through the crowd filling the grassy area between the booths and the dock. Near the pier, everyone is gathered for the first race. We have a few various races set up throughout the weekend. Swimming, paddle boarding, canoes, all kinds of stuff. It all starts at the end of this pier. We’ve set up a podium, where Steven should be starting a race but he’s just staring…at Aiden and Lewis.
“This ismydog, man, I’m just saying hello,” I hear Lewis say with his signature easy-going smile. I reach him the same time Aiden does, just after Stuart does. Lewis smiles up at me from his squat, “Hey, Harp.”
“You’re Lewis then?” Aiden asks with a tone that would personally make me want to claim to be anyoneotherthan the man in question.
“That’s right,” Lewis says slowly as he stands, sensing a threat. I almost laugh at the face-off. Lewis is a handsome guy, but average. He’s maybe 5’11 and lean. Aiden towers over him looking exactly as rich and powerful as he is. While midnighting as a Ralph Lauren underwear model because only underwear models have the V thing that goes down to their…
“And?” Aiden’s tone snaps me back to…what might be a fight about to break out. He looks at me for a beat, then back at my ex and pushes the question, “And what are you doing back here?”
Lewis frowns and tosses a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the lake, “Entered into some of the races.” Aiden inches closer, and Lewis frowns, about to inch right up into Aiden’s face when Steven finally takes charge.
“That’s right!” The megaphone blares, “It’s time for our next race everybody, the wildcard race! If you have your ticket, line up at the end of the pier please.”
“Harper, you know this guy?” Lewis asks me.
“Yes,” I say.
“He bothering you?”
Aiden bristles even more, “Bothering, now listen, you—”
“No! No, he’s renting the Newman place,” I reach between them to take the leash from Aiden and hopefully end this stare down. “He just, uh, watches Stuart for me sometimes, that’s all. So, you should…” I motion with my chin toward the line forming for the first race.
“Yeah, okay,” Lewis says, eyeing us both for a moment before he looks down at the dog. Then he locks eyes with me, “Good to see you, Harper. You look good.”
“Oh, uh, thanks,” I say, blushing because I look the exact same as always—sweaty, flushed and in a dusty bakery shirt with cruddy jeans.
“I entered a bunch of races for ya, so…I better get after it,” Lewis says slowly, staring at me, ignoring Aiden’s death stare at him.
“Oh. Thanks,” I say, more focused on petting Stuart than looking up at either man.
Aiden’s intense glare watches Lewis’s back as he walks away. I can feel, without looking up, when it shifts to me.
“Did you invite him here then?”
“What?” I finally look up, “No, he just wanted to, uh, help the town, I guess? Lots of people from Cedar Point and Pine Bluff are here to show their support.”
“Right,” Aiden says. He looks over at the pier and absently repeats himself. “Right.”
He starts to walk away. “Aiden?” I start, but he’s already long gone, stalking through the crowds oh his long legs like a man on a mission. Stuart barks and pulls on his leash so I start walking, letting the dog follow his unlikely billionaire best friend down to the water.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, on your marks!” Steven’s voice carries over the water.
Aiden is ahead of us, arguing with one of the kids taking tickets. He doesn’t have a ticket so…wait, is he going to race?
This race?
Oh no.
“Aiden! Wait!” I try.
“Get set…Go!” Steven calls and the air horn blasts. Racers scream, sprinting toward the water’s edge. They’re headed to the next starting line, about 100 yards down the shore where the vessels are set up. Aiden shoves a huge wad of cash at the teen then takes off after the other racers.
