Page 16 of Love At The Shore
Okay, maybe that last one was kind of dreamy. But that didn’t mean she was attracted to him. It didn’t even mean she liked him.
Yip.
Tank barked again, snapping her back to reality. What was she doing? Why was she standing around reminding herself of all the reasons she disliked Lucas when the pancakes were getting cold?
Something was definitely happening outside on the deck. She needed to find Nick and Ally.
Now.
Lucas had been sanding his surfboard for nearly fifteen minutes, but it wasn’t any smoother than when he’d started. There were exactly two reasons for his staggering lack of progress, and those reasons were named Nick and Ally.
They were still interrogating him—about swimming, surfing, dogs and an assortment of other random subjects that popped into their heads. Lucas couldn’t help admiring their persistence. He’d thought they would’ve given up by now, seeing as he wasn’t exactly encouraging the interaction.
They didn’t seem to notice, though. Their arms were draped over the fence, inching them higher so they wouldn’t miss a thing happening on his side of the patio.
Surprisingly, Lucas didn’t mind. Much.
Tank, however, was another story. The poor dog was still being ordered about by Ally.
Sit. Lie down. Roll over. Speak.
Her list of demands was vast. But Tank being Tank, he refused to budge from his comfy spot on the deck chair. Other than an occasional yip of protest, Ally’s commands were falling on deaf ears.
“I think something is wrong with him.” She tilted her head. “He won’t sit. Or listen.”
Lucas glanced at Tank. The pup’s eyelids were getting heavy. Any minute now he’d be chasing beach balls in his dreams.
Lucas’s gaze shifted back to Ally. “He likes to move at his own pace.”
“Kind of like his owner.” The singsong lilt in Ally’s tone told Lucas she was repeating an opinion she’d heard elsewhere. From her mother, most likely.
Lucas sighed. “Don’t you guys have to get ready for camp or something?”
The second the words left his mouth, Jenna appeared at the foot of the staircase. “They do.”
Her windswept hair was gathered to one side, and a coffee cup was cradled in her hands. She wore a denim shirt over a plain white tee with cherry-red jeans. For some reason, the unexpected pop of color made Lucas smile, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she’d been doing upstairs for the past half hour. She looked—dare he think it—relaxed.
Almost.
She cleared her throat. “Which is why they should be upstairs getting ready instead of down here bothering you.”
Lucas leaned closer to Nick and Ally. “Her words, not mine.”
He’d never said they were bothering him. They seemed like good kids, although Tank might disagree.
Jenna shot him a disbelieving glance over the rim of her coffee cup.
“But what if we’re already ready?” Nick said. Neither he nor Ally budged.
“Does that mean you don’t want your pancakes?” Jenna asked. So that’s what she’d been doing up there. Making pancakes. “Because I’m sure Tank would love to eat them.”
A joke! Lucas could hardly believe it. He volleyed one back to her. “He prefers small children.”
Nick and Ally’s eyes went as wide as saucers.
Seriously? Tank was as gentle as they came. “I’m kidding.”
“Cute,” Jenna said without a hint of sarcasm. She sounded as if she might actually mean it.
