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“The sun is in my eyes.”
“Wear sunglasses,” he said, like the solution was obvious.
If only all her problems had such easy solutions.
“Good idea,” she replied. “Do you want to stay on the deck or come down on the beach with me?”
“I can’t go on the beach without my floaties on.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll have your dad put those on you.” It seemed self-explanatory but maybe there was a right way and a wrong way to put his safety swim gear on him. “Let me go get him.”
She opened the slider and popped her head only inside the house. Sullivan was stripping his T-shirt off. Damn it. She didn’t want to see his bare chest. His smooth, muscular, broad, and very manly chest.
Focus, Edwina.
“Finn needs his floaties. I didn’t see them in the bag.”
Sullivan’s head emerged from the cotton of his shirt. His hair was in his eyes. He flipped it back. “They’re in the back seat on the floor. I’ll grab them.”
“I put sunscreen on him already.”
“Awesome, thanks. Be right back.”
Astrid was putting tortilla chips on a platter but she glanced over at Edwina.
“Do you need some help with that, Astrid?” she asked.
“No, no, I’m fine. You stay with Finn.”
“Okay.”
Astrid smiled. She watched Sullivan go out the front door then spoke. “You’re good with him, you know. It’s important for him to have some positive female influence in his life.”
The words made her uncomfortable. She was not good with Sullivan. She was nothing with Sullivan and he had decided his life was made up of parenting Finn and meaningless sex on the side.
“I’m notwithhim,” she said. “Sullivan and I are just friends. That’s all.”
Astrid’s eyebrows rose. “I meant that you’re good with Finn.”
Oh. RIght. Edwina’s cheeks got hot. “Um, yes, he’s a great kid. Sullivan has done an amazing job as a single dad.”
“Mm-hm.” She popped a tortilla chip in her mouth. “Chip?” She held out the bag.
Edwina reached her hand in the bag and snagged a couple of chips. Her foot was in her mouth, she might as well stuff it full of chips too. At least then she had an excuse not to talk.
“I’ll come down to the beach with you,” Astrid said. She peeled her overalls off and draped them over the kitchen chair so she was in just her bikini. She moved the platter with the chips and salsa to the table and then followed Edwina to the slider and onto the deck.
Edwina saw Jesse was on the deck with Finn now. He must have gone out the front door and around the back because he had an inner tube in his hand. He also had a length of rope, which he looped around the deck railing to make an extended lease for the puppy. Sullivan rounded the house with Finn’s safety vest. She realized she never would have found that. She had been envisioning a pair of arm inflatables.
“The guys have all this under control,” Astrid told her, pulling some towels out of a plastic storage bin on the deck. “Let’s go down by the water.”
“I’d love to.”
Edwina would have preferred to just dive into the lake, but it was clear as they walked down the steps to the beach, Astrid wanted to talk.
“I’ve traveled a lot, but isn’t it crazy I’ve never been to New York? I guess it’s because I tend to prefer hiking and camping trips over urban tourism.”
“If you ever do make it there, let me know, I’ll give you the grand tour.” Edwina took a towel from Astrid and spread it out on the sand. She sat down and unsnapped her denim shorts.
