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  “It isn’t much, but then I don’t really require much. Most of the time I end up bunking down on the boat because it’s easier, especially during the summer. I can’t complain, but the busier the tourist season, the busier my schedule. I don’t really spend that much time here.”

  “I like it. You must get a lot of sun in here since it faces East.” She could picture pots of geraniums at the windows and a small deck outside to enjoy the view.

  “Well, it works for me. Come here,” he motioned her to him and leaned close, pointing with his finger toward the window. “Best part, I have a great view of the Ferry and if you look close you can see the ledges out in the harbor. It’s the best seat in town for the Serenity Harbor Celebration Days fireworks.”

  He was close. Really close, and her heart did a little spurt forward just as it’d done earlier when she’d seen him. Oh, this wasn’t good. Not Cooper.

  On her way to dinner she had told herself all the reasons why getting anywhere close to Nate Cooper was not a good idea. And there was a lot of them: his need to have everything go his way; his arrogance; the town’s insistence on being involved in everyone’s relationship.

  But standing this close, all she could think was that he smelled good, like soap, and he wasn’t being a giant pain in her butt. This was WAYYY not good.

  As if sensing her struggles and enjoying them, Nate grinned.

  “Did you ask me here so you could cross me off your list of eligible Serenity Harbor dates?” Better to go back to snarky, then to stay where she was on shaky, uncharted territory.

  “Cross you off the list?” He appeared to think about it for a moment. “I don’t think so, Simpson. Hope you don’t mind pizza. I got in late and just barely had a chance to shower before you got here. I smelled like sheep.”

  “You could market the scent, call it Ode de Pasture. If you market it, you could make a million.” Or not.

  “Right.” He was looking at her funny and she wasn’t all that sure she wanted to know what he was thinking. It looked dangerous.

  Kara spied the box with the name Serenity House of Pizza on top. “I see the coupon envelope came in handy.”

  “Yup and I got a great bottle of wine to go with it at the same time.” He pulled a bottle out of the fridge and held it up. Something red.

  “Sorry, I should mention that I don’t drink.” It had never really been an issue, but most people didn’t consider it a thing when you were a twenty-something.

  “Hey, sorry, I should have thought.” He looked like he was mad at himself and her heart skipped a bit more. “I’ve got some iced tea in here if you’d like.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I just don’t drink after what happened to my parents.” It had been ten years. She could say it now without it hurting too much.

  He set a pitcher of iced tea on the table next to the pizza box. “I lost one parent and it was devastating, but to lose both, especially to a drunk driver, it’s just crazy.”

  “It was certainly not something I ever thought would happen. And then, to be put into the role of parent with Pete was just completely out of my wheelhouse.”

  “I don’t think I could have done it if I’d have had to raise my brother. I don’t think either of us would have made it out alive.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table while he listened to her.

  The proximity was startling.

  “I don’t think Pete enjoyed it very much to find his big sister was calling the shots.” She shook her head. “No matter what I did he always had a chip on his shoulder, always wanting something I couldn’t get for him.”

  He reached over and squeezed her hand, his fingers holding on a second or two too long. “You did the best you could. Heck, you were barely an adult yourself.”

  Oh no, she didn’t want to acknowledge this nice guy side of him. It was easier to deal with the snarky Nate, not the caring and considerate version that was just too nice for her to have ever considered existed.

  “How about dinner? I’m starved.” She feigned reaching for another napkin to move away from him, but her hand still tingled from his touch. Damn it.

  “Coming right up. I just have to get the plates.” He started to stand, but she waved him off. He smiled again, the one that made her knees shake just a little. She covered it up by walking over and opening up the cupboard doors.

  “Kind of personal, don’t you think?”

  She stuck out her tongue at him. Very juvenile, but then, he had that effect on her. “Well, I figured since you’ve already been through my cupboards, I get free reign in yours.”

  She hadn’t intended it to sound so sexual, but her hopes of him missing it were dashed when he leaned close, his breath on her neck and said, “Have at it. You can go through my cupboards anytime.”

  She started laughing, not just a little, but full out laughing and it felt good.

  “Not exactly the response I was going for, but I’ll take it.” He sat there while she pulled down a couple of plates out of the cupboard and put them on the table.

  “Sorry about that,” she said a bit breathlessly. “Oh, I needed a laugh. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so much.”

  “Glad I could be of service. A little hard on the male ego, but I’ll survive.” He wasn’t mad, and it made her like him more.

  They talked about Serenity Harbor and the people they knew in common. They talked about boats and lobsters, and summer people. She laughed, a lot. So did he. Somehow, they had broken the tension between them and it felt good.

  “I had quite the conversation with your mother today.”

  “If it prompted you to have dinner with me then I’m all for it.” The pizza was gone and the sun had long since gone down. Below them in the harbor, the porch lights were being coming on and a faint glow came from the houses.

  “Did you know that she knows about our kiss?” She took a sip off her glass of tea, watching his reaction over the rim of her glass.

  “Everyone knows we kissed.” He said it so matter of fact that she blinked. She’d never considered that the moment she’d kept sacred in her teenage heart had probably been fodder for gossip all these years.

  Heck, everyone probably knew she was in his apartment right now. No need for Western Union when there was a Serenity Harbor Gossip Express.

  She sputtered, and he handed her his napkin.

  “Have you not been living in Serenity all your life, Kara?”

  Sometime during dinner, he’d stopped calling her Simpson and taken to using Kara, a move that wasn’t lost on her.

  “They know everything about everyone, right down to how regular Mira’s dog is, and whether or not Joe should have the colonoscopy he’s been fretting over.”

  “Is Joe sick?” She must have missed that bit.

  “Not that I’m aware of, but they all believe in being prepared. If they didn’t have gossip, what would they discuss over their morning coffee?”

  “Point taken.”

  It had been nice. Better than she’d imagined. “I really should go. I’ve got an early morning.” Gathering up her jacket, she stood up and so did he.

  He wrapped her in a hug. It was warm and comforting. He was a foot taller than her and when he put his arms around her she could have sighed. Traitor! She thought to herself.

  “We should really try that kiss thing again,” he said, still holding onto her. “I’ve gotten better at it.”

  She looked up at him. The expression on his face was unreadable. “I don’t know,” but before she could finish the sentence he leaned down for a kiss. It was better than his hug. It started off soft, tentative, but it didn’t take long before it exploded like summer fireworks.

  His hand came up to cup the back of her head, his long fingers sliding into the length of her hair.

  This was hot. This was oooooh so hot. And not a thing like the kiss when they were fifteen. Thank God. She doubted she’d have been able to handle it then.

  They both came up for air, gasping and
smiling.

  “Wow,” was all he could manage for a moment.

  “How come you didn’t kiss like that all those years ago?” She wasn’t being snarky. Well, maybe just a little.

  He laughed again, but still didn’t let her go. He moved his free hand up the small of her back, his fingers trailing along her spine. Oh, he was good, she thought as little shivers raced through her.

  “Give me a break. That was my first kiss.” He leaned in to place a series of kisses along her jaw. They seemed to be swaying to some music that didn’t exist and she was feeling rather dreamy.

  “Mine too.” She kissed him this time, making sure to meet him kiss for kiss.

  It was quickly getting out of hand, but for once she didn’t care. For once, she felt safe.

  “Stay with me, Kara?” His voice was strange, deep, intriguing. His words shaking off some of the safety she felt.

  Her fuzzy mind didn’t even want to comprehend what a night with Nate would mean. “I can’t stay. We aren’t even dating.”

  “Forget about dating. We’ve been going through foreplay for ten years. You know it and I do too.” He leaned in for one more of those soul-shattering kisses and her denial faded away.

  “This isn’t a good idea.”

  “Not true. It’s probably the best idea I’ve ever had.” Just to emphasize his point his hands slid down to her waist and pulled her even closer.

  Her already muddled brain was ready to skyrocket along with the rest of her senses. This felt so good. Better than anything in a long time. And she was tired of fighting it alone.

  Even if it was for just one night.

  “Okay.”

  * * *

  Sometime in the early morning hours, Kara woke up to a warm hand resting on her bare hip. It took a few seconds to orient herself, where she was, why she was here. But coming to reality was like being thrown into icy, ocean waters.

  Good lord, what had she done?

  It wasn’t that it hadn’t been great. Oh, it’d been great. But more that there was a realization that she already had enough on her plate to handle. Adding Nate to it would definitely not help.

  He shifted in his sleep. His dark hair fell forward over his eyes and let out a soft snore. His hand gripped her bare hip as if he wanted to reassure himself she was still there while he slept. She’d never had a relationship that lasted longer than six months, certainly never had anything come close to what they shared in one night, or the ten years they’d been dancing around each other. What in the world made her think she could make this work?

  But that was it. She hadn’t been thinking. For once in her life she had just given in and done what felt right, not what she should do. Who knew how big the consequences were going to be for it.

  Carefully, she slid out of bed and grabbed her clothes from the pile they’d left on the floor. His shirt, her underwear, his jeans. Even their clothing tangled together on the floor felt intimate. Having him wake up and find her in his bed would only seal it in his mind that they were a foregone conclusion. And she hated to be a foregone conclusion.

  Besides, she needed time to think this through. To figure out what had happened.

  Correction. She knew exactly what had happened. She just wasn’t so sure what would happen now. She had more than enough to handle right now and she had just added another very big, sexy, sleeping complication.

  Quietly, she slipped into her clothes and tiptoed out of the bedroom. The cold Spring moon shone through the bare windows and cast deep shadows as she pulled on her coat and let herself out.

  The town was silent with not even a wind to break it. She got into her cold truck and started it up, heading for home. He was going to be mad. No doubt about it, but she couldn’t think around him. Last night, the temptation to lean on him, tell him all, had been too great.

  She could get used to it.

  Chapter 5

  He should be the happiest guy on earth, and yet, waking up to an empty spot on the bed next to him had done nothing to help his mood from going South. He’d spent long minutes just trying to convince himself it had actually happened, that Kara actually had stayed with him. After so many years of waiting, he wasn’t sure it hadn’t been a dream.

  So now he was doing what any guy in his position would do. He was going to find her.

  His truck bumped over the rutted road leading down to the shore. A large metal building stood out amongst the stand of trees, looking somewhat out of place against the backdrop of the pearl blue ocean. In a few more months, the water would be filled with buoys and boats, but for now it was silent.

  Kara’s truck was parked to the side and he parked his next to it.

  The cold from the night before had crusted the muddy ground, leaving pools of ice slowly warming with the sun. He opened the door to her shop and a blast of heat poured out at him.

  It took a moment for him to find her among the stacks of material and traps. She was bent over, trying to drag a bait tote full of rope close to her worktable with her good hand.

  He reached past her to grab the tote and put it on the workbench.

  In a voice as tense as her posture, she yelped, “Dammit, Nate. I didn’t hear you come in. You’d have liked to scare the stuffing out of me.”

  “What are you doing trying to lift that with one hand?” He moved the tote to the side and she slid it back. “You need someone here to do the heavy lifting.”

  “I’m fine. I don’t need someone here to babysit me. It’s my business; I’ve been doing this since I was a kid.”

  So it was back to last name basis. Kara was trying hard to put distance between them and what had happened last night.

  “Seriously,” she asked. “Don’t you have some work to do?”

  Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed toward her office at the back. He wasn’t about to let her dismiss him that easily. He got ahead of her and blocked the doorway to her office with his body.

  She stared hard at him. “You aren’t going away, are you?”

  He smiled. “Nope.”

  “I need to get some work done.”

  “Why isn’t Pete here helping you?” He knew it was totally stupid to ask, but he did anyway. The idea that he let his sister struggle with the workload one-handed made him angry.

  “Drop it.”

  The warning tone in her voice was getting stronger. A sensible man would let it go, but he’d never been one to be sensible. “When was the last time you saw him, Kara? Has he even been around to help you out?”

  She didn’t bother to answer him. She just went to the shop door and swung it open wide, holding it in place with her hip. “Leave Cooper. Now.” She folded her arms across her chest to show she was standing her ground. “One night together doesn’t give you the right to take over my life.”

  He came to stand in front of her. He wasn’t about to let anything go, including her. “I’m not going away. You can try all you like to get rid of me, but it’s about time that someone started having your back. And that person is me.”

  He leaned down and kissed her. Hard. She resisted for a minute before giving in with a sigh. The kiss was not a concession. It was a statement from both of them. He’d be looking out for her and she was going to do her best not to give in.

  * * *

  Kara watched Nate’s truck disappear down the road before she gave in to the abject fear running through her. This was a mistake. Last night was a mistake. Sleeping with Nate was a mistake. For once in her life she’d given in to desire.

  Now that desire thought he had a right to every part of her life.

  What made it worse was that it had felt great to have him there. Even for one night. She couldn’t discount the sex. That had been mind-blowing, but his visit this morning was enough to tell her that if she gave in to feelings lurking about in the corners of her subconscious, he’d take it as an invitation to take over her life. And she wasn’t going to let that happen.

  She went back to work; her mind still
lingered on bits and pieces of their night together. She was distracted, annoyed, and hell, more than a little turned on. The man had a way of pushing all of her buttons at once.

  The door to the shop opened and she looked up, half expecting to see Nate standing in the doorway once again. Instead, it was the Serenity Harbor Police.

  “Hello Kara, thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing? Just a friendly visit while I’m in the neighborhood.”

  Chief of Serenity Harbor's Police Sam Biddleford wore a smile on his face. His posture said otherwise. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is Pete okay?” Immediately, her mind raced with all of the possible things that could have happened to him.

  He held up his hand. “Pete’s fine, or at least he was the last time I saw him.” He threw his hat onto the workbench and pulled out a stool next to her. She’d known Sam all her life. They all did.

  “How come no one believes me when I say it’s just a friendly visit?” He had a kind smile and friendly face, but she’d known him long enough to recognize the concern in his eyes.

  He reached out and pulled her wrist to him, eying the stiff contraption that had become her biggest roadblock. “How’s the wrist healing?”

  It hurt like hell, but she wasn’t about to tell him that part. “It’s fine.”

  “And business?” He looked about the shop. “How are you gearing up for the season?”

  His non-direct approach was driving her crazy. “Okay, Sam, out with it. If this is going to be bad news, I want it done and over with.”

  He laughed, but it was hollow. “I just wanted you to hear it from me that I brought Peter in for questioning this morning. There was a fight at a bar in Bangor yesterday and my friend on the force there asked me to talk to him.”

  Kara let out the heavy breath she’d been holding. “Is everyone okay? I mean, he didn’t hurt someone did he?” Pete had done a lot of things that made her question his judgment, but nothing like hurting anyone else.

  “He’s fine, but I’ve been hearing a lot about him lately. Things that aren’t great. He’s been drinking pretty heavy and getting into fights. I was hoping you could shed some light on it.” The concern was in his voice now. He was a good man, and it was killing him to have to come to her with it.