Summer at Oyster Bay: A gorgeous feel good summer romance by Jenny Hale Page A

hanging low in the sky, and the water spraying out on either side of the boat as they hit the open bay, she headed for a small island. The island was so narrow, Emily could walk from one side to the other. She’d gone with Rachel as a girl—Papa would take them. They’d sit there in the sand all afternoon, watching the sailboats dock out in the water. She remembered the masses of white sails, and how they looked like angel wings.
    Charlie was sitting quite straight in the seat beside her, the wind whipping his hair wildly. It made her smile. The flapping of his shirt in the wind, his bare feet, and the fact that he kept looking over at her was playing with her mind. He was so handsome that she almost forgot they were supposed to be doing business.
    “When do you have your meeting with Rocky?” she called loudly above the noise of the boat’s motor.
    Charlie turned his wrist to view the time on his Rolex. “Five o’clock tomorrow,” he said. “I’d like you to come with me.” He looked over at her again.
    “Okay,” she said, a mixture of emotions swimming through her. She wasn’t quite sure what to do now. She hadn’t had a chance to speak to Rocky yet and hear his side to find out why they were putting on the breaks. But then she relaxed a bit. She’d only told Charlie she’d help him understand Rocky; she hadn’t said she’d take Charlie’s side. And it would be nice to go to dinner with Rocky. She hadn’t seen him or his wife Elizabeth in so long.
    Emily slowed the boat down as they approached land. The little island had no trees, the center a slight hill, the sea grasses growing at an upward climb. A beach with the softest sand she could remember ever feeling encircled the whole island. Emily allowed the boat to slide up near the beach, just enough that she could hop off the side. The water splashed up on her dress when she jumped down.
    “Hang on,” she said, standing ankle deep in the water. “I’ll pull the boat up on the shore and you can step onto the sand.” She worried about his expensive clothes. He looked as though he wasn’t sure, like he wanted to take charge, but he didn’t know what needed to be done. With the water’s help, Emily pulled the boat by its side handles and dragged it up until it stopped in the sand.
    “You should’ve let me do that for you,” he said, hopping down.
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know. It just seems right that I help you off the boat.”
    She smiled, flattered by his manners. “Well, I was taught how to get the boat on the shore as a child. I’m used to it. Wanna take a walk?”
    Charlie stepped up beside her and she led him toward the grass, where a footpath emerged.
    “This is beautiful,” he said, looking around between steps, noticeably watching to protect his bare feet from obstacles on the path.
    They reached the other side of the island, and just as she’d expected, the view was outstanding. The sun sparkled off the water, and everywhere she looked were sailboats, their white sails fighting against the wind. It was so spectacular that her breath caught. In that moment, for no reason at all, the past three years in Richmond ran through her mind—coming home to Brad, how they’d been looking for a new couch together, the plant in the kitchen that he always forgot that probably needed watering, the spot on the coffee table where he left his coffee cup every day, and the moment when she realized her heart just wasn’t in it. Looking back on it all as she stood here, it was as though she had been drowning and she could only now catch her breath.
    “Are you okay?” Charlie asked, and she noticed her breathing and her pounding heart.
    “Yes,” she said with a smile. “I was just thinking…” She sat down on the dune and looked up at him because he seemed to be deliberating on what to do. After a moment, he followed her lead, putting his knees up, his bare feet masculine against the gentle sand.
    “What were you thinking about?”
    “I