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 and focus on the necessary work of helping his father and taking over as the heir to the earldom.
For the first time, though, he was aware of a real sense of anticipation for the wedding, something he suspected had nothing to do with Gemma’s happiness and everything to do with his own at being able to spend an evening entirely with Samantha.
Letty would be there to take care of the children. She certainly would never miss Gemma’s wedding. That would leave him free, perhaps, to have a dance or two with Samantha under the moonlight.
Nothing would come of it. She had just told him she wasn’t looking for a relationship. Neither was he, even if such a thing between them was possible. But he was a man and she was a beautiful woman to whom he was fiercely attracted. He wanted to dance with her. Wanted it quite urgently in that moment.
He had a strange, bubbly feeling in his chest. Under other circumstances, he might have even called it...giddy.
They walked down the street toward home, the children obviously tired out from the hike.
“Can we play with the puppies for a moment?” Amelia asked as they approached the house. “We only saw them