A Lot Like Love

by Jennifer Snow

  It wasn’t fine. But he’d promised Kelly that he’d take care of their daughter, and she was only nine. She hadn’t been away from home like that before. Two weeks was a really long time. What if she was homesick or scared? What if she got sick? And the age group of the camp went all the way to eighteen. He didn’t like the idea of her at a sleepaway camp with older kids. Older boys in particular.

  “There’s always next year.” She took the brochure from him, folded it, and put it into her backpack. Then she stood. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

  Damn. “Hey, I’ll break for lunch soon, and we can have a picnic on the beach. The ice cream cart should be setting up down there soon.” Ice cream hardly made up for disappointing her, but there was nothing else he could do. He had to think about her well-being and safety…that didn’t always include the things she wanted.

  “Sounds great,” she said with a smile that was definitely forced.

  Wes sighed as he watched her head off toward the backyard of the B&B. Was he doing the right thing? How on earth was he supposed to know? It was major decisions like this that always had him feeling at a disadvantage being a single parent. At least when Kelly was alive, they made decisions together; he had someone to discuss things with, bounce ideas off. Somedays he felt completely alone navigating this whole parenting thing.

  “She okay?” Sarah asked, joining him at the side of the house. She nodded toward Marissa as his daughter sat on the swing inside the gazebo.

  Wes nodded. Sarah had no doubt heard their conversation, with all the windows being open. “She’s just disappointed that she can’t go to STEM camp this summer.” He started to reclimb the ladder, needing to put some distance between himself and the two women causing him varying degrees of conflict. “She’ll be okay,” he said, hoping it was true.

  “Is it the one in Long Beach?” Sarah asked.

  It didn’t surprise him that she knew about it. He nodded. “Yep.”

  “That’s not that far away,” she said.

  His spine stiffened. “She’s only nine.” Not that he needed to explain this to her. She didn’t have kids, so he didn’t expect her to get it.

  “You were only seven or eight when you started going away to football camp, weren’t you? And those camps were in Arizona,” she said.

  How on earth did she remember that? He shook his head. “That was different,” he said as he started hammering again.

  “How?”

  Was she seriously still standing there, challenging him on his decision-making regarding his daughter? “She’s not ready to be that far away from home on her own yet.”

  “She sounded ready…”

  “Sarah!” The hammer hit the roof a little too hard, and his voice was a little too loud, but damn, the woman was driving him wild. “It’s a family issue,” he said, quieter but firmly.

  She nodded, taking the hint. “Right. Absolutely.”

  Wes sighed as he watched her disappear back inside the inn. He felt bad enough. Now he also felt like a hypocrite. Sarah wasn’t wrong. He’d started to go away for camp for a lot longer at a younger age. But his parents hadn’t had the same fears he did as a single dad. His parents had barely had time to even realize whether he was around or not. They’d shown their love with money. He was trying to be the caring, protective father he never had.

  Unfortunately, even his voice of reason was starting to sound unfair.

  …

  She’d overstepped and hadn’t even realized she was doing it. Raising a child wasn’t something she knew anything about, but it couldn’t be easy.

  Especially not alone.

  Standing in the kitchen, Sarah stared out the window, across the yard at Marissa, reading a book on the swing, and her chest ached for her. Her parents had never agreed to send Sarah to camps like STEM as a child, either. They hadn’t wanted to encourage her passion for all things nerdy. They weren’t bad parents; they simply didn’t get her. Instead, they’d always tried to change her, forcing her to get outside with the other kids, put down the book, get away from the computer screen. They never understood her. While she didn’t think that was the case with Wes, she got Marissa’s disappointment.

  Grabbing two Popsicles from the freezer, she went outside and crossed the yard to the gazebo. “Hey, Marissa…can I join you?”

  The little girl shrugged. “It’s your swing.”

  With her strawberry-blond hair and emerald-green eyes, Marissa looked exactly like Kelly. She had Wes’s height, though, and looked older than her nine years. This was the first time Sarah had met her. She’d been polite and sweet when Wes had made the introductions that morning, but Sarah could sense she wasn’t thrilled about being at work with her father that day.

  Sarah handed her a Popsicle and sat on the old, faded cushions. Using her foot, she pushed off, swinging the chair gently.

  “Thanks,” Marissa said.

  “So your dad mentioned that you’re into science and technology?” Wes hadn’t said much at all, but the book on advanced coding the little girl was reading gave it away.

  Marissa nodded, peeling the frozen treat.

  “That’s kinda what I do for a living. The technology part anyway.”

  Marissa glanced at her, her interest piqued. “Really?”

  “I work for a digital marketing company in L.A. creating apps for different businesses.” Which she should be working on right now. Unfortunately, she couldn’t blame the inn for the distraction. She was stuck. She had no idea how to revise the proposal to something Gail wanted or the client wanted. The inn was an excuse to avoid it.

  Marissa put the book down and turned to face her. “I made an app,” she said, excitement in her voice.

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, it’s a sports app for my dad to help him organize the Little League teams better—it takes attendance and keeps a schedule of all the weekly games, player positions, that kind of thing.”

  “Impressive. I bet it saves him a lot of time,” Sarah said.

  “It would if he used it,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “He’s old-school and prefers his clipboard.”

  Come on, Wes! His daughter creates a program to make his life easier and he refuses to use it? Sounded like poor time management and also a way to create a gap between father and daughter, but who was she to judge? She had no idea what their lives were like. “Well, maybe I can help you make it available to other coaches,” she said, ignoring the voice in her mind that warned her about getting involved in Wes’s business or too close to a little girl she could easily adore. She sensed that Marissa could use a friend—someone who understood her.

  “You’d help me with that?” Her eyes widened, and Sarah was happy that maybe she’d helped to ease the disappointment about camp just a little.

  Maybe she could ease it a lot. And maybe the little girl might be able to help her with her own dilemma. She was a kid, after all. Who better to advise Sarah on technology that kids would want to use?

  She hesitated briefly, then decided to go for it before she could overthink. “Hey, how would you like to be my intern this summer? Help me with my app programming and I can help you get yours to market?”

  Marissa’s eyes lit up as though Sarah had just given her a new puppy. “Really? You’d help me sell my app?”

  Sarah nodded. “If you want to…”

  “I do!” Her head bobbed up and down so fast, it looked like it might pop off.

  Sarah laughed. “Great…so start tomorrow?”

  “Not right now?” The little girl’s pout immediately reminded Sarah of Wes, and she felt an inexplicable tug at her heart. A terrifying, unsafe tug…

  “We should probably talk to your dad about it first.” That realization came a few minutes too late. Hopefully Wes wouldn’t have an issue with this. It would be tough if she’d offered a consolation to Marissa only to h
ave him shoot it down. And her own job might be dependent on this collaboration. If she didn’t get something impressive to Gail soon, she could kiss the pending promotion goodbye.

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Marissa said. “I’ll ask him at lunchtime after he has his ice cream. Sugar always makes him more agreeable.”

  Sarah laughed as she got up from the swing but paused as Marissa reached out to touch her hand.

  “Hey, Sarah, thank you,” she said.

  And that little tug at her heart wasn’t so little anymore.

  Chapter Seven

  Wes climbed the stairs to the living quarters of the B&B after lunch. From the hallway outside the master bedroom, he saw Sarah sitting at her laptop at the desk. She’d changed into jean shorts and a tank top, and her long, tanned legs stretched out under the desk, her pale-seafoam-green-painted toes stealing his focus. Had those legs always been that shapely? His mouth was slightly dry and his palms were clammy.

  He hesitated. Maybe he should come back. She looked busy.

  Nope, he had to do this now.

  He knocked on her open door, and she looked nervous when she turned to see him standing in the entrance. “Hi…”

  “Hi.” Just say thank you and go back to work. He cleared his throat. “So, good news, there’s no sign of termites, just wood rot.” So he was postponing his gratitude. Truth was, he was still feeling conflicted about Sarah’s offer to let Marissa work with her that summer. Not about letting Marissa do it. Hell, he hoped to avoid having to say no to Marissa again for quite some time to make up for the camp disappointment. But he was torn between his gratitude toward Sarah and a reluctance to start letting his guard down around her.

  He was already attracted to her, and this situation could become…dangerous. He had no intentions of opening himself up to a woman who hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy toward him since he’d rescued her from a staircase. Or one hell-bent on getting back to her life in the city as quickly as possible.

  “Oh, great,” she said. “I was seriously freaked out thinking those little creatures were eating through the place.”

  “Yeah. Well, they’re not. So that’s a relief.” He stared at his work boots and licked his upper lip. Should he say something about his reaction to her prodding into his life earlier? He hadn’t meant to lose his cool. “Hey, sorry about earlier.”

  “No, it wasn’t my place to say anything.”

  “Still, I shouldn’t have gotten so upset.” He paused. “Marissa told me what you did…offering her an internship.”

  Her expression was one of regret. “Did I overstep again? The offer just came out, but I’m sorry, I should have asked you first,” she said quickly.

  “No! No, it’s fine.” He cleared his throat again. “It’s actually really amazing of you to do that for her.” His gaze locked on hers, and the heat radiating through him had nothing to do with the un-air-conditioned room. How had he never noticed how dark brown her eyes were? Or the bright starburst pattern around the center? It was all he could see now.

  Sarah’s chest rose and fell in relief, and she looked away first. “It was nothing. I could actually use the help with some of my coding…a few things I’m working on. A different perspective of sorts.”

  “Well, thank you. Again.” He didn’t know what else to say other than that. She couldn’t possibly understand the impact her offer to help Marissa had on him. He couldn’t quite understand it himself. Marissa hadn’t had a female role model in quite some time, especially not someone as smart and amazing as Sarah, and Wes sensed his daughter might be needing exactly this.

  “Sure,” she said. “And thanks for the good news…about the termites.”

  He nodded and turned to leave.

  Just go. You apologized and said thank you.

  He turned back. “It’s not that I don’t think it’s amazing what she can do.” For some reason, he felt the need to explain that. “She’s super smart and I’m really proud. I just…” He ran a hand through his hair and released a slow, deep breath. “I just can’t relate to it, and I’m not sure how to connect with her. I know sports. I know the outdoors. I know working with my hands.” He shrugged. “Computers and technology aren’t my thing.”

  Sarah looked surprised by his openness. “You don’t have to share her interests or know anything about it… Just maybe support her and ask her about it? I’m sure she’d love to show you the things she’s working on sometime,” she said carefully.

  “I can do that.” He entered the room. “Maybe you can show me something first…you know, just so I don’t seem completely dense. Maybe teach me some buzz words I could use to at least sound like I know what she’s talking about?”

  “Sure.” Sarah laughed, and the sound hit him square in the chest. Her smile was mesmerizing. It wasn’t the grin she wore when she knew she was getting the better of him or the grimace she wore when she seemed to be struggling to tolerate being around him when they had differing opinions about the inn, but a genuine smile. One that brought him back to when they used to be friends.

  If he was a smarter man, it would have sent him running out of the room.

  Instead, he pulled the armchair toward the desk and sat next to her. His shoulder brushed against hers as he moved the chair closer to look at her computer screen. He swallowed hard; the feel of his solid shoulder muscle against her soft bare skin had him experiencing a buzz of electricity through his entire body. He didn’t move away.

  If she was as affected by the contact, she hid it well as she turned her laptop toward him and clicked an icon on the screen. “So, this is called coding. It’s the back-end programming on all the apps.”

  He nodded. “I know what apps are.”

  “That’s a start.” She shot him a smile, then clicked over the design, demonstrating how she created different elements of the program she was working in.

  He wouldn’t lie and say he was following it exactly, but it was interesting. “Wow, that’s actually pretty cool.”

  She smiled. “It really is, and if Marissa is already designing her own at such a young age, with the right training and guidance, she could create something great.”

  He nodded, his gaze locking on hers and holding. She was gorgeous and smart and all the things he knew someday he’d be looking for in a new partner. A role model Marissa could look up to. His heart pounded and his mouth was dry. Was he ready to find that person now? He hadn’t really given it much thought…

  Sarah continued to stare at him, and the mood around them seemed to shift as he found himself unable to tear his gaze away. Those damn dark eyes were captivating, and the high cheekbones and soft contours of her face had him leaning slightly closer. Those full, pink lips seemed to be luring him in…

  A buzzing sound on the desk made her jump, and he immediately backed away. The spellbinding moment shattered as the vibrating cell phone continued.

  “My phone,” she said, reaching for it, her cheeks blushing. “My boss. I have to get this.”

  “Right,” he said as he stood and moved the armchair to the corner. “I should get back to work.” He paused at the doorframe. “Thanks again for showing me and for the advice.”

  “No problem. Anytime,” she said, her voice sounding slightly hoarse.

  Wes escaped the room and took the stairs two at a time as he descended, needing fresh air to clear the fog surrounding him.

  Not falling for the woman who was not only creating a stir in his own healing heart but who was also making his daughter happy wouldn’t be a problem at all.

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning at 8:55, Marissa was eager to get started. She’d brought along her dinosaur of a laptop and at least a dozen workbooks she’d made notes in regarding her app.

  Detailed and organized—Sarah didn’t think she could like the kid any more than she did.

  “Oh my God! Are th
ese all yours?” Marissa’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning, eyeing Sarah’s two laptops, her iPad, and her phone on the desk.

  “You should see my setup in my home office,” she said, feeling a tinge of guilt for not being in said office. But it wasn’t the location causing her distraction the past few days. It was Wes Sharrun. The day before, she’d been 99 percent sure that he was about to kiss her. The way his gaze had lingered on her face, the way he’d started to lean in closer, the way his breathing had changed…

  She wasn’t an expert on men or dating, but they had definitely shared a moment.

  Of course the moment had been interrupted. But what if it hadn’t? Would he have kissed her? Would she have kissed him back? And what the hell would it have meant? She’d caught his stare a few times the day before, but she’d assumed it was simply gratitude about her offer to help Marissa that had his expression softening and his grumbling over her upgrades to subside.

  Was there more to it than that?

  All night, she’d driven herself to distraction wondering. Unfortunately, that morning, he’d been back to his old self, focused on the job.

  “Okay, show me what you’ve been working on,” she said as Marissa set her own stuff down.

  Marissa opened her account on Android Studio and typed in her access code and password. Immediately, her app in Kotlin language appeared on the screen.

  Impressive. She’d thought the little girl would be using some kid-friendly coding program, not the highest-level-technology app-building system on the market. She moved her chair closer to examine Marissa’s work. “This is really good,” she said.

  Marissa beamed. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Like almost ready to go to market good,” Sarah said. She turned to look at Marissa. “Where did you learn to do this?”

  “I took a few courses at school…but mostly I taught myself. A lot of reading and playing around with the program.”

  “Well, you must be a fast learner. What are you, ten?”