Page 57 of One Sweet Day I Found You

“So, what do you think of him?” Nick asked quietly.

“He’s fun. I like him a lot. You guys must have a good time together.”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy. Solid.” Nick grinned. “I’m glad you like him. I can tell he likes you a lot, too.”

“Oh yeah?” She gazed at Nick and he sat up and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. She skimmed her fingertips along his jawline.

“Yeah, for sure. Anyway, how couldn’t he? How couldanyonenot like you?” Nick kissed her softly. Courtney smiled and kissed him back.

They caught up on how each of their days had gone and soon, Courtney got up to leave. Nick walked her to her car and gave her another long parting kiss. “So I’ll see you Tuesday, right?”

“Tuesday.” Courtney climbed into the car. She glanced at him in the rearview mirror as she drove out of the parking lot. He was waving. Her heart melted. She couldn’t have stopped smiling if she wanted to.

* * *

Courtney tightenedthe laces on her lightweight gray sneakers then dug inside her duffel bag to make sure she’d packed the essentials. Sunscreen, a bottle of water, lipstick, sunglasses, a beach towel, and flip-flops. Nick said she could borrow a helmet from the shop.

It was Tuesday and she was meeting him at two o’clock for a mountain bike ride after his shift ended. She lengthened the straps of the bag so it would easily fit across her back.

Nick often led tours through the wooded trails, which were accessible from right near the shop, so he knew of some well-hidden lookout spots if she were willing to hike a short distance from the trail. She’d been looking forward to it.

She’d only seen him once since Saturday night. He’d stopped in after work late on Sunday after leading not just a morning but an afternoon kayak tour.

Things had been great between them, but he was exhausted and had to be back at it early the next morning for his shift. He hadn’t stayed very long.

She missed him already.

She glanced at her phone. Still half an hour until she needed to leave.

She washed a couple of dishes in the sink. A message popped up on the phone from her mother.

How are things? Call me when you’re not busy.

Courtney tapped at the screen.

Doing great. Lots to tell. Heading out for a bike ride in a few. I’ll call you tomorrow. Tell Dad I said hi. Love you.

Courtney would need more than just ten minutes to talk to her mother. She also wanted to talk to her dad. He had texted yesterday and she wanted to tell him more about what had been going on lately than she cared to type onto a screen.

But for now, she ought to squeeze in a few more minutes of work. She sat down at her laptop.

She was quite pleased with the way things were going with her job. She’d already finished the first one-hundred-and-eleven lodging property updates on the website guide and Beecham was happy with her progress. She knew Kira still had a few dozen that needed new photos, but she hadn’t gone on any more photo shoots with her. She’d been too busy.

Courtney’s most recent assignment was a Fourth of July blog post. Beecham wanted her to plug this year’s parade festivities and annual fireworks show.

The Fourth was a big deal in Heritage Bay. All the lodging properties would be full, as would the restaurants, bars, shops, marina, and beaches, for the two weeks surrounding the holiday.

She’d talked to the town council and several local businesses already. The Fourth was exactly one week away, so Beecham wanted it posted tomorrow. There had already been a lot of publicity on it, but her story would go into even more detail for out-of-towners. She was almost finished with it. But she still needed to edit the piece. It was choppy, at best.

She’d also pitched mountain biking as a potential blog post for another week this summer. Headland State Park was a popular destination for cyclists of all abilities and a new post about it would certainly have wide appeal. Last year, Sam had written about the hiking trails within the park. Although there were adequate maps on the trails, a good story hadn’t been done on cycling in the park for several years. Nick had promised to feed her lots of details.

Beecham loved the idea and asked that she interview several other rental shops on the peninsula since the Board had already published a story about Inlet Outfitters. He’d try and find one that wanted to pay for the spot. She’d agreed, but her date with Nick today would still help her write that story. Experiencing something in person always gave her the added edge when it came time to write about it. Nick was eager to show her the best trails.

Nick also told her there was a sandy beach inside the park perfect for swimming and paddle boarding. They would stop there on the bikes for a quick bite at the snack shop around dinnertime and maybe relax on the sand for a bit.

Courtney was excited. Sure, the plans sounded great, but what she wanted most was to spend more time with him.

She glanced at her phone again. Time to go. She set her laptop to sleep mode, then shut and locked the front door.

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