Jason hopped off the tube and shoved Mike off of his. Then Vince joined them and the three of them swam away together.
“Children,” Summer said. “They’re like small children when they get together.”
Erin laughed at the mention of the extra four years of veterinary school Jason had to attend.
“I had to laugh,” Daria said, lifting her feet in and out of the water. “I attended an extra three years after my bachelor’s degree.”
“Yeah, but that was law school,” Summer said. “You weren’t hanging out with a bunch of animals.”
Daria frowned. “Yes, I was. They just had two legs instead of four.”
Erin laughed, then asked, “What type of law do you practice, Daria?”
“Civil, mostly. My dad is a lawyer and I followed him into the family business. That’s where I met Mike, who’s also a lawyer.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.”
“It is,” Daria said, shooting Mike a smile even though he couldn’t see her. “How about you, Erin?”
“Kind of the same thing, family-business-wise, only not law. My family owns a vineyard and we also hold weddings there.”
Daria sat up. “Ooh, don’t you have the best job? That sounds so fun and romantic. So you hold weddings at the family vineyard every weekend?”
“Nearly every weekend. We’re especially busy during spring, summer and fall. Not so much in the winter, though we get the occasional winter wedding.”
“You must love it,” Summer said. “I’ve been to a few vineyard weddings, and they’re so beautiful.”
“Thank you. I do love it, though one of my sisters does most of the wedding planning. My other sister manages the vineyard with my dad, and I handle the business portion of both the vineyard and the weddings.”
“Sounds like a lot to juggle,” Daria said.
“It can be, but I thrive on being busy.”
“So do I,” Summer said. “I’m a surgical scrub nurse, so we’re constantly busy.”
“Oh, wow. What an amazing job you have.”
“Thanks. I do love it. I also love my days off, like today.”
“I agree with that,” Daria said. “There’s nothing like relaxing on a tube, having some drinks and hanging out with your friends. And now we have a new friend.”
Erin felt warm and welcomed. She was always so busy, cocooning herself at the vineyard. She made friends easily, though. Part of the job. But she hadn’t made a lot of time for that lately. Between work and planning the wedding that never happened, she realized she’d isolated herself.
Not today, though. Today was the first time she’d felt incredibly free, relaxed and unburdened in as long as she could remember.
It felt damn good to let go. And maybe the key to really letting go was to have that conversation with Owen, to close the door on that chapter of her life.
But just the thought of it caused a twinge in her belly, that sweet, relaxing freedom she’d felt just a moment ago dissipating in the soft summer breeze.
No, the only door she was closing today was on the thought of talking to Owen. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. Not when she was finally unwinding and ridding herself of all the hurt and unhappiness.
That conversation could wait. Right now, all she wanted to do was revel in her own personal joy. And this water. And Jason, whose laugh made her look over to see him tilt his head back and let out a guffaw at something Vince said.
Now, there was someone who knew how to live in the moment. He was someone she needed in her life, needed to get closer to. Because his joy was infectious, could make her happier than she’d been in a long, long time.
She wanted a lot more of that.
Of him.
CHAPTER
twenty-one
VINCE AND SUMMER and Mike and Daria had rented a lake house for the weekend, and they invited Jason and Erin to hang out with them for dinner that night.
Since Erin seemed to be having a great time, and since they’d caught fish, Jason asked Erin if she was game for that. She offered up an enthusiastic yes, so after they spent another few hours on the water, Vince drove them to the dock and they climbed out, grabbed their truck and drove over to the lake house.
“This place is very nice,” Erin said as they climbed out of the truck.
Jason glanced up at the two-story house that overlooked the lake. “Yeah, it’s decent.”
She laughed. “Decent, huh? Just a shack?”
“Hey, I didn’t say that.”
“Uh-huh. This place is a dream. Look at all those windows. And the deck overlooking the water. I can’t wait to see inside.”
He rolled his eyes. “Come on, Cinderella. Let’s take you to the ball.”
“You’re so funny.”
Since they’d dried off on the boat ride back, they’d both gotten dressed before they got in the truck. They grabbed their stuff and headed around the side yard to the back.
Music was pumping, and the crew was already out there, along with a few other people. Leave it to Vince to organize a party.
“Your friends are popular,” Erin said.
“They do this every weekend in the summer. It’s a good time.”
“Remind me to start having a good time.”
Her sentence was cryptic, so he filed it away to ask her about it later, because Mike waved them over and Erin disappeared into the house.
“Hey, buddy, glad you decided to come,” Vince said.
“You’re only glad because I’m the best at cleaning and frying fish.”
Mike laughed. “That, too. There’s beer in the cooler.”
“Thanks.”
Jason knew his friends. He also knew they were good guys, and he liked their company as much as they liked his. They didn’t see each other a lot, but when they did, he knew they could pick up right where they left off. He’d known he could call Vince today, and if he was on the water he’d pick him up and invite him to join them on the boat. That was just the kind of guy Vince was.
It was good to have friends you could count on.
He grabbed a beer from the cooler, then went
