“You two hit it off that fast? How did you know for sure he was interested in you?”
“Besides the fact that he wouldn’t leave?” Steph laughed. “He came back at opening the very next day and asked me out to dinner.”
“Oh, I see. What if I’m not sure if my time with him was a date or not?”
Steph leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Do you mean with Logan the other night when you were here for ice cream?”
Shelby nodded and then sipped her drink without making eye contact.
“Well, from my perspective, you two looked like you were having a pretty good time.”
Shelby’s heart fluttered, then wilted. “But I haven’t heard from him in the last few days.”
Because it had been Father’s Day weekend, Logan had told her that his family never knew if his dad would make it home for the holiday. Maybe that was why Shelby hadn’t seen Logan and his brother playing basketball in the street. Maybe his father had made it back for the holiday weekend after all. It was not a holiday Shelby had ever celebrated.
Shelby stared out at the inviting water. “I was thinking of going down to the lake today and kind of hanging out, reading near the lifeguard station.”
“Hmmm, let me think,” Steph said. “Always works to play a little hard to get. Sit near, but not too close.”
“What if he doesn’t talk to me?”
“Of course he will. Logan knows a pretty, and super nice, girl when he sees one. Josh came on a bit strong at first and I backed up. He took the hint and gave me a little space. Later he told me it was really difficult because he wanted to be with me every minute.”
“That’s so romantic,” Shelby said. She thought about Logan leaving for college in September and how hard it would be to say goodbye. That is, if she was still there herself. “What happened when Josh left for college?”
“I won’t kid you, it wasn’t easy,” Steph said. “My dad was ill by then, so I started managing the shop. We kept a long-distance relationship going somehow, even with both of us so busy. As soon as Josh graduated, he showed up on my doorstep, dropped to a knee, and proposed marriage.”
“Really? What did you say?”
“I said, ‘But you don’t even live here yet.’ He took me in his arms and said that was his next stop, renting a house.”
Shelby laughed, imagining Logan on one knee. “A storybook romance, for sure.”
Steph’s smile faded. “Most of the time. My dad retired and now we own the shop and that takes up a lot of time. And I’d like to start having a family.”
“That’s great,” Shelby said, then noticed a shadow cross her new friend’s face. “Does Josh feel the same?”
Steph shook her head slowly. “Josh says we’re not ready yet. But he doesn’t have any idea when he will be.” With that, Steph exhaled with a sigh, stood, and started clearing off their table. “All will work out, right?” she said with a shrug.
Shelby hoped Josh would come around soon. They were such a sweet couple.
“Let me help with that,” Shelby said, starting to clear the table.
“You go,” Steph said, waving her away. She winked at Shelby. “Have a good swim.”
When Shelby got to the lake, the first thing she noticed was that Logan was supervising some kind of training out in the water. Another lifeguard was at his station. She was proud of herself that she kept her distance and enjoyed a swim. And of course, watched him covertly when he wasn’t looking. Not surprising, he was a very strong swimmer. She checked in her bag to see if there were any calls on the new cell phone. None. She’d only given the number out to her clients so far. The afternoon was peaceful as she read her book for a while, and then closed her eyes to relax.
She felt a shadow block the sun from her body and opened her eyes to see Logan standing there, wet hair slicked back and water droplets glistening on his firm, bronze body.
“Hello,” he said.
Shelby leaned up, balancing herself on her elbows. Logan perched down beside her. “Sorry I haven’t had time to talk today,” he said. “Training duty.”
“Of course,” she said.
“I only have a short break. But I wanted to come over and say hello.”
“Hey, Logan, who’s the cute girl?”
Logan’s head snapped over to the two young guys smirking and eyeing Shelby. “Move