Page 87 of Always Be Mine

Craig jerked backward and reached for a towel. “Boat?”

Lucy looked down the beach. Savi and her mom, Dina, whom Lucy had met at the school on a few occasions, were walking hand in hand toward them.

“What kind of boat?” Craig asked as they approached.

“It’s just our canoe,” Dina answered as she joined them. “We were going to take the girls for a little paddle if it’s okay with you both.” She looked at Craig and then to Lucy. “Hi, Lucy. It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you, too.” Lucy got to her feet. “I wanted to thank you for sharing your recipe for cupcakes in the ice cream cones. They turned out really well.”

Dina beamed. “Savi said Meri brought them in for her birthday at the end of the year. I’m glad they worked out for you.”

“Can I go in the boat, Lucy?” Meri grabbed her hand and tugged.

“I think you should probably ask your dad.” She gave Craig a quick look before turning her attention back to Dina. “Do you have an extra life jacket?”

“Of course. And I promise we’re just going to go along the shoreline there.” She pointed to the south side of the lake. “There’s a loons’ nest on the point there, and if we get lucky, we’ll be able to see the new hatchlings out for a swim.”

“That sounds pretty incredible.” Craig nodded. “I don’t see why you can’t go check it out,” he told Meri, who whooped with joy and immediately took off running down the beach, hand in hand with her friend.

“We won’t be gone long.” Dina laughed. “It’ll give you two a chance to have a bit of alone time.”

“What?” Lucy shook her head. “Oh no. It’s not like?—”

“Thank you, Dina,” Craig interjected smoothly. “Have fun.”

She waited until Dina walked away before she turned to Craig. “She knows.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Oh yes she does. She winked at me.”

Craig’s response was to laugh and drop onto the beach blanket next to her. He reached up for her hand. “Let her think whatever she wants to.”

“Really?” She turned in her chair so she peered down at him. Craig reached up and pulled her down onto him. “What about keeping things quiet?”

They were blocked from view by the beach chairs and the umbrella; still, it felt risky to be in such a compromising position with him in public. Then again, if he didn’t mind if anyone knew about them, neither did she. Lucy inched closer to his lips but stilled when he spoke.

“There’s a big difference betweenthinkingsomething andknowingit. Just a bit longer, sweetheart.”

Craig’s words reminded her of his sister’s comment at Meri’s party. She wiggled until she sat next to him on the blanket. “I know you said you wanted to wait until the timing was right to talk to Meri about us, and I totally understand that. Meri comes first.”

He nodded and propped himself up on his elbows, giving her his full attention.

“But your family…” She bit her bottom lip and sucked it between her teeth, unsure how to properly express herself. “Your sister said something the other day that’s been bothering me.”

“Who, Charli?”

Lucy nodded, and Craig sat up straight.

“What did she say?”

“All the ladies were teasing me a little bit about how they thought maybe there was something going on between us, and when I assured them there wasn’t…” She pressed her lips together, remembering how she’d lied to her new friends. “Charli commented about how that was a good thing. It was just a strange comment. Do you know why she would say that?”

A shadow passed over Craig’s face, and then, in an instant, it was gone. “I have no idea. Probably because she thinks you’re so great for Meri, which you are, and she doesn’t want me to screw it up. Which I won’t,” he added with a wink.

Lucy tilted her head and gave him a look. She believed him. He wasn’t going to screw things up with her. But the sneaking around was starting to get old. She wasn’t a teenager anymore.

“I can’t remember why you don’t want to tell them about us.” To be honest, she couldn’t ever remember discussing it specifically; she’d just gone along with it.

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