by Teri Wilson
Lucas had already listened to the message three times. He wasn’t sure why he was playing it again. Obviously, she didn’t realize that the LM in LM Management stood for Lucas McKinnon. That was probably his fault, too. He’d failed to mention that significant detail. They’d gotten off to such a rocky start and pointing out that he owned the place almost felt like it would be pulling rank on her. She’d been so flustered when she’d lectured him about houseplants and ground rules. If he’d told her right then that he was the person cashing her rental check, she would have pulled her cardigan over her head and never shown her face again.
Lucas didn’t want that. Jenna had a lovely face…and even though she thought he was messy and stubborn, he wanted to see more of it. Every now and then, he thought the feeling might even be mutual and she just didn’t want to admit it. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.
I’m sorry. I’m rambling. But if you have anything, please let me know. Please?
Jenna wanted to leave the beach house. She couldn’t even tolerate him for five short weeks.
Lucas sighed. He didn’t like the idea of Jenna and her kids packing up and moving. He didn’t like it at all. Before he could figure out what to do, a knock sounded on his front door. He got up and dragged himself to the patio where, lo and behold, Jenna stood on the other side of his screen.
He started defending himself before he even let her in. He simply couldn’t help it. “All right, I get why you’re mad. I just don’t see what being messy has to do with it.”
Her brow crumpled in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“Fine,” he relented. “You’re right about one thing.”
She blinked. “I haven’t said anything.”
He leaned against the doorjamb and studied her through the screen. Funny, she didn’t look nearly as anxious to move out as she’d sounded on the answering machine.
Did she really not know what he was talking about?
Impossible. She probably wanted to hear him admit how very wrong he’d been.
“We should’ve told you we were having lessons.” There. He’d said it. “But I was just trying to help the poor kid out.”
“I know.” Her voice softened.
Something inside Lucas softened too. “You know?”
Had they just agreed?
“That’s why I’m here.” She held up a gift bag. Lucas had been so ready for an argument that he hadn’t noticed it dangling from her fingertips. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah.” His breath caught. “Of course.”
He held the screen door open for her, and she stepped onto his side of the patio. It felt monumental, like trumpets should sound or something.
“Thanks.” She glanced around, wide-eyed, as if she was as surprised as he was by the sudden turn of events.
“Whatcha got there?” He pointed at the gift bag.
He was acutely unsure of what to do with his hands. Or where to stand. Or what to say.
“A little thank you,” she said.
A spark passed through his fingertips as she handed him the bag. What was wrong with him all of a sudden?
She shrugged. “Don’t let the color fool you, they’re actually pretty good.”
Lucas reached into the bag and pulled out a Rice Krispies treat that looked like it might contain a box of melted crayons.
It was the least appetizing, most wonderful thing Lucas had ever seen. “You made me dessert?”
“The kids picked the flavor.” Jenna smiled. Until now, Lucas hadn’t realized rainbow was a flavor. “I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you’ve been doing for Nick.”
She wasn’t angry at him anymore. On the contrary, she was being kind to him…kinder than he deserved.
His throat grew thick. “I’m really not doing much.”
Jenna shook her head. “That’s not what he said.”
“Well, then he’s being very generous. I’m just helping him out when I can. It’s nothing.” Lucas inspected the Rice Krispies treat in his hand so he wouldn’t have to see the tenderness in Jenna’s gaze. As nice as it felt to suddenly find himself on her good side, it was also confusing.
Probably because he liked it more than he should have.
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Or maybe you care a little bit more than you want anyone to know.”
Busted…
Again.
Her lips curved into the softest of smiles. “Either way, I hope you enjoy the treats.”
He held up one of the colorful squares as if it was a trophy. “Are you kidding? Rainbow-colored food is my favorite type of food.”
“Okay. I guess they know you better than I do.” She laughed, and then she looked at him in a way that made him feel like she was seeing him for the very first time.
An intimate silence settled between them, and Lucas finally caught a glimpse of what it might be like to finally be on the same side as Jenna Turner. Warm. Nice. Like a perfect day at the beach.
“So.” She lifted her chin. What was going on in that head of hers? Whatever it was, Lucas hoped it didn’t have anything to do with his lack of houseplants. “You’ll keep me in the loop?”
He nodded. “I will now.”
“Great. Thanks.” She gave him one last smile before slipping past him back to her half of the deck. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
After she’d gone, he stood alone in the moonlight for a long moment, turning the colorful Rice Krispies treat over in his hand.
“I guess they’re staying,” he whispered, and then he took a bite.
A truce—however temporary—had never tasted so sweet.
Chapter Nine
Jenna juggled her car keys, three tote bags and her purse as she attempted to corral Nick and Ally down the bright white steps of the deck the next day. Parenting was a balancing act— sometimes metaphorically, and other times, quite literally.
She hadn’t been doing such a great job in the parenting department lately. Yesterday had been a prime example of that fact. But today was a new day. She’d apologized to Lucas for judging him when all along he’d been going out of his way to help Nick. Ally too, if all the hands-on dog experience counted, which it most definitely did.
The apology had gone rather well, actually. Much better than she expected. He’d been so sweet. Humble, even. Jenna didn’t sleep much afterward. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Lucas smiling his crooked smile and holding onto that ridiculous Rice Krispies treat as if it were something to be treasured.
Sometime around five in the morning, she’d given up on sleep and attacked her manuscript with renewed vigor. Lucas’s notes had been surprisingly insightful, and by the time the kids had gotten up, she’d managed to write ten new pages—good pages. She’d written more while they’d been away at camp, so now they were celebrating with a trip to the park for Tybee’s regular Thursday night outdoor concert.
If she could stop thinking about Lucas and that silly Rice Krispies treat long enough to get Nick and Ally in the car.
“I’m king of the mountain!” Ally shouted as she stomped down the stairs, reminding Jenna that she was supposed to be parenting instead of romanticizing a marshmallow cereal snack.
Lucas was her neighbor. Nothing more.
“You can’t be king.” Nick whizzed past Ally.
Ally still managed to beat him to the bottom step. “Why? Because I’m a girl?”
“No, because I’m king!”
They continued battling back and forth on their way to the van, which didn’t bode well for the drive to the park.
Jenna took a deep breath. “Okay, you’re both kings. Now, everyone in their seats. We’re supposed to be there in ten minutes.”
As soon as she reached the gravel drive, Lucas’s voice boomed from the upper deck. “Keep it down out here. I’m trying to
sleep.”
She glanced up at him as she tossed the tote bags into the trunk. “It’s five o’clock in the afternoon.”
His dimples flashed. “I was kidding. That was a joke.”
“Oh, were you pretending to be me?” Jenna’s cheeks went warm. “Ha. Very funny.”
She slammed the trunk closed.
“I try.” Lucas leaned against the porch railing. Something had definitely shifted between them. Apparently, they were neighbors who chatted and joked around now.
Jenna didn’t hate it.
She may have even loved it a little bit.
“Are you guys heading to the concert in the park?” Lucas said.
Jenna shot a purposeful glance at Ally and Nick’s heads poking up from the top of the sun roof, where they watched her interaction with Lucas with far too much interest. “If everybody will get in their seats, yes.”
Nick stayed put, grinning at Lucas. “Are you coming too?”
Lucas nodded. “Every Thursday.”
Of course, whereas most Thursday nights back in Savannah, Jenna attended PTA meetings or made homemade cupcakes for the monthly school bake sale.
“Lucky,” Ally said in a singsong voice.
“Why don’t I drive you?” Lucas nodded toward his Jeep, parked beside the van.
Jenna froze.
So now they were the sort of neighbors who rode to concerts in the park together? It felt too much like a date.
She knew it wasn’t. Obviously. But still…
The thought of riding together made her feel jittery and nervous for reasons she didn’t want to contemplate, so she seized upon the first excuse she could find.
“You want us to ride in that?” She pointed at the Jeep.
The vehicle didn’t even have a roof. Plus the entire backseat was occupied by one of his many surfboards. It was a legitimate concern.
“Mmm-hmm.” Lucas nodded.
“Cool! Can we?” Ally and Nick begged in unison. “Please?”
“I mean, does that thing even have seat belts?” Jenna countered.
But she knew when she was outnumbered.
Minutes later, she was sitting beside Lucas in the front seat of the Jeep as they crossed the island bridge toward the park. Tank was tucked in between Nick and Ally in the back, wearing the seashell collar the kids had made him a few days ago. Jenna felt uncharacteristically wild and carefree. A sea breeze whipped through the Jeep, tossing her hair and her thoughts into a whirl.
I was right. This doesn’t feel like a date. It feels more like…a family.
“This is awesome,” Ally said, shouting above the wind.
“Okay, this is pretty cool.” Jenna’s smile was so wide that her cheeks ached.
And then she remembered the night of Lucas’s bonfire and all the young, pretty girls whose smiles had been just as bright—most notably Kayla. She’d taken Jenna’s place beside Lucas as if she belonged there, and every time Jenna saw them together, she couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ever dated.
Meanwhile, five minutes in Lucas’s Jeep had her fantasizing about a happy, beachy family life. Maybe she needed to build a fence around her daydreams instead of the patio.
“Not as bad as you thought?” Lucas grinned at her from the driver’s seat.
Her heart did a foolish little tumble. “No. Not bad at all.”
She almost wished she could say otherwise.
For as long as Lucas had lived at Tybee, pretty much everyone on the small barrier island gathered in Memorial Park on Thursday nights for free concerts.
Every week, a different band from one of the surrounding cities in Georgia took the stage while concert-goers lounged in the grass on blankets. Beneath the dramatic limbs of the oak trees, they snacked on items from the surrounding food trucks and swayed to and fro to the music. As fun as it was, it didn’t really seem like Jenna’s thing. Then again, he hadn’t thought volleyball was her thing either, and he’d been wrong about that.
As she sat beside him in the Jeep, grinning from ear to ear, he came to a profound realization. Despite all her rules and regulations, Jenna Turner was full of surprises.
He smiled quietly to himself as he pulled into the gravel lot beside the park. Lucas rather liked surprises.
They piled out of the Jeep and headed toward the picnic area. Lucas had never come to a summer concert with an entourage before—certainly not an entourage that included children. He wasn’t sure whether he should sit with his neighborly trio or go his own separate way. After all, it wasn’t a date. He’d simply given them a ride.
But Nick remained glued to his side, even when he paused to let Tank sniff a few trees. The kid was obviously starting to look up to him, which should have been his cue to cut and run. He was completely out of his depth. Maybe if his own dad had ever taken him to the park when he was Nick’s age, he’d know what to do or how to act.
Strangely enough, though, Lucas didn’t mind Nick’s admiration. Maybe it had something to do with the bag of Rice Krispies Treats Lucas polished off with his coffee earlier this morning.
Maybe it also has something to do with Nick’s mother.
“So do you think you might have time for another lesson?” Nick said.
The question was a welcome distraction from the dangerous trajectory of his thoughts. He could sense mouse ears looming in the periphery.
“Under one condition.” Lucas held up a finger. “No hugging.”
According to Kayla, that was the tipping point.
“I don’t get it.” Nick’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Why would I…”
Before he could press for an explanation on the no-hugging condition, the mouse ear expert herself turned up.
“Hi.” She gave Lucas a friendly hug.
“Kayla, hello. How are you?” Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas spotted Nick hustling to catch up with Ally and Jenna. Maybe he’d do the same, now that he’d set some boundaries.
He swallowed. Gosh, he was beginning to sound like someone he knew.
“I’m good,” Kayla said.
“Would you do me a favor? Will you take Tank?” Lucas offered her Tank’s leash.
She took it. “Absolutely.”
“Thank you.” The odds of finding some space on Jenna’s blanket would probably be easier without Tank cruising for crumbs. Besides, the dog loved Kayla. Ally had been taking up so much of Tank’s time that he hadn’t seen much of her lately.
“I’ll catch you in a bit, okay?” Lucas waved, and as he walked away he could have sworn Tank winked at him.
Lucas might be doing a half-decent job of fooling himself where his affection for Jenna’s kids were concerned, but his dog clearly had his number.
Jenna found Maureen and Ian on a large patchwork quilt smack in the center of the grassy picnic area. She tightened her grip on her tote bags as she drew near, acutely aware of her tardiness.
Not that a picnic was a structured sort of affair. But Jenna was never late—not for social engagements and definitely not with her book deadlines. A flicker of worry passed through her at the thought of her book, but she reminded herself of all the amazing progress she’d made since the night before and she breathed a little easier. She still had a couple weeks. Everything was under control.
Except, oh yeah, she was late for the concert because she’d been riding around in an open-air beach vehicle with her handsome neighbor.
“Hey, guys.” She dropped her belongings at the edge of the quilt and attempted an apologetic smile.
It was no use. She wasn’t sorry. Not one bit. Riding in Lucas’s Jeep had been fun. Her hair was probably three times bigger than it had been when she left the house, but she didn’t even care.
“Hey,” Ian said.
Maureen’s gaze narrowed. She looked at Jenna like she no longer recognized her. “For s
omeone who’s so punctual, you’re really late.”
“Sorry, we decided to ride-share.” Jenna sat, hoping against hope Maureen wouldn’t press for details.
But of course she did. “You decided to what?”
At that precise moment, Lucas strolled into view and Maureen’s features brightened with understanding.
“Oh, right.” She beamed at him while Ian bit back a knowing smile. “Hey, neighbor.”
Lucas hovered at the edge of their cozy set-up. “Surprised to see me?”
Always one for directness, Maureen nodded. “Maybe.”
“Does this mean we need to make more room?” Ian aimed a pointed glance at Jenna. “Or build another fence?”
She laughed. Fine, she deserved a little teasing about the fence. It had been an impulsive, and ultimately disastrous, idea.
“Make more room. Right, Lucas?” Maureen nudged a wicker picnic basket off to the side.
Jenna should probably put a stop to things before Maureen physically dragged him onto the blanket. Because again, they were not on a date. The ride in the Jeep was basically a glorified Uber trip.
Was it, though?
“Actually, I think Lucas is meeting his girlfriend. So we should let him…”
Lucas plopped onto the quilt as if he belonged there. “My what?”
Seriously? He was going to make her spell it out for him when he’d just been hugging Kayla mere feet away?
“Um.” Why was the back of her neck suddenly so warm? “Your girlfriend.”
Lucas’s response was a blank stare. “Who’s that?”
Jenna glanced at Kayla walking Tank beneath the shade of a row of Southern live oaks. Mercifully, he followed her gaze so she wouldn’t have to say any more.
“Kayla? Oh, no. I’ve known her for years.” Lucas shook his head. “She’s like a little sister to me.”
“So, she’s not your girlfriend?” Maureen’s eyebrows rose.
Real subtle, Maureen. Jenna’s neck was on the verge of bursting into flames.
