about with the most exciting new arrival to hit Haven Point in a long time, tongues are going to wag, my dear.”
Well, she had to agree on one point at least. Ian Summerhill was exciting. She wasn’t sure her heart rate had settled down yet, hours after that seductive kiss. Even now, sitting with Kat after her friend had spontaneously invited her over for dinner, Sam was having a hard time focusing on anything but the memories she couldn’t seem to shake.
Those were her memories, though, and she didn’t want anybody else in town ruining them with prurient gossip.
“The busy tongues in Haven Point can mind their own business. There’s nothing going on between me and Ian Summerhill.”
It wasn’t precisely true but she wasn’t prepared to divulge anything more to Katrina.
Her best friend had enough on her plate right now and far more important things to worry about than Sam’s pathetic love life problems.
“Nothing? Are you sure? Apparently you’re getting along well enough with him that you were even willing to go out into nature to enjoy our gorgeous surroundings,” Katrina teased.
Though they had been BFFs since they were in grade school, she and Katrina had always had different tastes. Katrina was far more outdoorsy than Sam, frequently taking advantage of the lake and the mountains to kayak, ski, hike. Her friend’s latest craze was stand-up paddle boarding, which Sam had tried with minimal success.
“You know I’m happiest with my sketchbook and a good TV show,” Sam said.
She had a sudden mental picture of Ian sitting by the fire somewhere in England, maybe wearing a nubby Irish fisherman’s sweater—jumper, he would call it—his hair a little messy and a distracted look in his eyes. She would be sitting beside him, sketching a new design while she alternated between watching him and watching the children playing a game on the floor at their feet.
Yearning swelled through her at the imaginary scene until she caught herself and pushed the picture away.
She had to cut this out. She was not destined for a future with Ian and his children. There was no possible way anything would work out between them and she had to get that straight in her head now before she started weaving all kinds of dangerous fantasies.
Starry-eyed Samantha. She couldn’t seem to stop spinning impossible dreams.
“I’m glad you tore yourself away from your sewing machine long enough to go with them. Summer feels so fleeting this year, for some reason.”
Their winters could be harsh here on the lake, which was one reason locals tended to cram as much outdoor recreation as possible into every available moment until the snow began to fly again.
By the time frosty mornings returned to the lake, Ian and his children would be gone. She tried to ignore the sharp pang in her heart.
With the uncanny perception that came from years of close friendship, Katrina gave her a careful look. “You like this guy, don’t you?” she asked, her voice soft.
To her horror, Sam’s throat felt tight, achy. She ruthlessly swallowed down the emotion. “I barely know Ian. But yes. He seems very nice and his children are so sweet.” She did her best to sound brisk, businesslike. “Unlike Gemma, however, he won’t be uprooting his life to take a job in a new country. And since I have a life here and am not a fan of long-distance relationships, pursuing anything more than a friendship between us is kind of pointless, isn’t it?”
Katrina gave her careful look. Her friend knew her better than anyone else on earth. Even better than Linda had. Katrina knew how much Sam longed for a family of her own. She yearned for a man who would love her without restraint and would never leave her, children she would treat with kindness and respect, cherishing every moment she had with them instead of constantly finding fault and criticizing.
She wouldn’t be able to bear it if Katrina said anything about that right now so she quickly changed the subject. “Did the gossips also tell you Gemma’s parents are in town? They showed up a week before they were expected.”
Kat shook her head. “Interesting. I hadn’t heard that news. Apparently it hasn’t made the rounds yet.”
“They’ve only been in town a few hours. Give it time.”
Kat smiled. “Are they staying with Ian and his children?”
“No. They’re staying at a cottage near Gemma’s house. Their names are Margaret and Henry and they seem charming, just as you would expect Gemma’s parents to be. Their