In retrospect, she had been nothing short of dismissive of his work. Really, of everything about him. They never should have married. In trying to do the right thing, he had made everything worse.
He had admitted to himself some time ago that he would have sought a divorce eventually, even if she hadn’t walked out on the marriage. He had been bitterly unhappy, though he hadn’t wanted to admit it.
He sighed, earning a curious look from Samantha that made him annoyed with himself for dwelling on the past. He was heading out for an evening with a beautiful woman who made him smile and whom his children adored.
He refused to let memories of his marriage ruin his enjoyment of this perfectly lovely evening, Ian decided.
When he pulled up in front of Gemma’s house, the sun had begun to slip behind the Redemption Mountains. Full sunset was still at least another hour or more away but the sun started to go down early on this side of the lake in the shadow of the mountains.
It was a beautiful summer evening, cool and soft and smelling of cut grass and the lake.
He loved it here, he thought as he went around the vehicle to open Samantha’s door. The lake, the people, the jagged mountains that stood as sentinels around the community.
These few weeks had given him an appreciation for the choice his sister had made to start a new life here with Josh. He easily could see himself living here with the children, starting over, as she had done. He could study Pacific Northwest salmon, both anadromous and nonanadromous, to his heart’s content.
If only that were possible. If only he didn’t have the inescapable demands of the earldom weighing on him.
He suddenly missed his brother with a fierce ache. David’s death had changed everything.
As he opened the door for Samantha, the fading sunlight gleamed on her features. She was smiling at something one of the children must have said and he suddenly felt breathless.
Oh, he was in trouble. He was growing to care for her entirely too much. She was open and honest, like that sunshine.
If he wasn’t careful, he was going to make an even bigger fool of himself over her than he already had.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IF SAMANTHA WERE ever asked to describe her perfect evening, it would be very much like this one.
When they arrived at Gemma’s cottage, a small but tidy clapboard house with a shake roof near downtown, the air smelled delicious, of barbecue chicken and roasting vegetables.
Sam’s stomach growled, reminding her that the quick salad she’d taken from home to work for lunch had been a long time ago.
Few places on earth could be as gorgeous as Haven Point on a summer evening.
The setting sun sent long shadows across the lake, which gleamed silver in the light. A flock of ducks or geese—she couldn’t tell which—flew overhead while a few boats darted across the water.
Ian’s mother stood on the porch of Gemma’s house. She waved a hand in greeting as they approached, her features bright with affection for her son and grandchildren. “There you are. I was afraid we would have to eat all this food among the four of us.”
“Hi, Nana.” Amelia smiled and Margaret hugged her.
“Hello, Nana,” Thomas echoed, hugging his grandmother in turn.
“And, Samantha, darling.” Margaret turned to her, arms wide, and folded her into an embrace both welcoming and kind. “I’m so happy you’re able to join us. Isn’t this a beautiful evening?”
“I can’t argue. I was thinking that very thing on the way over. Our summers are so short that each day feels like a precious gift.”
“I understand your winters around here can be quite intense,” Margaret said with interest. “That’s hard for me to imagine, with these glorious temperatures right now.”
“We can have up to three or four feet of snow at a time and spend weeks with the thermometer never hitting above freezing. You can see the mountains still have snow at the higher elevations. Some of that doesn’t melt until late July.”
“I believe I would like to see that much snow,” Amelia exclaimed.
She smiled at the girl’s astonished expression. “It’s always beautiful at first. There is nothing prettier than the first snowfall clinging to the pine trees, but by the end of the winter, we’re ready for it all to melt and our glorious summers to arrive again.”
“Have you ever built a snowman?” Thomas asked.
“Oh, yes. Nearly every year. With as much snow as we can have, you could build an entire snow village if you wanted to. The people of our neighboring town, Shelter Springs, come together to build an elaborate ice castle every year, complete with turrets, slides, fountains, all lit by LED lights in various colors. It’s quite spectacular.”
“Can we come back to visit Aunt Gemma in the wintertime?” Amelia asked her father eagerly.
Ian looked taken aback. “We’ll have to see about that. You’ll have your school term.”
Samantha had never considered that. She should have. All this time, she had been thinking she would never see them again once they returned to England, but she suddenly realized Ian would always have a link here. His sister and Josh were making their lives here, which meant Ian and the children would likely return at some point for visits in the future.
At that moment, the woman in question walked around the side of the house along with her fiancé.
Sam refused to allow herself to feel embarrassed, though she had once been quite enamored of Josh and had come close to making a fool of herself over him.
Water under the bridge, she told herself.
“You’re here,” Gemma exclaimed, leaning forward to kiss Sam on the cheek before hugging her brother. “We’re setting up on the back terrace.”
“Everything’s ready,” Josh said.
“Shall we?” Margaret gestured toward the gate.
Gemma led the way around the cottage she had rented when she came to town, where a picnic table
