Page 36 of The Cherry Blossom Boathouse

Her hands weren’t idle either, sliding under his shirt to explore the muscles of his back, blunt nails scraping lightly down his spine in a way that made him growl against her throat.

“We should—” he started, then had to pause when her hips shifted against his, sending a fresh wave of desire coursing through him. “We should go somewhere.”

“Yes,” she agreed breathlessly. “Anywhere.”

“My place,” he managed, already picturing her spread across his bed, dark hair fanned out against his pillow. “It’s…stable.”

She nodded and he reluctantly pulled back enough to take her hand. They were both breathing hard, disheveled in a way that would make their activities perfectly clear to anyone they encountered. Luke couldn’t bring himself to care. Let the whole damn town talk. Right now, all that mattered was getting Sophie back to his boathouse as quickly as possible.

They’d only made it a few yards down the path when a sound cut through the night. A loud, urgent whistle that Luke recognized immediately as the town’s emergency signal.

His head snapped up, eyes scanning the shoreline.

“What is that?” Sophie asked.

“Emergency signal,” Luke replied, already spotting the source of the commotion. Beyond the curve of the main shore, an orange glow flickered against the night sky. Fire.

“Is that—”

“The island,” Luke confirmed, his jaw tightening as he made out the unmistakable signs of flames licking upward from the trees.

Jake appeared on the path, face grim in the moonlight.

“Luke, where the hell have you been, man?” he said, slightly out of breath. Then he paused, catching sight of Sophie. “Ah, I see. Look, we need your boat. Fastest way to get the crew out there. Tommy and Davis are bringing the portable pumps so we can load ’em onto it and get the hell over there.”

Luke turned to Sophie. Moments ago, he’d been ready to carry her back to his bed without a second thought. Now duty was calling, as it always did in Solace Springs. “Sophie, I—”

“You should go,” she said immediately.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised.

Jake was already jogging back to the docks. Luke gave Sophie’s hand one last discreet squeeze before following, his mind now fully focused on the task ahead.

Fifteen

Sophie

Sophie stood at the edge of the dock as Luke’s boat disappeared into the darkness, the distant orange glow on the island reflecting off the water. Around her, the festival had shifted from celebratory to concerned, clusters of people gathering at the shoreline to watch the drama unfold across the lake.

“Well, that’s one way to end a snog session,” she muttered to herself, arms wrapped tightly around her middle. Her lips still tingled from Luke’s kisses, her body humming with frustration and lingering desire. Trust her to finally throw caution to the wind only to have the universe immediately douse said wind with a bucket of cold reality.

“So…You and Luke Rhodes.”

Sophie turned to find Mabel beside her with a knowing smile playing on her lips.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sophie replied with what she hoped was convincing innocence. “We were just discussing…boathouse renovations.”

“Uh-huh.” Mabel handed her a cup of steaming liquid that smelled suspiciously like her potent punch, this time warmed up. “Is that what they’re calling it these days? Because from where I was standing, it looked like you were conducting a very thorough inspection of each other’s tonsils beneath the McCauley cherry tree.”

Sophie’s cheeks flamed. “Oh God. Who else saw?”

“Relax.” Mabel laughed. “Half the town is either too drunk on my punch or too distracted by the mysterious island fire to notice. Though I should warn you that Margaret has excellent night vision for an octogenarian and she’s not as discreet as I am.”

“Brilliant,” Sophie groaned, taking a sip of the punch. The warmth slid down her throat, settling in her stomach with a pleasant burn. “So much for my reputation as a serious businesswoman.”

“Please. This is Solace Springs. Your reputation would be more suspect if you didn’t occasionally lock lips with a local.” Mabel nudged Sophie’s shoulder playfully. “And as locals go, Luke Rhodes is definitely top-tier snogging material, as you Brits would say.”

“I’ll have that embroidered on a pillow,” Sophie replied drily, though she couldn’t help the small smile that crept across her face. “God, Mabel. What am I doing? I’ve known him all of a week.”