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“I’m questioning whether I should change who my money is on when it comes to your romantic future,” Betty said. “Is he a special friend of yours?”
Faith laughed. “No, not at all. He’s only here for Erica’s wedding. My parents are trying to set us up, but I’d rather not be set up, so Shane has kindly volunteered to help me stave them off.”
“Oh, really?” Betty’s eyes twinkled. “So you and Shane are pretending to be an item? How daring. I’ll spread the word.”
Faith hid a smile. If Betty promised to spread the word, she meant it. Everyone in town would know before dinner, and then they wouldn’t need to worry about anyone accidentally outing them.
Betty winked. “Nice seeing you, dear.” She turned to leave, then seemed to think better of it and shuffled closer, murmuring under her breath, “I always thought I saw something between you two.”
“Oh, n-no,” Faith stammered. “It’s just—"
“Pretend?” Betty asked, cackling. “You keep telling yourself that, dear. Goodbye, now.” With that, she trotted off, leaving Faith a little concerned about exactly what story she’d be spreading.
After Faithand the Walker family parted ways, Shane dropped Hunter off to play with his friend Izzy, then took Dylan to karate in the town hall. The class was run by Hugh MacAllister—the town councilman—and his daughter, Nadia, each of whom held a black belt, although Hugh was too frail to practice beyond the basics anymore. Shane greeted Hugh with a nod and a handshake, while Dylan bowed to him, then Shane took a seat against the wall to watch.
Most of his life was spent working, doing housework, and managing the boys, so when other people were responsible for his kids, he took advantage of the opportunity to have a catnap. He’d become adept at napping on command and drifted off within minutes of closing his eyes. He awoke to a hand on his shoulder.
“Shane? You all good, man?”
He blinked the blurriness from his vision. “Logan?”
His friend hovered in front of him, water dripping from his hair onto a towel wrapped around his shoulders. He wore board shorts and no shirt. In another life, Logan had been a professional surfer, and these days, he was still in the water every chance he got. He ran a surf school and had likely just come from a session at the beach.
“I hear you and Faith are a thing now.”
It took a moment for his meaning to sink in. Shane groaned. “Who told you?”
“Nell.” Logan flashed white teeth and knelt beside the chair. “She dropped by during my last class to share the gossip.”
Nell was a friend of Betty’s and a fellow member of the Bridge Club. He’d seen Betty speaking to Faith at The Shack but hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Perhaps he should have taken more notice.
“Just for the week,” he muttered, scanning the kids until he found Dylan, who was executing some kind of kick. His son was sporty, something Shane personally didn’t have much experience with.
Logan’s smile broadened. “So she said. But she was a little confused as to why.”
“Faith’s mother brought her a blind date for Erica’s wedding.”
Logan laughed but smothered it rapidly when Nadia glared at him across the sea of small people. He lowered his voice. “So you’re her human shield against the matchmaking power of her parents?”
“Basically.”
“Huh.” Logan side-eyed him, and Shane was afraid to ask what was going on in his friend’s head. “You know, I always thought you and Faith would make a cute couple.”
This time, it was Shane’s turn to laugh, and to receive a glare from Nadia in return. He ducked his head in apology. “Faith is so far out of my league, it’s crazy anyone is buying this story in the first place. I’d never have a shot with her.”
“And that,” Logan said meaningfully, “Is exactly what makes you a good match.”
“Yeah, right.” He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Surely Logan knew how absurd it was. “Get your head out of the clouds. The last time I got involved with a woman who was out of my league, she ran off to L.A. to become a movie star. I’d rather not sign up for a repeat.”
“Faith isn’t like Diana,” Logan reminded him, his tone gentle.
Shane tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling and rubbed his eyes. “I know she’s not, but she’s still too good for me.” With a sigh, he met his friend’s sea-glass-blue gaze. “Let’s say I was interested in her. What do I have to offer? I’m older—and not only in years. I have two children, and a home in dire need of upgrading. I’m perpetually tired, haven’t bought a new outfit in as long as I can remember, and any abs I had are long gone.” Letting his arms fall to his sides, he scowled at the sad picture he’d painted of himself. Logan was trying to be a good friend, but Shane didn’t need that. He needed to keep his feet firmly on the ground. Faith was off-limits to him as anything more than a part-time nanny.
Logan whistled. “Whoa, dude. Didn’t realize you felt that way.” He shook his head, flicking Shane with droplets of saltwater. “You need to reevaluate yourself. Half the mums at school have the hots for you.”
Shane huffed, exasperated. “No, they don’t. It’s ridiculous that you all insist otherwise.”
“On days when you’re the traffic warden, there’s twice as many mothers who walk their little monkeys all the way to the gate, just for the chance to flirt with you.”
