“T-Thomas.”
Though the shallow lake bottom here was muddy, making it difficult for her feet to find purchase, she managed to feel around with her bare feet until she found a rock, then stood on that and hefted the boy onto the dock, where his sister waited. A moment later, Sam pulled herself after him and flopped onto the wooden dock, shivering in the June sunshine while adrenaline still surged through her.
“Here you go. Safe and sound. See?”
“Thank you, ma’am.” The girl said the word like “mum” as Samantha wrapped her sweater around the boy.
“You’re very welcome,” she answered.
“Thomas can be a bother but I would miss him. So would our father and Nana and Grandfather.”
She couldn’t help noticing the girl didn’t mention anything about their mother missing them. What was that about? Did they have a mother? She had to wonder. Before she could ask, a man hurried out of the house next door toward the children.
A gorgeous man.
He had startling blue eyes and dark hair that looked tousled, as if he had only recently dragged a hand through it. He wore a blue Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up and one button on the collar undone. She had a wild, completely irrational urge to straighten his hair and fasten his button.
She coughed a little, telling herself the sudden tightness in her throat must be a delayed reaction from the cold water.
The man took in the scene at a glance. “Thomas. Did you fall in?”
“I did. And then the nice lady helped me out,” the boy said, his teeth still chattering.
His father hardly gave her a look. “What are you two doing out here? I thought you were unpacking your things in your rooms.”
“We finished and decided to go exploring,” the girl said apologetically. “You were on your mobile so we didn’t want to bother you and Mrs. Gilbert was having a rest. And then Thomas was looking at a fish in the water. We thought it might be one of your salmon. He bent down a little too far and lost his balance. Next thing we knew, he was in the lake. He didn’t come up and then this very kind woman came and helped him out.”
The man finally turned his gaze to her, and Sam was suddenly intensely conscious that she was now wearing dripping wet yoga pants and a thin workout tank. She felt exposed, vulnerable, as if she’d walked into Serrano’s, her favorite restaurant in town, wearing only a bikini.
“Is that what happened?”
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She gave a modest shrug. “I was watching from the window and saw him go into the water.”
“I don’t know what to say, Ms....”
“Fremont. Samantha Fremont. I live just...there.”
She gestured back toward her house, feeling breathless and silly. Oh, good grief. This was ridiculous. So he had brilliant blue eyes and a rumpled air she found irresistible. The last thing she needed in her life right now was a man. Any man, especially a good-looking man with an accent and two adorable children.
“Hello. I’m Ian Summerhill and these wild creatures are my offspring, Amelia and Thomas.”
At his introduction, a few of the pieces began to fall into place and she made a connection she should have earlier. “Summerhill. Are you any relation to Gemma Summerhill?”
“She’s our aunt,” Amelia exclaimed.
“You know Gemma?” Ian Summerhill asked.
“Yes. We’re friends. I’m actually making her wedding dress.”
Why on earth had Gemma never mentioned her gorgeous brother was coming to town for the wedding and bringing along his extraordinarily cute children?
Also, where again was the children’s mother?
“We’re here all summer,” Thomas declared. His teeth had largely stopped chattering in the June sunshine and his hair had even started to dry, the dark locks turning blond.
“We’re having an American adventure before Aunt Gemma’s wedding.” Amelia sounded less than enthused at that particular prospect.
“How fun for you. Welcome to Haven Point,” Sam said, eager suddenly to escape. She was growing increasingly aware that she was drenched and wearing skintight clothing...and also that she hadn’t been around a good-looking man in a very long time.
“I hope you have a lovely stay. I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”
“No doubt, especially if you’re friends with Gemma.”
That did make things awkward, considering she had to deliver bad news.
“I should tell you the dock actually belongs to me. The property line is just there, on the far side of the dock.”
“That’s impossible.” He frowned. “The real estate agent assured me we had dock access. I’ve rented a boat for the summer for my work.”
Oh, her mother would have loved telling off him and whatever unscrupulous real estate agent had lied to him about the dock access.
“I’m afraid it’s not only possible but reality. The dock is our property. You were misled. But I’m sure we can work something out, if it’s that important to you.” She didn’t want to be a jerk about it, especially not to Gemma’s family. She wasn’t using the dock. In fact, it hadn’t been used since Sam’s father died, though her mother continued to make sure it was maintained properly as if it were some kind of shrine to Lyle Fremont’s memory.
Her new neighbor looked at the dock, then back at her, his blue eyes as troubled as the lake on a stormy afternoon. “It is. It’s vital. I must have water access during our stay.”
If that’s the case, maybe you should have nailed down ownership of the dock before you rented the property. Again, she could hear her mother’s crankiness coming through her thoughts and swallowed down the words.
“Can I dry off first?” she asked, a little annoyed at his urgency. It was only a dock, for heaven’s sake. There was a marina only a five-minute drive from here where he could moor any boat he had rented during his stay.
“How much?”
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“How much would it take for me to secure permission to use the dock for the
