SAMANTHA COULDN’T WAIT for Ian to send her those pictures, but she knew she wouldn’t need that tangible evidence to recall what had turned out to be one of most delightful days she had enjoyed in a long time.
The picnic was simple roast beef sandwiches Mrs. Gilbert had prepared, but they were made on fresh-baked bread with a creamy mustard and horseradish sauce and tasted better than anything from the best restaurants around the lake.
Sam had a vague memory of going on a camping trip with her father once when she must have been six or seven. She could remember him saying something about how food eaten outside always tasted better. Was it a true memory or something she had imagined? It didn’t really matter, she supposed. Either way, it was definitely true.
They ate under a tree with the waterfall in the background, serenaded by birds as a light breeze made the wildflowers dance around them.
Samantha wanted the moment to go on forever.
When Amelia finished her dessert of shortbread cookies, she gave a happy sigh. “This has been the best day. Thank you for showing us such a beautiful place,” she said. “I shall remember this always.”
“As will I,” Samantha said softly.
“I still wish we could go for a swim,” Thomas said mournfully.
“You wouldn’t enjoy it, trust me,” his father said.
After lunch, they walked around trying to identify wildflowers. Sam shared as many as she knew, mostly Queen Anne’s Lace, wild iris, columbine.
“June is still a little early at these higher elevations for flowers. That’s what my friends who are experts say, anyway. In another month, there will be many more wildflowers up here, of all colors. It’s quite a spectacular display.”
“We’ll be back home by then,” Amelia said with a little pout. “Maybe you could send us a photograph.”
“I’ll do that,” Sam said, trying to ignore the pinch in her heart to think about them leaving. How had they all wormed their way into her life so quickly? She adored the children and was well on her way to developing a terrible crush on Ian.
So much for her intentions to remain distant but friendly. She had crossed that line a long time ago.
It didn’t feel like any crush she’d had before, though. She didn’t remember oversharing so much with another man. He knew things about her she had never shared with anyone besides Katrina.
Funny thing, though. He hadn’t seemed disgusted by her honesty. There was a lesson in that for her, she supposed. Maybe she needed to stop being so ashamed and focus on moving forward instead of looking back.
They were all more quiet on the way down the mountain than they had been heading up. Some of the fun seemed to have gone out of the day. Maybe they were all tired or maybe Ian and his children were thinking about the end of their holiday. They had a few weeks in Haven Point still, though, until after his sister’s wedding.
They had almost reached the trailhead, the children just ahead of them again, when Ian spoke.
“Would you, um, have any interest in going as my plus-one to Gemma’s wedding?”
To her dismay, she chose that inopportune moment to stumble on a rock and he reached out to help her catch her balance, his hand warm and strong on her arm.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. That may seem like it’s coming out of nowhere but it’s not. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days.”
“You have?”
“Gemma suggested I take someone.” He made a face. “All right, that’s not exactly true. She suggested the two of us go together.”
Sam didn’t know how to respond to that. She already had her own plus-one invitation to the wedding and had informed Gemma she wasn’t planning to take a date.
Why would Gemma encourage the two of them to go together when the bride knew perfectly well Samantha would be there, anyway, to help with her dress and any last-minute alterations? She frowned. Was her friend matchmaking?
Ian quickly disabused her of that idea. “She said something about the seating being easier if we attended together. But if you already had plans or prefer to go alone, please forget I said anything. Gemma can figure out the seating without having to match everyone up for her own convenience.”
“I wasn’t planning on taking a date,” she said. “I already told Gemma that.”
Finding someone she wanted to spend an entire evening with had seemed like too much bother. She had anticipated that she would sit with other Helping Hands at the ceremony only so she could see Gemma in her spectacular dress as she married the love of her life and then Samantha intended to slip away before the reception and inevitable dancing and socializing began.
“All right, then. Totally understandable. Again, don’t worry. Forget I said anything.”
His smile looked slightly off. Was he genuinely disappointed at her answer? She couldn’t quite tell. She did know the wedding would be far more fun if she attended with Ian and his children rather than going on her own, at least judging by how much she had enjoyed today’s outing with them.
“I would be delighted to go with you,” she finally answered.
She would simply have to remember the only reason he asked her was to appease his sister. It certainly wasn’t because of that earthshaking kiss they had shared.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“SUPER. THAT WOULD be terrific.”
There. That wasn’t so hard. He had a date for Gemma’s wedding and he would have at least one more excuse to spend time with Samantha Fremont before he and the children left Haven Point.
He hadn’t been looking forward to the wedding festivities. He couldn’t say he had been dreading them exactly. He was thrilled for Gemma. She deserved happiness and a good man who cherished her, as she had found in Josh Bailey.
Gemma’s wedding, while joyous for her sake, represented a turning point for Ian. The time when he had to put away his passion
