“Sorry we’re late!” Charlie panted as she halted in front of Luke. “Simon forgot his surveillance notebook. We had to go get it.”
“Can’t leave it alone, can you?” Luke teased as Simon grinned at him.
“No, sir!” He pointed to the plastic gold badge pinned to the collar of his T-shirt. “It’s my job.”
“Drop your stuff by the truck before you get into the van. Ladies, come to see us off?” Luke couldn’t pull his gaze off Holly. She radiated, from her twinkling eyes to her sparkling white sneakers. How could she continue to do this to him? Make everyone around them vanish by coming into focus.
“We’ve come to make sure this is really happening.” Paige was practically skipping with joy. “Thanks to you, I’m getting my first official Butterfly Harbor girls’ night with Holly and Abby. There is much wine to be drunk and boys to be spoken of.” She waggled her eyebrows at Luke, who shook his head and tried to stop from blushing.
“Hi, Paige.” Fletch’s voice caught in his throat and had Luke arching a brow in his direction. “What?”
“I didn’t say a word.” Luke’s amusement vanished when Paige merely gave Fletch a dismissive smile. Ouch.
“Sheriff? A moment?” Holly crooked her finger at him and he followed her around the corner of the building. “I wanted to thank you again for taking this on. It’s a lot of work.”
“It’s camping,” Luke said. “A whole half hour away. And they’ll be doing most of the work.”
“Just promise me you won’t let Simon out of your sight. Not,” she added when Luke frowned, “because I don’t trust you with him. I heard him and Charlie talking about Kyle. They think he’s up to something, and you know Simon. Once he has an idea in his head—”
“Got it.” He nodded. “Please don’t worry about him, Holly. I’ll take good care of him.”
“Do I look worried?” She cocked her head to the side and peered into his eyes to the point he felt like squirming. What did she want from him? “When you get back, you and I are going to have a long talk about this thing we have going on.”
Unease washed over him. “What thing?”
“This thing.” She stepped forward, placed her open palm on his chest and rose up on her toes. She pressed her lips lightly against his, smiling as he skimmed his fingers over the curve of her hip. “See you Sunday, Sheriff. Take care of my boy,” she called over her shoulder as she sauntered away, leaving Luke feeling as if his brain had been deep-fried. “Both my boys.”
* * *
“I CAN’T REMEMBER the last time I saw you this relaxed, Holly.” Abby held her wineglass reverently as she sank into the soft cushions of her overstuffed sofa Friday night. Thanks to Twyla and Ursula offering to close, she and Paige had arrived at Abby’s cozy cottage behind the inn earlier than expected, diving into that wine—and conversation about boys—with as much gusto as obsessive, giggling sommeliers. “Is this the effect Sheriff Luke has on you?”
“It’s knowing I have a few days off Simon patrol.” She shouldn’t be feeling this free, but she was going to embrace it while she had the chance. They’d be back to their routine—and the grindstone—soon enough. “Have I thanked you for coming to Butterfly Harbor?” she said to Paige. “And by the way, I love your kid to pieces.”
“So do I,” Paige agreed. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to get a cavity with all this niceness,” Abby grumbled as she dumped out a bag of ridged chips into a bowl. “I want to hear about Holly and the sheriff. Spill, would you? Tell me all about those smooches of yours with our bad boy of Butterfly Harbor.”
Holly ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “He’s not so bad.”
Abby and Paige hooted. “I knew it. She’s hooked!” Paige announced. “You owe me twenty bucks.”
“Best bet I’ve ever lost. You seem happy,” Abby added as Holly nodded.
“Yeah.” And Holly was. “For the first time in a long time, I don’t have this weight pressing on me. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way about someone. As if he’s what’s been missing. I don’t know.” She shook her head, still trying to puzzle everything together. Was she in love with Luke Saxon? “I’m confused.” Except...she wasn’t.
“A good kiss will do that.” Paige toasted her with her topped-off wine. “At least that’s what my memory says.”