LITMIR.BIZ

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the crayons back to Issy.

      Gray would expect her to socialize with the adults, people who despised her. She’d rather play with the kids, but she stood. “Thanks for letting me color.”

      The kitchen door opened again. This time it was a stranger. The man’s dark brown hair was short. She’d never been enamored with the clipped look, but it made his steel-blue eyes stand out.

      She arranged her hair so it draped over her shoulder.

      “Am I in the right place?” the stranger asked.

      “You are. Kaden, come in.” Abby took his hand and pulled him into the center of the kitchen. “I was afraid you’d changed your mind about dinner.”

      The hottie shook his head. “No, just my clothes.”

      He wasn’t dressed in jeans or shorts like the other men. He wore nice Dockers and a polo. Not the best quality, but not the worst, either.

      Cheryl handed Courtney her prosecco. Turning to the stranger—Kaden—Cheryl asked, “How is Nigel doing?”

      Nigel. The name rang a bell. Was that the old guy who worked for the B and B?

      “Complaining he wants to go home.”

      “Oh, dear.” Cheryl bit her lip. “He can’t. He needs physical therapy, right?”

      Kaden nodded.

      Courtney wished she’d worn one of the sundresses still packed in her bags, but her white top and coral capri pants were dressier than any other woman’s outfit in the room. She moved toward the cluster of people standing near the table, swaying her hips a little.

      “Hi, Courtney.” Dolley nodded in her direction, no smile on her face.

      “Courtney,” Bess said. “I didn’t know you were here.”

      The two Fitzgerald sisters looked at her, waiting for an explanation. Courtney wouldn’t let her teeth grind. “I surprised Gray.”

      “Oh.” Bess shoved her long red ponytail over her shoulder. Didn’t the Fitzgeralds realize men preferred women’s hair to be cascading around their breasts? It fueled their imaginations.

      Liam wrapped his arm around Dolley’s waist. One of the twin brothers set a hand on Bess’s shoulder.

      “Daniel, you remember Gray’s sister?” Bess asked.

      He nodded, drinking his beer.

      “Good to see you again, Daniel,” Courtney lied. Twin One identified.

      Everyone stared at her. Were they waiting for her to speak? Or was it her clothes? Could she help it if she was beautiful? Sure, the Fitzgerald women had their...charm. But she’d been taught to highlight her assets.

      “People, meet Kaden.” Abby introduced him to everyone, even Cheryl—an employee—and Nathan, Twin Two, who was apparently engaged to Cheryl and father of Issy.

      When Abby introduced her, Courtney set her hand in Kaden’s, letting her fingers linger. “Lovely to meet you.”

      His eyebrows arched a fraction. “Nice to meet you.”

      Oh, my. Her belly did a lovely slow roll. He was a good-looking man.

      Kaden turned and said something to Daniel.

      She let her hand slip to her side. Her breath hitched on a bubble of panic. Men didn’t turn away from her.

      Everyone talked in groups, excluding her. They talked in shorthand. She couldn’t keep up. Courtney rolled her shoulders. Who cared? These people weren’t part of her world.

      “Let’s eat,” Abby said.

      Cheryl and Abby laughed and talked as they brought platters and bowls to the table. Everyone was part of a conversation. Everyone but her. Even Kaden slipped into the flow.

      She waited until someone told her where to sit, then glided into the chair next to Josh. Since she sat directly across from Kaden, maybe she could figure out why he hadn’t flirted with her.

      She waited through grace, then passed dishes, asking Josh, “Can I serve you?”

      He nodded and pointed to a large piece of fish on the platter. “I caught a big fish on the Fourth of July.”

      “You did?”

      “Yeah. A red fish. My mom cooked it.” He added quinoa salad to his plate and passed the bowl to her. “It was the biggest fish of the day.”

      “That must have been fun,” she said. “I’ve never fished before.”

      His brown eyes went big and his mouth dropped open. “Mr. Gray, why hasn’t your sister ever fished?”

      Gray glanced over. “My sister doesn’t fish.”

      “That’s just wrong,” Josh insisted.

      Gray winked at him. “She might mess up her hair or clothes.”

      Everyone laughed. At her.

      Heat spread across Courtney’s face. “Father never took me fishing,” she explained.

      There’d been so many boundaries in her life. Fishing was something only Gray and dear old Dad had done. It was not one of the restrictions she’d wanted to breach.

      “I can teach you.” The kid looked from under his long blond eyelashes up at Daniel. “If we can take Uncle Daniel’s boat out.”

      “Josh,” Cheryl admonished.

      “I guess we could fish from shore somewhere.” The boy shot an innocent look at Courtney. “Do you wanna go tomorrow?”

      This time she laughed with everyone. “I don’t think so.”

      She joked with Josh and ate a fabulous dinner because, of course, her brother had married someone who was not only a businesswoman, but also an incredible chef. What sister wouldn’t be miffed that her sister-in-law overshadowed her in everything? Except beauty.

      She glanced across the table. Kaden wasn’t even trying to attract her attention. Her stomach churned around the small bites of food she’d been able to swallow. She couldn’t take his indifference any longer. “Did you grow up in Savannah?”

      Kaden looked up from his plate. “What?”

      “Did you grow up here?”

      “I spent most of my childhood down on Tybee.”

      Josh leaned over the table. “I bet you fished down there.”

      “My grandfather and I fished.” A smile broke across Kaden’s face, a dimple appearing on his cheek. My, my. He was handsome. “We’d take his boat into the intercoastal waters.”

      “I don’t know what that is, but can you take me fishing?” Josh asked Kaden.

      “As much fun as that sounds, I’m here to take care of my grandfather.”

      “What happened to Nigel?” Courtney could almost pull up an image of a dapper older man with thick white hair.

      Kaden’s smile slipped away. “He broke his hip.”

      “Oh.” That didn’t sound good. “Is he okay?”

      “He came through surgery well.” Kaden shook his head. “Now he needs physical therapy and time to heal.”

      She nodded, not really understanding what healing from a broken hip entailed. “How is he handling being hospitalized?”

      “He’s not in the hospital anymore. He’s in a rehabilitation center.”

      “Oh.” She was so out of her depth.

      “I like Nigel.” Josh bounced a little in his chair. “He let me help paint the walls.”

      “Yeah.

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