Maybe because I really feel that way, she argued back with herself. Because maybe...if I ever thought there was such a thing as a knight in shining armor, it would have been him.

She didn’t even bother to push the thought away.

Didn’t bother to pretend there wasn’t more swirling around inside of her than simple lust.

Somehow, in the space of a month and a half, she’d gone from disliking Eli immensely to...well, whatever this thing was where she felt like the sun hadn’t really risen until she saw his face.

Whatever you called that.

“Sadie.” Lydia interrupted her train of thought. “I was wondering if you wanted to get brochures for the B and B down to the Chamber. And also, I was wondering if we could put some brochures in the B and B for some other businesses. Tourist attractions, whale-watching excursions, things like that.”

“That would be great!” Sadie said, feeling strangely warm toward Lydia at the moment. Not that she was cold toward her normally, but it was a little awkward to talk to the woman you knew had a thing for the guy you were semi-secretly sleeping with.

“Beneficial for all,” Lydia said. “Oh, there he is!” Her smile broadened when she saw Eli, and Sadie felt a sliver of guilt push its way beneath her skin. Lydia was more Eli’s type. They made sense. She was organized, passionate about the community. Caring.

She wasn’t terrified of interpersonal connection and more likely than your average startled house cat to tear off and hide under the furniture than forge any kind of meaningful relationship with someone.

Except...she and Eli did have a meaningful relationship. She could feel it. She was carrying it around in her chest, and it weighed a ton. And it was effing inconvenient.

“Eli!” Lydia called, waving.

Oh, man. Like it couldn’t get more awkward. Because she and Eli were not a couple, and when she stood near him in front of the general public she didn’t know what to do with her hands. Because they were itching to touch him but she knew she couldn’t.

He walked over to them, looking generally awkward, as awkward as you would expect the guy to feel in the situation.

“Hi,” she said, shoving her hands into her back pockets so they wouldn’t get all feelsy with him.

“Sadie,” he said. “Lydia. How are things going?”

“Great,” Sadie said. “And on your end?”

“Parking area is set. Connor is sober. I consider that a win.”

Sadie winced. “Is Connor going to come?”

Eli shrugged. “I don’t know. I kind of doubt it. Families and things...he doesn’t handle this stuff well.”

“Man,” Sadie said. “I didn’t think of it from that angle. I feel like crap now.”

“Don’t,” he said. “Connor objectively realizes the value in this. Okay, he didn’t say that, but I know he does. He’ll hide away. It’s his deal. Though Liss might be able to draw him out for a while when Jack and Kate ride.”

“I can’t wait to see them,” Lydia said. “Really exciting. It’ll be very fun. We’ve had a lot of calls about this down at the Chamber.”

“That’s great,” Sadie said. “And goes a long way in eliminating my deep fear that I will end up here alone, eating all of the food myself. Which is, in many ways, not a bad fantasy, but...you know. People are investing a lot of time and money in this, and there has to be a good turnout or it just won’t be worth it.”

Eli surprised her by putting his hand on her shoulder. “There will be a big turnout. Because you’ve done an amazing job. And I know I was kind of grumpy about it for a while, but this is great. You did great. And people have already started pouring in.” He slid his palm down her arm, the gesture going from casual encouragement to something that revealed a deeper level of intimacy between them.

And Lydia noticed. Her smile faltered for a moment, and Sadie inwardly cringed.

“Thank you,” Sadie said. “Thank you both for all your help and thanks...Eli, for saying that. I really...tried.” And in spite of herself, she had bonded with this place.

She looked around the picnic area, at the people there. Bud from the gas station sitting with his wife and smiling. Cassie from The Grind was with a very nice-looking man Sadie assumed was the same Jake she talked about with a dreamy smile on her face.

The group of fishermen from Rona’s were there with their families, and their beer. Her old high school friend Brooke with a group of women dressed in cutoff shorts and American-flag T-shirts.

It wasn’t just this place. It was these people.

This man.

And if she was going to do this, be here, she wanted to do it right. She wanted to do it all well.

She sort of hated the pressure that came with it all. The crushing need. So different than a life that wasn’t tied to anything. No anchors holding you back. Nothing to entice you to try. She missed it, in a way. But then, going back to it seemed impossible.

Because...big, cowboy-in-a-uniform-shaped anchor. No matter what looked better or easier, it would never really be easy again. Cutting ties with Eli would be something she regretted. But being with him was damn hard. Because he called her on her BS and made her be serious, made her look in his eyes when she climaxed. Forced her not to joke about her pain, but to speak about it honestly.

He added an uncomfortable level of depth to her life. Discomfiting when she’d tried for so long to stay in the shallows. Bastard.

“You did more than try,” he said. “You succeeded. Now we just need to wait for the place to fill up.”

And it did fill up. It was unbelievable. By the early afternoon they had people everywhere. Eating, laughing, talking. There was a band playing. Ace, the sexy bartender, was serving beer from the portable tap. The barbecues were going strong and adults were laughing while kids danced in the grass with bare feet.

Eli’s three-legged race was a serious hit, and everyone was anxiously awaiting the official barbecue judging, and Jack and Kate’s demonstration.

She noticed Eli standing on the perimeter and walked over to where he was, jabbing him lightly with her elbow. Since, you know, she probably couldn’t kiss him in public.

“You hungry yet?” she asked.

“Starving.”

“Let’s get food. There’s obviously enough. And we earned it.”

“We did,” he said. “Well, you did.”

“Stop it,” she said, leaning into him again and shoving him with her shoulder. “This is your place. And you’ve been a big support. Stop being so nice to me. It’s freaking me out.”

“Am I not nice to you?” he asked.

“You are,” she said. “I think you’ve officially crossed over into being mainly nice to me. Which, considering where we came from, is kind of a huge deal.”

“Well, I know you now. Instead of just thinking I know about you.”

“Same,” she said. “Shall we get our barbecue on?”

They walked through the crowd, Eli periodically smiling and waving at those who called out a greeting, and all she could do was just walk next to him in awe of all that he was to these people. He was a cornerstone, her man. The kind of guy who did good all the time. The kind of guy who’d affected many of the people here in amazing ways.

It was daunting. Daunting that a man like him could have clearly done so much and still feel like he hadn’t done enough.

It was extra daunting because she wasn’t sure if she’d ever made half that impact, even if you cobbled together the things she’d done across all the places she’d lived.