His dare was one he’d thought she’d never take him up on, but she’d surprised the hell out of him. Discovering that she had a wilder, less reserved side had him wondering what else he was missing when he looked at her. What other qualities was she hiding from the rest of the world? He’d found himself intrigued by her that night in a way he hadn’t expected.

Then, when he’d joined her in the dark ocean waves, illuminated by the moon, there had been a moment. Just a quick one…

He shook his head. That was in the past. Nothing had happened between them then, and nothing would now. He’d never really thought of her that way, and it had to be just the sexy body she’d grown overnight that had him reacting like he was.

But damn, what a body.

It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Since Kelly. He wasn’t interested in dating or one-night stands. He had too much responsibility and too much on the line to mess around. It had been five years, but he wasn’t sure there was a time limit on grief. Just because a significant amount of time had passed and it was okay to move on, Wes couldn’t jump into a new relationship if he wasn’t ready. If his heart wasn’t in it. It wouldn’t be fair to himself or to the woman or to Marissa.

His daughter was his priority, and he wasn’t ruling out the possibility of another relationship in his future, another shot at happiness, but to take a chance, to take that leap, it needed to be worth it.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t deny that something had stirred in him just now seeing Sarah. He hadn’t been tempted by someone in a long time, and he’d certainly been tempted looking at her.

He hammered several tiles into place, desperate to shake the image of her, to shake the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, but both lingered.

And that worried the hell out of him. Good thing she planned to leave right away.

Hearing her stressed-out voice inside her room, he stopped hammering. She must be on a call.

“It’s going to cost how much?”

Obviously checking out the insurance.

“No, that’s fine. I really don’t have a choice. Please send me the paperwork as soon as possible,” she said.

He heard the regret in her voice, and a slight pang of guilt hit him. He’d basically convinced her to do the renovations and had purposely started them before she could have a change of heart. He hadn’t meant to cause her more headache, but he really didn’t want to see Dove’s Nest torn down and replaced by some big hotel chain resort.