Chapter 5 #2
The lake stretched behind the stage, the water reflecting streaks of late-afternoon gold. From here, the curved rows of seating felt grand and theatrical.
She turned in a slow circle, as if imagining it full. “You can feel it,” she said quietly. “Even unfinished.”
Slater could.
The acoustics were already shifting the air, her voice carrying, soft but clear.
He stepped closer than he meant to. “Yeah,” he said. “You can.”
She glanced at him, and there it was again—that spark, that aliveness he kept trying not to see. He’d brought her here to distract himself, to fill the afternoon with a neutral, harmless activity. Bikes. Construction. Milo’s project. Safe topics. Instead, she’d somehow made even this magnetic.
“You’re proud of him,” she said softly.
He gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah.”
“You should be.” She said, and he knew how she meant it. No jealousy. No edge. Just steady admiration.
The wind shifted, cool off the lake, lifting a strand of her hair across her cheek. Without thinking, he reached up and tucked it back.
The contact was brief. Too brief. But they both stilled.
There was sawdust under their shoes, the sharp scent of fresh lumber, the echo of distant voices coming from guests somewhere beyond the construction site, and the unbearable awareness of how close they were standing on a stage meant for performances neither of them was ready to give.
“Hey, Slater!”
He dropped his hand before turning and spotting their construction foreman, Reece, walking toward them. He wore a hard hat and was carrying his tablet, and didn’t look too happy to see them.
“Hey, Reece,” he said casually. “What brings you here on a Sunday?”
“Just needed to do a quick walkthrough to confirm what supplies we’ll need for tomorrow.” He turned and smiled at Evie. “Hi. I’m Reece Barrett.”
Evie shook his hand. “Evie Parker,” she said with a smile. “I’m Milo’s assistant. You and I have spoken on the phone several times.”
If Slater wasn’t mistaken, Reece’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah! Wow, it’s nice to finally put a face to the voice. It’s nice to meet you. Are you here just for a vacation or did you relocate here with Milo?”
“I’m just here until he gets his new office up and running. Then I’ll go back to Seattle and handle things there.”
Reece nodded. “So what do you think of Harbortown? Are you enjoying your stay? I hope your boss is letting you do a little sightseeing. I know it’s not as impressive as where you’re from, but there’s a certain charm to our little town.
My folks own the ice cream shop, The Daily Scoop. Have you tried it?”
Slater wanted to roll his eyes. Was Reece seriously flirting with Evie right here in front of him?
“Slater and I went there yesterday, and it was so yummy!” she told him. “I definitely plan on going again. This week should be a little more of a normal schedule, so I may make that a place to go on my lunch break.”
“Well, maybe I’ll see you there sometime,” Reece said. “How long will you be here for?”
“Maybe another two to three weeks. It all depends on how things go. But I’m so glad that Slater brought me over to see all of this. I feel like I’ve been hearing about it for so long.”
“You guys shouldn’t be here without hard hats on,” he admonished, giving Slater a hard glare. “The place is locked and blocked off for a reason.”
“Yeah, sorry. I just thought we’d take a look from a distance, but once we got here, it was too impressive to stay away from.”
That seemed to appease Reece. “I get it, but…” His phone rang, and he gave them a quick apology. “I need to take this. I’ll lock up behind you. It was nice to meet you, Evie.”
“Same,” she told him before she looked at Slater.
“We should probably head back,” he said, a little too briskly. “Before anyone else yells at us for trespassing.”
She didn’t move right away, but then she smiled softly, making his pulse jump. “Yeah,” she said. “Probably.”
As they walked their bikes back up the gravel path, Slater tried very hard to focus on the mechanics of pedaling. On the wind. On literally anything else.
But all he could think about was the way she’d stood on that unfinished stage like she already belonged there.
And how badly he was starting to want to stand beside her.
Milo: Hey! We’re staying an extra night in the city. Sorry about the short notice.
Milo: Sleep in tomorrow and plan on going into the office sometime after lunch.
Milo: Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Evie had read the text over and over, and each time it left her feeling more unsettled.
Having all this time with Slater was wonderful, but things had definitely shifted and she could tell he was desperate to put some distance between them.
After they’d returned the bikes, they went to dinner together, but as soon as they finished eating, he said he needed to do some work in the office and told her he’d see her tomorrow.
That was fine; she didn’t expect him to stop living just because she was there and everyone else was away for the weekend. She was perfectly capable of entertaining herself. It was board game night up in the lounge, so she decided to join a group for Scrabble.
After an hour, however, she caught a glimpse of Slater walking into the lounge and going over to the bar. He sat down and looked tense. He glanced around, and when he spotted her, all he did was arch one brow at her.
It was such an insignificant gesture and yet so damn sexy she almost groaned.
“Your turn, Evie,” someone said, and she was forced to put her attention back on the game.
“Oh my God! You’re Cal Slater’s son, aren’t you?” A high-pitched female voice called out, and Evie looked up and saw the deer in the headlights look on Slater’s face. She knew how much he hated situations like this.
Not my problem…
Turning her attention to her tiles, she saw she could spell “lover.”
Of course I can.
Putting her tiles down, she grabbed new ones and then turned to see what was happening at the bar.
Slater was actively leaning away from this woman who was just as actively trying to get close to him.
She was stroking his arm, and she saw him shake his head more than once, but she clearly wasn’t getting the hint.
Her laugh was overly loud before Evie heard her ask, “Do you play baseball too?” Followed by, “You must be so excited for Cal Slater Day! I bet you’d look great in a baseball uniform!”
There was a part of her that still wanted to say it wasn’t her problem, but…if the tables were turned, she knew Slater would step in to protect her. Because he was a good friend.
Friend.
Dammit, she hated that word.
All the bantering and touching today had her senses on overdrive, and she didn’t want to go back to her cabin alone.
Hell, she didn’t want to be alone at all.
She was tired of it. For once, she wanted to be bold and throw caution to the wind, and wouldn’t it be better to do that with someone she knew? Someone safe? Someone like Slater?
Not like Slater, she reminded herself.
Just Slater.
Glancing back at the Scrabble board, she realized they weren’t done yet, but as much as she hated to quit, she knew she’d hate herself if she stayed.
Reaching for her phone, she faked a call.
Getting to her feet, she smiled apologetically.
“I’m so sorry. I need to go,” she said quietly. “Enjoy the rest of the game.”
When she straightened and turned, the woman was now practically plastered to Slater’s side, and he looked ready to tip right out of the chair. Smoothing a hand over her hair, Evie decided to just be bold, even if it meant embarrassing herself.
Carefully, she walked around the perimeter of the lounge, doing her best to stay out of sight. Then she casually moved across the room and sidled up to Slater’s other side.
“Sorry, baby, there was a line.”
The word felt foreign on her tongue.
Baby.
But she said it with breezy confidence as she slid up beside him, leaned in, and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. One hand cupped his jaw while the other landed on his chest like it belonged there.
Warm. Solid. Very real.
She could feel the other woman watching.
“Ready to head back to the cabin?” Evie added lightly, her fingers curling just slightly into Slater’s shirt.
For half a second, he didn’t move. Then he went very still.
The overly perfumed blonde at his side blinked. “Oh. I didn’t realize…”
“Yeah,” Evie cut in sweetly, offering an apologetic smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Long day. We promised ourselves an early night.”
There was a beat.
A long one.
Slater slowly turned his head toward her, effectively rejecting the other woman. And the look in his eyes made her stomach drop.
Heat.
No confusion. No embarrassment.
Just heat.
His jaw tightened just slightly, like he was clenching down on something. His hand—which had been resting loosely against the bar—shifted, his fingers flexing once before settling at her waist.
It didn’t feel like it was simply for show. It was firm and claiming.
And she was thoroughly enjoying the feel of it.
“Yeah,” he said, voice lower than it had been a second ago, rougher. “We did.”
The other woman’s smile faltered and Evie felt the shift in the air immediately. This wasn’t just him playing along. This was something else. And it suddenly hit her that maybe she had gotten in over her head.
Slater stood. And when he did, she didn’t step back. He simply moved in closer. Close enough that her hand—still splayed against his chest—rose with the movement. Close enough that she had to tip her chin up to keep eye contact.
His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth. Then back to her eyes. “You ready?” he asked.
It was a simple question, and yet…it didn’t sound simple. It sounded like a challenge, like he was throwing down a gauntlet.
Evie swallowed hard, her heart racing. “Yes.”
The blonde cleared her throat awkwardly. “Well, have a good night.”
Slater didn’t even look at her. “Planning on it,” he said quietly.