Page 101 of Love Bound

It's so funny because Cory picked that up from Chloe, who still doesn’t say much to me. I've heard her say, "I've got a meeting with Finn," using it as an excuse if conversation grows too sticky and trembling with intimacy.

It makes me happy The Inn is a refuge for them both.

"I'm a good rider," Cory says, not looking up. He still pronounces his words in that Elmer Fudd way, with ‘ry-door’ making me smile even more broadly. He shifts the leather lead in his hand like a rein and his hands—sticky with popsicle juice—make this a tacky job.

The breeze is foamy and full, bending the new grass tufted everywhere along the road, the beach, the cliffs. Somewhere, a gas-powered lawnmower is being pushed by an over-zealous gardener, its drone a promise of summer.

"Is Devon off today?" Finn glances around.

"I think so," I say. "I think she's off on Saturdays now."

He starts to laugh. "That's when that David Keller guy is on right? That was the deal? As long as they don’t have to see each other?"

"It's not funny," I say, and Cory looks up at me. "We’re just teasing now," I explain, slowing Salty to a standstill. "Time to slip off, young whippersnapper. You want help?"

"No thank you." Cory drops the lead, which slithers to the ground, then he swings his right leg behind him and—after staying perched for a moment on Salty's wide back—he, too, drops to the ground.

"Good job, my man," says Finn.

Cory pulls at the inside of his pants. "My legs feel stretched out."

There's another, "Hi, guy," behind us and Laurel walks around the corner, a brown shopping bag in her hand. Her wild hair is bunched up in a hair tie and her cheeks are pink.

"So?" I say.

"So, I registered," she says. "I don’t know how I passed the English placement test." Reaching down with her other hand, she cradles Cory's head as Finn walks over and takes the paper bag from her. Now she strokes her son's head with both hands. "Mommy's going to school too, next fall, after summer," she tells him.

We all see him stiffen a little and then she adds, "I know, it scares me too, but you are so brave I thought I should be brave too."

Cory tilts his head up and says in his little sing-song way, "If you can do it, I can do it?" but there's the upturned note of a question at the end.

"Yes. That's exactly right. Here." She extends her arms to take the bag back. "We'll get outta your hair." And I swear, she winks at Finn.

As I slip the lead off Salty and let him nibble at an apple bit, I turn to Finn. "I saw that. What's going on?"

"Why does Devon hate Dave Keller so much?"

It's a long, convoluted story which I can’t believe he hasn't heard. "It's the getting-kicked-off-the-soccer-team-in-high-school thing."

"That was ages ago." He opens the gate for me, and I hang up the halter and lead.

"I know, but it was huge news. He kicked her off the team and she filed a Title IX against him," I explain.

"Wasn't she the only girl on the soccer team?" he asks.

"What's your point? There was no girls' team."

He grabs me around the waist, pressing us together, and heat roils between my legs.

How can he do this to me every single time?

"Your guests can see us," I say, my voice sounding all breathy.

The Inn is open and already welcoming guests. Summer's mostly booked at full capacity. Inside, the wide tamarack tables are gorgeous, and we compromised on those old windows. He went with the Plexiglass.

"Chloe and the crew fed them well. I'm sure they're all off on adventures by now." He dips down for a swift, wet kiss, his musky aftershave wafting as I pull away.

A flutter of pulse beats in his neck and it makes me want him more. "Shouldn't you be helping Nic on some case then?" I question, and the vertical line that appears between his eyes makes me laugh. "Don’t act all innocent with me. I know you've been helping out some."