Gabby laughed. “The water is still cold this time of year.”
“Never stopped me before,” Doug said, dropping onto a large rock to start removing his shoes. He gave her an expectant look, and she shook her head.
“Oh no. I wait until at least August. I’m not a little kid anymore. The cold bothers me now.”
“Come on, now. You can at least dip your feet in.”
He had her there. She was wearing sandals, too, which were easy enough to slip off. She opened her bag to tuck them inside, pushing aside her latest paperback so she wouldn’t dirty the pages, finally deciding to set the book on top of her bag.
“No splashing,” she warned. She wouldn’t put it past him.
“No worries. I just planned to dunk you.” She shook her head ruefully, that was until he made a grab for her book. “The Rogue—” he started, and then stopped when she yanked it from his grip.
“Hey!”
His eyes twinkled with amusement, and there was laughter in his voice. “I was just wondering what could be so captivating about this book that you would carry it around with you.”
“I like to have a book with me,” she replied defensively.
“For escaping into a more romantic world when the urge arises?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, but he was grinning wider. “Very funny. Actually…actually, I find that it’s nice to have a book in case I grab a coffee or stop by the bakery.”
His expression changed, sobering a little. He stepped down into the water, nodding. “For when you’re alone and no one else is.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “I get it. I used to do that back in high school, only back then, I was also genuinely more interested in studying, or at least, I thought I had to be.”
She hadn’t ever thought of it so literally before, but he was right. When she was sitting in the café or bakery, by herself, it helped to have a book on hand, something to keep her occupied, something to give her an excuse to not be with someone. As for her choice of genre, she couldn’t deny that she liked to believe that romance was possible.
Maybe, she thought, glancing at Doug, even for her.
“I don’t mind being alone,” she said a little defensively. “I just…think my life would be more fulfilling with someone in it.”
She glanced at him as she waded into the cool water, which wasn’t nearly as icy as she’d expected it to be at this point in the summer.
“Not bad, eh?”
“Rather nice,” she admitted, wiggling her toes in the sand.
“But these rogues,” he started again, and she swatted him on the arm as he erupted in laughter. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he begged her off, still sputtering on his amusement. “I just…I don’t think I know exactly what a rogue is.”
She pursed her lips. “You’re making fun of me again.”
His gaze softened. “I’m not making fun of you. I’m just…curious about you. And you have to admit that you’re easy to tease.”
Gabby sucked in a breath, thinking of what her cousin Bella had said, or had it been Brooke? Or both of them? Doug had always singled her out in prom committee and debate club. At the time, she’d assumed it was because he didn’t like her, but now she wondered…
She brushed aside that theory. No. Doug had made every interaction downright miserable. Until lately.
“I suppose I should be grateful that you’re only making fun of my reading selections and not my career choice,” she said.
“I meant what I said today,” Doug said, serious now. “It’s special what you do, Gabby. You have a real impact on someone’s life in a positive way.”
“Oh, well, I’m not out saving lives, but I enjoy it. It really inspires me to share what I love.”
He nodded, growing quiet, and she realized she had just said the L-word again. Was it any wonder no men were asking her out these days? She probably scared them off with all her talk of romance and flowers and love.
“No wonder you were so particular about the centerpieces in prom committee,” he said, giving her a knowing look.
“Hey, I’m still mad at you about rejecting my snow globe theme for the Winter Wonderland prom.”
“Can I make a confession? I really liked that idea.”
She stared at him. She could still remember how excited she had been to present it to the group and how furious she had been when he claimed he couldn’t quite picture it.
“I had to defend my vision with a forty-minute speech along with visuals and a sample!” she all but screeched, even though he was laughing, and she was too. Sort of. “Why would you put me through that if you liked the concept?”
He pulled a face, as if he knew he was in trouble. “I liked seeing you explain it. You were so passionate and excited, and determined.”
Oh. She stepped back, deeper into the water, drawing a circle through the waves with her foot. “I guess I always knew what I wanted to do, even back then.”
“I know,” he said.
“Well, the same goes for you,” she said. “You always wanted to go to college and then law school.”
“I did,” he said, nodding pensively. “And I needed a scholarship to do it. I wanted to go into family law. And I did.”
She frowned. “But you’re a divorce attorney now. Why the change?”
“It’s a natural transition,” he said slowly, “but…after my engagement ended, I guess I felt better suited to it.”
Huh. She waded through the water until she reached the shore, and then dropped down onto the dry sand, careful not to splash her book which was still resting nearby on the rock. “You wanted to help people who felt the same way you did.”
She felt ashamed to think that she’d given him such a hard time, assumed his motive had been cynical, or even
