Page 33 of Crossing the Line (Whitecap)

I ignored the flutters in my belly as I waved back at him and drove away. “Just friends,” I told myself, determined not to make the same mistake I made the first time around. “Just friends.”

* * *

“I can’t believeyou invited that d-i-c-k to Renee’s birthday party,” Luna groused. She’d swung by earlier to poach a free meal and was currently propped on one of the stools across from me with a glass of wine in her hand, watching me cook.

“There was no reason not to. And besides, it would have been really rude, considering he already knew about it because he’d helped me get the supplies in the car.”

“Pfft! Who cares about being rude? The guy’s a j-a-c-k-a-s-s.”

Renee was coloring in the living room and singing along with the songs on one of her programs, so we had to spell out our cuss words. Or I should sayLunahad to spell out her cuss words.

I looked up from the sautéing zucchini and gave her a flat look. “He is not. He’s a nice guy.” She mumbled something under her breath that I didn’t quite catch, but I knew it couldn’t be good. “What’s your problem with him, anyway? You act like this was some big, star-crossed love thing and he somehow broke my heart. He’s just another tourist, Lu. Sooner or later, he’ll head back home, and life will go back to how it’s always been.”

“I’m just pissy because this was the first time you’ve put yourself out there since I’ve known you. That’s a big deal. And this jerk didn’t see how amazing you are. I’m not a fan of people who are too stupid to see what’s right in front of their faces.”

Okay, so maybe that made my heart a little squishy. Luna could be very sweet... in her own unique, blunt, sometimes forceful, way.

“Look, when we ran into each other earlier, he said there was a reason he couldn’t go there with me, and that’s fine.”

She gulped down her wine and placed the glass on the bar with aclinkbefore sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest. “And did he happen to say what that reason was?”

“No. And I didn’t ask, because it’s not my business.”

She snorted indignantly. “Convenient.”

Killing the flame under the pan, I placed the spoon on the cute little holder I’d made a few years back.

“I know you love me, hon, and the feeling is mutual, but there’s really no need for you to be so salty about this. I’m over it so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be as well. Now, dinner’s just about done, so be useful. Get your cute butt off that stool and set the table, would you?”

She hopped off with a huff. “Fine. But let the record show I’m only doing it because you said my butt was cute.”

I gave my head a shake on a laugh. “You’ll do it because if you don’t, you’re not eating.”

“Yes, well, there’s that too.”

My friend could be a pain in the ass, but for the most part, she was worth it, so I figured I’d keep her around, at least for a while longer.

Chapter Fourteen

Sawyer

The only wayto correctly describe the level of activity at my house at that very moment was full-blown pandemonium. And I was loving every second of it.

Not only had all the toddlers from Renee’s daycare class shown up to celebrate her birthday, but it seemed like at least half the town was in attendance as well.

Luna was there, of course, having shown up three hours early to help me set up. Monica and her husband, Sam, were there. Georgia and Desmond had gotten someone to cover the store so they could both attend. There was no way they were going to miss their girl’s big day.

My house was going to be a disaster by the time this day was over, and I didn’t care even the littlest bit. Parties like this were nothing more than dreams I’d had when I was a child. After my parents died, the people who’d taken me in couldn’t be bothered to remember, let alone celebrate, my birthday. Graham had made a spectacle out of them when we’d been together, but that was only so he had and excuse to throw a lavish party and schmooze his constituents. It had never been about me. And if I hadn’t run when I did, he would have defiled Renee’s big day in the same way.

The people here now actually cared about me and my daughter, and they’d come out simply to celebrate my girl’s latest milestone, nothing more.

People spilled from my house like a glass of water that had fallen over. The trickle started in the living room and tumbled into the kitchen, through the open slider into the backyard, and out onto the beach. You could barely hear the seagulls or waves over the sounds of children shouting and carrying on in excitement.

Until coming to Whitecap, I’d never thought something like this was possible. I’d never felt so much love in my life. Before this wonderful place, I’d never belonged anywhere. But I belonged here. My girl belonged here. If I hadn’t already known that to be a fact, the turnout today would have proven it. We had more love from the people of Whitecap than I’d ever had in my entire life.

Balancing a vegetable platter—wishful thinking on my part—in one hand and a bowl of potato chips in the other, I wound my way around the counters groaning with food—thank God for potlucks, because feeding this many people would have bankrupted me—and moved from the kitchen, through the sliding door, onto the deck.

Sam and Desmond were on me before I was fully across the threshold, shooting up from the patio furniture where they were congregated and taking the items from my hands before I had a chance to drop anything.

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