AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My God, he was sexy. What a waste.
Time to bolt.
“It’s been really nice talking to you,” I said with as much sarcasm as possible. “Have a lovely evening.” And then, before waiting for his response, I said to Gian, “I’ll talk to you later, mister.”
When Jax laughed, I nearly jumped out of my skin, the sound was so surprising. And pleasing. I had to get out of there.
After I made my way back to my seat, the girls wide-eyed, they asked how it went.
I answered honestly. “Round one. Jax, one. Natalie, zero. And you really need to rein in that fiancé of yours,” I said to Mazzie.
In response, the two of them laughed as if something was funny. But it wasn’t.
Not. Funny. At. All.
SIX
jax
No. Fucking. Way.
I wasn’t even halfway finished with my coffee when I saw her. It had only been a few days since I came to Kitchi Falls, but Seneca Lake was already growing on me. I could get used to working on the deck with this view every morning.
When I first saw the kayak in the distance, I didn’t think anything of it. But as it made its way down the shoreline, I became curious. Every so often the kayak slowed and its rider reached down into the lake.
Curious enough to get a better view, I grabbed my coffee, abandoned the mounds of paperwork I’d been sorting through, and made my way onto the dock of my lakeside rental. I could tell it was a woman, but she wore a hat so I couldn’t see much. Until she rowed closer.
Of all the people in the world, or on this lake, what were the chances?
“Good mornin’ beautiful,” I yelled, a reference to our very enlightening discussion two nights ago.
She’d been leaning over the opposite side of the kayak from where I stood. At the sound of my voice, she whipped around so quickly her kayak became unbalanced. And then the unthinkable happened. At least, for someone like Natalie who likely lived in that lake and could handle a kayak as well as anyone. She was tossed right over the side. I knew I was going to hell for it, but simply couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.
Natalie, however, wasn’t laughing at all. She frantically searched the lake for something, not bothering to turn the kayak right side up. I took a sip of coffee, glad to have abandoned my work for such a show, and waited.
It didn’t take long.
She glared up at me with some of the vitriol I’d seen in the face of other adversaries I’d faced. But instead of wielding a gun pointed at my chest, this one, thankfully, was armed only with a paddle. She’d fished it from the water and was now in the process of turning the kayak over. Accomplishing the feat deftly enough, Natalie tossed the paddle inside and turned back to me.
I made a motion for her to come to my dock.
She shook her head.
“Come on,” I yelled out. “Use my dock. Temporary truce.”
Clearly torn, she looked around only to discover what I knew already. No neighbors. This particular property came with enough land to ensure it, since my privacy was more important than the astronomical price I’d paid for a monthly rental.
“Don’t be stubborn,” I yelled, trying again. It would be one hell of a feat for her to get back into that thing on the water.
Glowering at me one last time, Natalie finally gave in. With the kayak trailing behind her, she slowly made her way to my dock. I tried, and failed, not to smile at the sight she made. Hat, soaked. Nose scrunched up in annoyance.
Adorable.
Putting my coffee mug on the deck, I made my way over to where she pushed in. Squatting down, I held out my hand for the paddle. Reluctantly, she gave it to me, still glowering, and swam over to the ladder.
Knowing she wanted nothing to do with me helping her out of the water, I pulled the kayak up onto the dock instead.
“That’s not necessary,” she said. “I’m getting back in.”
