Return To Rose Cottage: The Laws of Attraction

“We can tie it up to the boat.” He gestured toward the paddle that was drifting rapidly away. “You won’t get far without that paddle, anyway.”

“Story of my life lately,” she muttered, but she held out her hand to take his, then managed to gingerly climb into the rowboat. “You’re very brave, you know.”

“For taking you in like this?”

“Exactly. I’m obviously a danger to myself and everyone around me.”

“Something tells me that’s a relatively new condition,” he said, keeping his gaze away from her, hoping she would feel free to tell him what was going on that had her behaving with what he suspected was uncharacteristic carelessness.

“I suppose,” she conceded.

To his disappointment, she stopped right there. He decided not to press. Instead he asked, “Know how to bait a hook?”

She regarded him skeptically. “With what?”

“Shrimp.”

She nodded. “That’s okay, then. If you’d said worms, I’d have jumped overboard and swum home.”

“Squeamish, huh?”

“No, absolutely not,” she said at once, rising to the challenge with predictable indignation.

“Some sort of animal-rights stance?” he taunted.

A faint flicker of amusement lit her eyes for the first time since they’d met.

“Hardly,” she said. “They’re just… I guess messy de scribes it.”

“Then I can assume you won’t be cleaning any fish we catch for supper?”

“I don’t expect to catch any,” she said, even as she gingerly dangled the baited hook over the side of the boat, then studied the line with total concentration. After a minute, she glanced at him and asked, “Do you do this every day?”

“Every day I can. I get some of my best thinking done out here on the bay.”

“You’re not bored?” she asked wistfully.

Josh bit back a grin. Maybe that was the trouble with Ms. Ashley D’Angelo. She didn’t know the first thing about relaxing. Even now on this beautiful fall day surrounded by some of the most glorious scenery on earth, she was obviously edgy and uptight.

He studied her intently for a minute, trying not to let his gaze linger on those endless bare legs. He certainly couldn’t spot any other flaws. Maybe he could help her work on the relaxation thing.

“I’m never bored,” he told her. “I like my own company.”

“No significant other?”

“I’ve been seeing a woman,” he admitted. “But I’ve just recently reached the conclusion that she’s not significant. She’s a great woman, just not right for me. We broke it off last night.”

“Last night?” she asked, obviously startled.

“I called her after I got home from dinner at your sister’s.”

She seemed to be wrestling with that information. He waited to see if she’d ask if there was a connection, but she didn’t.

After studying him with undisguised curiosity, she eventually asked, “How did you conclude that the relationship was over?”

“I was faced with fishing or cutting bait, so to speak. It was time to get married…or not. I couldn’t see myself with her forever. Fortunately, as it turned out, she couldn’t see that, either.”

“Is there something wrong with her?”

“Absolutely not. She’s beautiful, intelligent, well-connected. She’ll be a dream wife for the right man.”

“But not you?”

“Not me,” he confirmed.

“If beautiful, intelligent and well-connected aren’t right for you, then what kind of woman do you want?”

“I’m still figuring that out,” he admitted. “Offhand, though, I’d have to say one who’s comfortable in her own skin, someone who knows who she is and what she wants.”

“And this woman isn’t like that?”

“She is.” He shrugged. “But the sparks weren’t there. Who knows why that happens? Seems to me that love is just as mysterious as all the philosophers have claimed it is.”

She seemed to deflate a little at that. If they hadn’t just met, Josh would have said she was actually disappointed.

“That whole bit about being comfortable with who and what you are would definitely let me out,” she said a little too brightly.

“Going through an identity crisis?” Josh asked, relieved to finally have something specific to work with to try to figure her out.

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

“Welcome to the club.”

“You, too?”

Josh nodded. “But I’m not going to worry about it today. Neither should you. Relax and maybe the answers will come to you when your mind’s clear of all the clutter.”

“Relax?” she said again, as if it were a foreign concept.

Josh chuckled. “Like this,” he explained patiently. “Lean back.”

He waited until she’d followed his directions. “Okay, then. Now pull the brim of your hat down low to shade your eyes.”

She did that, her expression totally serious.

“Now close your eyes and concentrate on the water lapping against the side of the boat,” he suggested soothingly. “Feel the sun on your skin.”

She sighed. “It feels wonderful.”