Page 78 of At First Catch

“How’d that work out for you?”

I glance down at the tiny space still separating us. “Terribly.”

She chuckles, the sound warm enough to settle somewhere deep in my chest. “I kind of figured.”

I steal one last quick kiss. Even shorter than the first. Just because I can.

When I pull back this time, she shakes her head with a smile that’s becoming one of my favorite things in the world.

“Now I’m definitely not getting any work done.”

I smirk. “I’ve been distracted all day.”

Her eyes search mine for a long moment before she says, “Good.”

I step backward toward the door, forcing myself to leave before I find another excuse to stay.

“I’ll see you later.”

She smiles.

“You’ll find a reason.”

I smile because she already knows I will.

Chapter Ten

NOLAN

The marina settles into a rhythm over the next few weeks. Contractors replace dock boards section by section. Tourists stop asking if Sweetspire will ever reopen and start asking when. Somewhere between permit meetings, hardware deliveries, and Sunday breakfasts with the Wrights, kissing Hadley stops feeling inevitable and starts feeling impossible to avoid.

I should not still be able to taste her. I miss the turn into the marina and don’t realize it until a truck behind me taps the horn.

“Get it together,” I mutter, taking the next side street.

It doesn’t help. Every time my mind goes quiet, it finds Hadley again.

Apparently, kissing the woman you’re falling for is terrible for concentration.

Who knew.

My phone buzzes before I reach the marina.

Bailey

You know I could see you, right?

I laugh out loud in the middle of the sidewalk.

Me

I assumed that was why you kept pretending to reorganize the same display.

Bailey

I was protecting inventory.

Me