When It's Love by Bella Andre, Lucy Kevin Page A

before pushing the kayak out into the water together. He showed her how to use the best grip on her paddle, then pushed them out and climbed in to take his own seat just behind her. His paddling was strong, and when she began to paddle as well, she quickly fell into a rhythm with him.
    “You’re doing great,” Nicholas said. “Now, I'd like to practice some basic turning and stopping before we go any further. We’ll also try a couple of shallow-water drills to practice climbing back in if one of us should fall out.”
    That took up the next half hour, but the time seemed to pass far more quickly than that. Nicholas was such a patient teacher, and to Rachel’s surprise, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to push her into more advanced techniques until she was ready. She had assumed that he would want to get her out onto the open ocean to guide the kayak through the bigger waves. Yet, he simply seemed to be happy being in the shallower waters with her. And the truth was that once she'd gotten over her initial concerns, it was really nice to relax out on the water, moving in perfect harmony as they paddled around the little cove.
    “They thought about using this area as one of the sites for the island docks,” she told him.
    “When was that?”
    “Back in my great-grandfather’s day. It's closer to the berry fields and there aren’t any big rocks on the way in, but the berry pickers who were starting to move to the island liked the current spot better because it is closer to town. From there, it’s a clear shot over to Seattle, so they could get there a little easier on their days off, and it wasn’t as far to bring building materials when they were first setting up.”
    “I love hearing about the history of the island. Is berry picking still a big industry here?”
    “Yes, although these days we also get a lot of artists and marine researchers during whale-migration season.”
    “Speaking of whales, how do you feel about heading out a little further to see if we can spot any?”
    Rachel had done that so many times as a kid, heading out in a small boat looking for whales. She used to love it, whether it was on a friend’s small sailing dinghy or in a rowboat. In fact, she’d spent so much time swimming in the ocean as a kid that people had joked that she must have webbed feet. She could remember plenty of other good times, too. Parties in the caves near the cliffs on the north side. Running and climbing and laughing with a wide circle of friends.
    Of course, back then she had blindly followed—and trusted—her feelings. Which had ended up giving her the amazing gift of her daughter. But, at the same time, it had also been more than a little traumatic when she'd realized that she was going to be a single mother.
    Rachel wouldn't give up Charlotte for anything, but there had been enough pain associated with losing Guy and knowing he didn't want to even see his own child to persuade her to be more careful in the future.
    Much more careful.
    “Actually, do you think you have all the shots you need?”
    “Probably, for today anyway,” Nicholas said, “but I thought you were enjoying this.”
    “I am, but I should get back instead of looking for whales today.” While she’d been paddling with Nicholas, it had been easy to forget about the work she still had to do to make up for being out of the office, the grocery shopping that needed to be done, not to mention the bathroom door that really needed a fresh coat of paint before she went to pick Charlotte up from dance class. “I have a lot of things I need to take care of.”
    “No problem, we can head back now.” Nicholas was already paddling back toward the beach. After they'd gotten out of the kayak and were carrying it up the shore, he said, “Maybe when you're done with everything you need to take care of, we could get dinner?”
    It seemed like such a simple offer, so casual. And, honestly, who wouldn't love to have dinner with a guy who not only